Darkside Rainbow

I am feeling distinctly unwell this morning, kids, so I’m afraid you get a short update today before I drag my carcass out of the apartment and off to the store for whatever bitter unguent or brew might soothe the sandpaper scraping down my throat. I just thought you might want to check this out:

Mississippi Queen: An Indie Documentary

Mississippi Queen is a documentary giving voice to the tensions and harmonies unique to the Southern gay & lesbian communities and their Bible Belt environment. Currently in the pre-production stage, Mississippi Queen will follow a returning native to the South with her curious cohort from the MidWest in tow.

Another 451 blogger turned me on to this, and as someone who lives with both the ups and downs of being gay in the South, it immediately caught my attention. (Enough for me to spend more than two minutes on MySpace, which is a feat in and of itself considering that MySpace makes me twitch.) Southern culture is a truly unique and often strange thing that people often don’t understand until they’ve experienced it directly, and the gay and lesbian subculture in the South has a distinctly different flavor than anything you might find north of certain states.

I’ll be interested in seeing how this documentary explores those aspects unique to the South, especially the balancing act between sexuality and religion. I, personally, am an atheist (put that rotten fruit down and don’t you dare start throwing it my way) but I respect others’ rights to follow their faith and what they believe in, and I’ve often wondered how people reconcile the two parts of their identities when what they’re taught can often conflict with who they are. It’s a struggle that I don’t envy, but one that I admire in those who deal with it every day.

According to the Mississippi Queen MySpace profile they’re starting shooting in May, so I’ll try to keep an eye on things and watch for any interesting video clips. The profile itself has video commentaries from Bryce and Paige, key names behind the production of Mississippi Queen.

I’m going to give up on trying to be coherent now, go medicate myself, and hide under a heap of blankets. I’ll see you kids tomorrow, assuming I haven’t died from the plague. (Just kidding.)

Mississippi Queen, Bible Belt, gay in the South, gay and lesbian documentary, gay documentary, lesbian documentary, gays and the church