No matter how many issues of monotone mag we commit to queer cinema we could never cover it all. We are not attempting to do that here - We are merely scratching the surface. Even the topics covered cannot be done in the depth deserved, but we can give them a little light. We are highlighting little bits that stuck out to us through conversations we’ve had in the queer community of late.

In musing over how to start this issue, what kept coming up was: Why are queer films always so devastating? Where is the queer joy? 

We all love a forbidden romance. At our core people want to be chosen, and getting chosen against all odds? When there is so much to lose? That really gets those deep, dark parts of the psyche lighting up in a particularly invigorating way. From the satisfaction of winning out in the end, to the devastation of not getting the happy ending, the liberation from suffering through one’s hidden identity to the moment of acceptance however brief is extremely sweet. What could be better than stealing a simple kiss when no one is looking?. 

Is it because this is one of the few “faux pas” tropes we have left? The premise of being diverged by race, class or hierarchy is thankfully dipping to the wayside (outside of every other new show being a period drama). Not that any of these have found true equality in society but they’ve become normative enough to fall out of popular narrative. 

Is it because so much of art is about suffering that we simply search for pain in the media we consume to feel what we cannot face in the real world? Queer films are generically shrouded in agony. And, admittedly, there has been an egregious level of suffering in queer history. Do we seek a queer catharsis?

This not to be shied away from; the truth and reality needs to be there. But the injustice, the heartache, the horror is not the only story to tell. 

As queers who love cinema there is no greater joy than seeing the absolute bloom of queer stories on screen. From concealed stories tucked in archives, through 2010’s representationism, to the point now where queer focus has become somewhat elementary. Films that display queer joy, or even just queer life definitely have always existed, but are definitely lower in numbers and in many cases hold less esteem, founded in some random non-studio works. 

For us it seems at a time when there is (slightly) less resistance in getting queer stories out there we don’t need to rely on the placation of people outside the community championing the stories, either as directors, actors, writers. Are we saying there shouldn’t be a single non-queer person as part of any queer work? Absolutely not, but that maybe a small turn back to representationism wouldn’t be so bad. We don’t need to see the Paul Mescal (3 major queer films) or Josh O’Conner (8 queer characters) types in another queer drama, there are actually quite a few talented, hot, swoon worthy queer actors that could happily and deservedly take that place. They love to dribble into interviews about their mixed feelings of playing queer characters, almost as if the option of simply not doing it isn’t there? There’s a whole article in this but it’s a trope we are so over we can’t even give it focus right now. Other bits we’ve avoided tackling because we’re simply sick of them include Lesbian Period Dramas (can the girls please get some electricity for once), Closeted Jocks, and sidelining of the Gay Bestie.

Instead, we ended up looking into films and people that would allow us to focus on queer people, on queer joy, and on queerness in all its multiplicities.