Film Recommendations...

Based on some of the issues or concepts that we have been discussing in lecture and discussion, I wanted to suggest a few films that deal with homosexuality, cross-dressing, discrimination in college, Male to Female and Female to Male issues. In case anyone is interested, here are some titles and descriptions of each film. Some of them are documentaries and others are independent films. These films are quite insightful.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Invited to perform at a casino in remote Alice Springs, Australia, drag queens Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Felicia (Guy Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) hit the road in a broken-down lavender bus named Priscilla in this campy comedy classic. Along the way, the friends change into their most outrageous costumes and lip-synch disco tunes -- including plenty of ABBA -- for the outback's befuddled locals.

Prodigal Sons: In high school, Kimberly Reed was male, a straight-A student and captain of the football team. But since leaving his rural Montana hometown, he's become a woman -- and a filmmaker whose documentary could not be any more personal. Half the story involves her attending her high school reunion as a transgendered female; the other half involves reuniting with her siblings, including her estranged adopted brother.

Fagbug: Turning a slur sprayed on her VW Beetle from scarlet letters into a badge of honor, Sage College grad student Erin Davies hit the road in her rechristened "fagbug" to raise awareness of gay rights and to speak where others had been silenced. The resulting documentary captures a 58-day cross-continental trip in which Davies interviews 400 people, discovers the virulence of hate crimes and records reactions to her queerly customized ride.

Red Without Blue: This provocative and insightful film documents three years in the lives of identical twins Mark and Alex Farley as they come to terms not only with their homosexuality, but also with Alex's decision to transition from male to female. Haunted by a troubled past -- including divorced parents, discrimination and a joint suicide attempt -- the brothers struggle to affirm their identity and learn what it means to be a family outside of traditional norms.

**Descriptions courtesy of NetFlix