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🌈🔪 Episode 164: PRIDE SHOULDN'T BE TERRIFYING 🔪🌈
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🌈🔪 Episode 164: PRIDE SHOULDN'T BE TERRIFYING 🔪🌈
It's Pride Month, and Matty & Andrew are asking the question nobody wants to answer: why does celebrating still feel like a risk?
This week's Horror in Real Life: Pride events turning into full security operations, parades getting canceled outright (Tampa, Arlington, Long Beach), corporate sponsors quietly bailing, and the online harassment machine that never clocks out. Cute rainbow crosswalk, increasingly not-cute reality.
Then, two films about queerness treated as the crime:
🎬 THEY/THEM — Kevin Bacon's second "killer stalking a camp" movie (yes, after Friday the 13th), this time set at a conversion therapy camp. Corny in places, but it lands a real gut-punch about where queer rage goes.
🎬 WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR — Jane Schoenbrun's deeply online, deeply trans identity horror.
🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!
💸 Support the show: frigay13.com/support
#FriGay13 #PrideMonth #horrorpodcast #lgbtqpodcast #queerpodcast #horrorcommunity #getslayed #horrorpodcasts #queerhorror #gayhorror #THEYTHEM #WorldsFair #PrideShouldntBeTerrifying
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Fri-Gay the 13th Horror Podcast is a proud independent podcast. To learn more about the show, visit Fri-Gay13.com. Maddie, happy Pride Month! Hey, thank you! Thank you. I've already celebrated by buying three tank tops and developing an irrational crush on a barista.
Pride Month Humor and Challenges
00:00:19
Speaker
um For you, that's not Pride. That's Tuesday. Same thing. So for this episode, we're talking about all the ways that LGBTQ plus can still be scary in 2026. Which is ridiculous. You know, my biggest fear this month should be whether these shorts are too short.
00:00:36
Speaker
And verdict? Well, the answer is yes. The neighbors know everything, if you know what I mean. You know, pride is supposed to be a celebration. Exactly. Yet somehow, every year, somebody finds a way to get upset about rainbows and holding hands.
00:00:52
Speaker
It's honestly exhausting. I know. Horror movies are supposed to scare me. Not a rainbow crosswalk. Well, that's why we're doing this episode. We need to give people some relief.
Queer Perspective on Horror
00:01:04
Speaker
you You do know what kind of show we produce, right? Oh, true. Maybe we should just keep it light? In this day and age, it's impossible. You're right.
00:01:15
Speaker
We have to give them what they want. And if that barista rejects me, then all bets are off. It's episode 164, Pride Shouldn't Be Terrifying. i am the writing
00:01:28
Speaker
spar in the
00:01:32
Speaker
I'm Marjorie Greene and I approve this message to save America, Scott Socialism and Scott China. Stay the time we honor thee from life to death to rise.
00:01:44
Speaker
Horror in real life. Doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong. Horror in the movies. Where are you gonna go?
00:01:56
Speaker
Where are gonna run? Where are gonna hide? Nowhere.
00:02:05
Speaker
you walk yeah When do we want it? Let's go! What are you waiting for, huh? What are you waiting for? I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. Sometimes.
00:02:24
Speaker
The details are now out for the 55th annual Chicago Pride
Pride Parade and Celebrations
00:02:28
Speaker
Parade. The festivities will kick off at 11 a.m. m on Sunday, June 28. This year's theme is Free to be Proud.
00:02:35
Speaker
Organizers say it's a reclamation of Pride's founding purpose to affirm the ongoing pursuit of the freedom to live openly, love authentically, and exist safely. The parade also sharing this year's community grand marshals, local journalist and historian Tracy Boehm, civil rights activist Mona Noriega, and philanthropist and community leader Yvette Cardona. The Chicago Pride Parade is one of the oldest and largest in the country.
00:03:03
Speaker
Welcome back, gays and girls and theys and thems, to another episode of Fry Gay the 13th Horror Podcast. My name is Matty. And I'm Andrew.
00:03:15
Speaker
and listen, if this is your first time with Fry Gay the 13th Horror Podcast... You've got 163 other episodes to listen to. You can do that after this one. But you are in
LGBTQ+ Rights: Progress and Setbacks
00:03:26
Speaker
the right place. If you are looking for the podcast, as far as we know, Andrew, the only podcast that talks about horror in real life and in the movies from a queer perspective. So if that's what you're here for, you're in the right place. If you're here for like sourdough bread lessons, that's a different podcast. We can't help you with that right now. So listen, welcome to episode 164.
00:03:52
Speaker
We're really proud because this is our annual Pride episode. Andrew, this is our eighth or ninth annual one. Which one is this? We're not counting anymore. Fair, but it's one of those two. So we've been doing this episode as an annual just sort of like mainstay. A check-in on the LGBTQ... The state of being gay.
00:04:17
Speaker
um g And here we are again in 2026. And I'm sorry to say, Andrew, that the the state of being gay has not gotten better since the first time we did this.
00:04:27
Speaker
In fact, it's gotten worse. We'll talk about all the ways it's gotten worse. Of course, there's a couple ways that it's gotten
Personal Pride Stories and Advocacy
00:04:34
Speaker
better. But yeah, it's mostly gotten more terrifying. Once again, remember, you're at this podcast, not at the sourdough baking podcast. I don't know. um Andrew, ah first off, us how are you? What's going on with you right now? Tell me about yourself.
00:04:48
Speaker
ah Doing pretty good. um I did do a gay thing for this Pride um and I went ahead and went blonde. Good for you, Andrew. Good for you. I was excited. I wanted to be tan and blonde this summer. So that's what's happening with me. You know, if people are going to insult me all summer long, I at least want to look good doing it. You know what? There you go, girl. Good for you. That's excellent. Well done. pretty Pretty fun. um I have been on a tangent this week on threads. I don't know if you've noticed at all, um but I've been pretty sassy on the threads this week.
00:05:30
Speaker
ah Because there are a lot of fucking bigots on threads this week. You know, there there are bigots everywhere. um And, ah you know, I've just sort of, um I'll tell you how I am right now.
00:05:44
Speaker
I'm just sort of tired of being around misery. Yeah. but like No, I get it. Everything is miserable. Like, i i as as you know, i live in Dublin and um we had some nice weather last week and now it's back to being absolutely miserable.
00:06:02
Speaker
And the people here are miserable and everyone is miserable and everything. I'm I am. i am I am 1 million percent tired of being around misery. And it just sort of seems like that is everywhere around the world, if I'm being honest. And, totally you know, for a lot of people, I'm kind of like, you know
Societal Structures and Bigotry
00:06:20
Speaker
what? You don't have a whole lot to be fucking miserable about. So like count your fucking blessings, number one. um And number two, like like i make it better. I don't know what to say. i'm just I'm so tired of it. And everyone is just so interested in being miserable that it's making them so hateful on everyone else.
00:06:38
Speaker
and And that's a big part of, I think, what we're talking about today is just like these miserable people who are just like somehow compelled it's to bigotry because they think it's going to solve their misery, perhaps. I don't really know.
00:06:55
Speaker
Can I give you an example of what I've been doing this week? What's that? Because it's pretty, I think it's pretty funny. So um on threads, Sandy Savoy, ah whatever that is,
00:07:12
Speaker
she She writes, i actually hate pride month all of june it's ramed down our throats the rest of us need to start a straight not gay month how about god's children's month get married have family make children be real month broadcast twenty four seven on tv radio internet podcast wedding venues hospitals everywhere in the month of july for the world to celebrate business give money discounts and for visually proclamating that your traditional lifestyle habits Yes. oh And I just said, so you mean like the other 330 days of the year, basically. I just said, oh, go bake a casserole for abusive husband, Susan. and It's the truth. It's just like we're we're we're being ruled around the world. It's not just America. It's it's all around the world. We're being ruled by these.
00:08:02
Speaker
these cringy psychopath boomers and like Gen Xers and millennials for that matter, who are, are, are bizarre. It's, it's, it's truly bizarre. i I don't know if they need therapy. I don't know if they need to get laid. I don't know i don't know what they need, but I'm so tired of it. And I i think these days, there there's, I mean, look, we've we've been through a very long history. But like in in terms of post-Stonewall, post-AIDS crisis, like this is like the most tiring time to be LGBTQ. Yeah.
00:08:40
Speaker
And, you know, if if we look back on it, we were making some good progress for a while. And, you know, there's there's a lot of people. And you forget. We were kind of happy for a little bit. yeah Yeah, we were. And, you know, there are there are people and look, some of our friends would be these people, Andrew. There are people who would say that because of like how we got so into pronouns, how we got so into trans rights, how we got into this, how we got into that, how we got too woke, they might say. Progress is what you're talking about. Yeah. that Because we were, we were asking for progress that that's the reason why we are where we are now.
00:09:18
Speaker
And I completely disagree with you. Completely disagree with you. um I think that anyone who is offended by pronouns is a fucking idiot and a psychopath I think that anyone who is scared of transgender people is a fucking idiot and a psychopath. And I think that they need to go fix, in the words of um of David Lynch, they need to fix their hearts is what they need to do. Go fix yourself, don't fix others. And and and I just don't see that happening anytime soon. Yeah.
00:09:52
Speaker
You know, it's it's it's scary at the other things that are happening. You know, one of the movies that we're watching today is called They Them. And, you know, it it is I don't fully remember the reception of it because it was, you know, it's it's a while back now. It was kind of a COVID movie too. So we'll yeah get to that one when we get to it. but it's It's four or five years old now, and I don't remember the reception of it being very good.
00:10:16
Speaker
And look, we'll talk about it more, but I will tell you, it definitely triggered me a little bit more than I thought it would. It's got some good things in there, but let's talk about it when we talk about it. Yeah, course. Yeah. But, you know, one important thing, you know, about a movie like that is that we're seeing across the United States and in parts of Europe and certainly in Africa, we are seeing the resurgence of these like, I don't know what you even call them anymore, conversion camps. I might call them conversion concentration camps. And it's pretty awful.
00:10:52
Speaker
It's pretty awful what we are willing to do to children to convince ourselves that we are putting them in the right sort of um dogmatic box. And that if we put them in the right sort of dogmatic box, this mythical God that we believe in is going to somehow give us what we want finally.
00:11:15
Speaker
And that is absolutely terrifying. It should terrify all of us. um And it makes me very, very sad for LGBTQ kids who for a while were having a glimpse of what it might be to have a future that looks good
Privilege Differences in LGBTQ+ Community
00:11:31
Speaker
and looks bright. And now we've gone away from that. And, you know, it reminds me of like when Heartstopper first came out. Right. And I and i know, as you know, it's kind of a silly TV show.
00:11:41
Speaker
But it's so much more than that. And I remember whatever year it was, I think it was 20, I think it was 2021, if I'm not mistaken, when it came out, maybe 2022, whatever. So around the same time as they, them, if you think about it. And I remember watching like the first episodes and just like crying for a week, thinking to myself, my God, I'm so glad these kids have it so good now. And I'm so sad that I didn't.
00:12:05
Speaker
And now I'm back to crying for them because it's going in the wrong direction again. I just, it's, it's, ah it's, it's truly astounding how we just keep backpedaling.
00:12:15
Speaker
How does this happen? It's very strange. And i this, this is the, this is the hardest I've seen it push back.
00:12:26
Speaker
and ah In a long time. Because, ah well, let's be honest, because of the administration that's in in in in power. um Because literally that trickles down into how people think and how people are empowered. um But like... I'm there. There was one quote from our second movie that we'll be watching today. um We are all going to the States fair is like World's Fair. Sorry. um It is. I can't get the quote quite right, but it did strike me is like, you don't get to tell me how. Yeah. You don't get to tell me how the world is like I get. I get to do that for myself. And i think we've kind of forgotten that a little bit. And we're just going along with things. And it's really dangerous.
00:13:12
Speaker
I think that is ah of a very astute way of connecting the film today to what we're talking about.
Right-Wing Narratives and Political Critiques
00:13:20
Speaker
And um I think both of these films really do do apply very well to what's going on. And I i think... um I think that the the other thing that we always need to consider is how much privilege exists within the LGBTQ community and how it varies based on which one of those letters you are.
00:13:41
Speaker
Yeah, sure. And for yeah you know I think people like you and me continue to experience a good deal of privilege. We are white, we are gay, we're men, um and and we're cisgender for that matter. um And I think for for so many of our our LGBTQ siblings, it's it's a very different story. If you're a person of color, if you're a transgender person, if you are both of those things, um suddenly you know the the um the quotient for how your life can be a lot harder to live based on how these terrible people try to keep making it harder for you It just keeps going up and up and up and up and up.
00:14:23
Speaker
um And it's I think that that's really scary. I think what continues to be scary right now is this idea that keeps getting spread around because social media is so pernicious. And frankly, the right, these right wing nut jobs are so good at using it to spread misinformation. is this idea that we are groomers, that we are groomers, that we are grooming children, that we are harmful to children. Just last week, there was the governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, who I absolutely abhor and detest. He decided that he was going to pass a proclamation that it's Nuclear Family Month.
00:15:03
Speaker
And within this proclamation, you know, all those whereas, whereas, whereas, it was stuff about like children that grow up with a mother and a father are, you know, they're happier, or they're better, they're better physically, they're better spiritually, blah, blah, blah, blah. They don't experience abuse. And la and I'm like, bullshit, bullshit. Do you want to know who molests children more than anyone?
00:15:24
Speaker
Straight white men. That's who does it. Because it's not about sexuality. It's about power and pathology. That's what it's about. so if an authority yeah And And authority. If you really want to take care of the problem, go after them.
00:15:40
Speaker
Go figure that out right now. Stop trying to put it on us. We're not the ones fucking doing it. And stop trying to blame trans people for fucking everything.
00:15:51
Speaker
It's insane. You know, as as a child of abuse, because I was mentally abused, I was physically abused as a child, guess who did it? All of my evil, evil, evil stepfathers. Exactly.
00:16:05
Speaker
Exactly. Which is just, it's it's abhorrent that it happened to you. It's abhorrent that it happens to any child. But to blame that on gay people is just evil.
00:16:17
Speaker
It's evil to a deep, deep degree. And, you know, i so earlier I referred to a mythical God because I don't think that the God that they all believe in is real.
00:16:29
Speaker
I don't. And i'm I'm a religious person. I believe in in a divine creator. I believe that the one that I believe in is real. And I believe that I don't have a monopoly on the truth. But I can tell you, their God is made up.
00:16:42
Speaker
Their God is some science fiction, weird fucking thing that they pray to every night, hoping that it gives them goodies and jollies and makes them happy all the live long day. And the tighter they hold on to that... the happier they and their little minions that they've created will be. And i i i ah hope and pray for all of them, trying to be at least somewhat gracious, that when their time comes, as it will come for all of us, that they will see how wrong they were. And I hope for their fucking sake that they have a moment of reflection to ask the heir for forgiveness for the hatred that they have sown into this world and for the damage that they have done to lives around them.
00:17:33
Speaker
These are evil people. These are evil people in the MAGA cult, and not just, once again, not just in America. It's in Ireland. It's in the UK. It's all over Europe. These are evil fuck. It's all over Africa. These are evil, evil people, and they should be named that way.
00:17:49
Speaker
That's it. i'm I'm not calling them anything other than that from from now on. They are evil monsters. That's who they are. Well, and and they they should be labeled that way because the the thing that this the culture that they've sown into everything has just toxicated our entire our entire population.
00:18:09
Speaker
Everything. it in it in and like I said, it trickles down. like it it it is so it is so abhorrent. How evil these people are and how much they hate everyone that's not directly around them.
00:18:24
Speaker
And it's and it's it's it's insane to me. it's It's just, it makes me crazy. Like, i i i had to go on my tirade on Threads this week because... I was just sick of reading it. i'm I'm sick of these people spewing lies and hatred and not getting anything back. But yeah, blessed be or like whatever. Like, fuck it. I hate these fucking assholes that just control everything now. And, you know, it just it i was I was talking to a a dear friend here um who who happens to be ah ah the leader of a very big organization. And i was talking to him and I was just saying, you know what?
00:19:07
Speaker
i I'm just so tired of everything being a fight. Yeah. Everything is a fight these days.
Struggles and Safety Concerns for LGBTQ+ Individuals
00:19:14
Speaker
I agree. like i'm I'm going through my own personal stuff right now after my mom dying and everything else. So that, that rocks you for a while.
00:19:22
Speaker
But agnostic of that, I'm so tired of everything being a fight, whether it's like worrying about work or worrying about finances or worrying about this or worrying about that. Now I've also got to worry about fucking like ah Is someone going fucking kill me because they see me like holding hands with my boyfriend? Or like you know are are they going to like hunt me down for the things I've written? or Or are they going to hunt me down for this podcast? You know what i mean? And like that is a reality that I think we all need to to consider. is that it's not just about like stopping us having drag queen story hour, right?
00:20:03
Speaker
It's about our lives. And the time, i don't think I still don't think people actually get it because it just that the time is still coming where things will get catastrophically worse. The time will come when they come for our bodies, when they come for our lives. And in some ways, they're already doing that. They're already asking for medical records of the children who have been given the health care that they need as transgender people that was diagnosed by their doctors and agreed to by their parents. They're hunting that information down. They're hunting down those parents right now. I have a friend who moved here to Ireland specifically because of that.
00:20:49
Speaker
I'm not joking. They had to leave America to get away from it. It's insanity what is happening right now. And everyone's worried about fucking gas prices.
00:21:00
Speaker
Like, what what is going on inside your heads right now? There are people who are suffering, who are American citizens being forced out of their homes because because of who they are?
00:21:14
Speaker
i i just, i I can't believe it. it's It is so infuriating. You just have to wonder, is it ever going to be not a fight? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know if it ever will be.
00:21:28
Speaker
I don't not in our lifetime anyway. um But I will say this is like for all those people that are hating on Pride Month or hating on anyone in the LGBTQ plus community is once they come for us.
00:21:46
Speaker
they're going to come for you. Exactly. So think about that before you spew hatred all over the place. and And I love too, have you seen these recent memes and videos and reels of like, um there was one that that came out last week and we're we're recording this June 6th. But there was one that came out last week of like this, I don't know, like this very white gay dude, I think in the South. And he's like, he's got a progress flag, not a pride flag, but a progress flag. And he's like,
00:22:14
Speaker
this is just crazy. I'm gay and I don't, we don't need the T and the Q and blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm a transgender people are for, you know, but blah, blah, blah, blah with children. And, and he like burns the flag and there's all these responses to it. And there, and everyone is saying what you just said, which is basically not only they are they going to come for you, but they're never going to accept you.
00:22:36
Speaker
Don't you get it? right They're never going to want you. It's just like when I see people of color who are Republicans or or if they're especially if they're MAGA, I am like, are you out of your fucking mind?
00:22:50
Speaker
Do you not really see... yeah like Do you really think when the Klan hoods come out, because they will come out, do you think that they're not going to come for you and for yours? Do you really think that they want anything other than an America that is white and whatever brand of kooky Christian they claim to be?
00:23:09
Speaker
You are fucked up, my friend, if you think otherwise. Absolutely fucked up. Yeah, I mean, we can get into ah the just some physical examples of this and we can look at a May 2026 Gallup poll found that 65 percent. Wait, wait, just really quick. That's last month, right? That's last month. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:29
Speaker
A Gallup poll found that 65% of Americans believed that same-sex marriage should be valid, while 32% opposed to it. I should say that's 87% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, and 37% of Republicans. Mm-hmm. I just want to point out that 10 years ago, 2016, Mm-hmm.
00:23:54
Speaker
it was 61%. So we've only gained 4%. Yeah, but hasn't, i looked at that poll too. If I'm not mistaken, hasn't there been an erosion on the Republican side? So it's 37% of Republicans now, but wasn't that at like 51% before? It was something like that. Yeah, it was. So so that that that's a very key like data data point right there is that that's a pretty big fucking group of people. Remember, whether we like it or not, that's half of America. So you've got now another 10 percent of them suddenly have dropped what they used to think about gaybe about about gay marriage. that That's absolutely insane.
00:24:34
Speaker
Well, what i want to what I do want to point out is that in 2022 and 2023, support peaked at 71%. So we've actually lost ground overall. Altogether. Yeah. It's fucked up. And listen to that. 2022 and years row. Then who two years in a row then who gets elected Yeah, course. Just saying.
00:24:57
Speaker
I'm just saying. yeahp i hope I hope you're all happy that that's who you voted for, you pieces of shit. i hope i think that a lot of i think that a lot of people, and me included, until I kind of like keyed in on this, is that who is president means a lot.
00:25:16
Speaker
ah It does mean a lot. Mm-hmm. and it does and it it And it trickles down into culture and it trickles down into what people think. And I think that people really, really, really, and listen, and I'm preaching to my younger self. I really am right now.
00:25:33
Speaker
You need to be keyed in and you need to be understanding who you're voting for and you need to vote and keep your rights the way that they are. Because it's so It's so important. It's so important. And I don't think that my younger self understood this is that those people hold so much power that we need to make sure that the right people are there. Well, 100%. And we continue to be the political football. So, I mean, think about it. We we all kind of did what we were supposed to do in in the last few elections. Yeah. And it still didn't even matter.
00:26:08
Speaker
So you've got Joe fucking Biden there, who is a fucking, i truly, I hate Joe Biden. Hate him for staying in the race. Hate him for staying in the office. He should have never been in there. He's ah he's a fucking dick. And the hubris of the Biden family to keep him in office because they want to hold on to power is one of the reasons why we are where we are right now.
00:26:31
Speaker
That is the truth. I'm sorry, but it's the absolute truth. And it's the same thing for other elections before that. We were sold a lie about who we were supposed to vote for. And those people that got into office that had every single part of the government, they still couldn't protect us.
00:26:50
Speaker
They still failed to do one thing past the Equality Act. They refused to do it. They didn't do it. They played us like fucking fools, and we still don't have it. And I'll point out, too, Barney Frank, who was one of the first out openly LGBT congresspeople, he recently died. And you know what? That motherfucker can fuck off, too. I will never forget when we had the Equality March in Washington, D.C., which me and Michael tried to go to back in the day, but our bus broke. But I was part of the planning for that march back in the day. I'm still really, really proud of all the work that I did for that. And our little group from Chicago, we we sent like four buses of people to that. We worked our asses off. And we were just, God, it doesn't make me cry. We were just kids. And um that piece of shit, Barney Frank, I'll never forget him talking about the equality march and saying and and downing us, making fun of us and saying that we were doing nothing. But I forget the way that he said it, but it was like, you're just like marching for nobody.
00:27:55
Speaker
I will never forgive him for that, even in his fucking grave, you piece of shit, because he, all he ever did was play to Republicans, and we still don't have the Equality Act, even with him in office for fucking decades. So all they do is take our money, all they do is take our effort, our blood, our sweat, our tears, and they still do nothing for us.
00:28:17
Speaker
It is infuriating. It's infuriating. And they're still going to send you fucking emails to have you donate and everything else. ah The entire system is just, it's it's just pile of shit.
00:28:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's sorry. I'm very worked up. no no, it as you as you should be. It's it's the modern Democratic Party ah is so weak and so disgust fucking chopped off at the genitals that like, lately like, what are you doing? Like, i this is what I this is what I will give the Republicans. At least they know how to do it because the Democrats, the Democrats, I don't even know what they stand for anymore. They literally stand for nothing.
00:28:59
Speaker
They are still worried about razzing Trump. That's all that they're worried about. that They're still worried. like this This man is on his deathbed. Get over it. All all all they're all they're like looking to do is like go on social and like call Stephen Miller an ugly fuck, which, like yeah, it's kind of funny. But like you're not doing anything. like you're not You're not giving people any sort of hope to latch on to. I 43 years old what are you you are? Yeah, I'll be 42 this year. Here we are in our 40s. I got to tell you, i have a dim view of the world ahead.
00:29:35
Speaker
I have a dim view of the future ahead. And I have a dimmer view of what's ahead for us as queer people. I don't like saying that. I don't like feeling that. I don't like feeling, as I was talking about before, that it's always going to be a fight.
00:29:49
Speaker
I don't like feeling that for for queer kids, they don't have a bright future anymore. I don't like feeling that I'm worried about my own future as an LGBT person. This fucking sucks. Give us some hope.
00:30:03
Speaker
Give us something to latch on to instead of going on social and calling Stephen Miller an ugly fuck. Like your little like online social joke isn't doing anything for real people right now. All you're doing is playing some weird fucking engagement game or having hearings where you're still trying to like get a gotcha on Trump. Guess what? It's not working.
00:30:26
Speaker
It isn't working. If it was working, it would have worked by now because you've been doing nothing but trying for the past like 10 fucking 15 years. What are you going to do? That's different. What are you to Yeah, i think that'ss that's I think that's the modern dilemma of like balancing between ah what's going to get headlines and what's going to actually get done.
00:30:48
Speaker
know what I mean? It's it's absolutely. fucking lootly And in the meantime, what happens is that people die. That's what happens. You've got kids who automatically for trans kids growing up, their rate of suicide is higher than others. That's a fact. So unless you're giving them hope, you are consigning them to death by suicide.
00:31:09
Speaker
That's not hyperbole what I am saying right now. That is the fucking truth. If you don't give them hope, which is part of your job as a politician, it's your fucking job to do that for people. If you don't do that, that's what you're doing.
00:31:23
Speaker
Their blood is on your hands too. It's on your fucking hands, you pieces of shit.
Challenges and Support for Pride Events
00:31:29
Speaker
Yeah, i just I don't understand. I don't understand what happened to actually standing up for your constituents because I don't think that that exists anymore. I really don't. I think that you stand up for ah what the world thinks you should stand up for and not actual actual like real things.
00:31:49
Speaker
All they about is money. It's strange. All they care about is money. It's all that anyone cares about anymore is money, money, money, money. That's it. yeah And when the time finally comes that we all realize that we can't just keep growing and growing and growing and growing and growing forever for growth's sake and that all the money in the world isn't going to solve your fucking problems. I don't know. Maybe then things will change. I don't know.
00:32:13
Speaker
i don't I don't think that's ever going happen. mean, it's it's terrible. It's just nothing ever stops. And Ugh. ah um Should we talk a little bit about Pride in general? Yeah, sure.
00:32:27
Speaker
I mean, ah Pride events right now are really suffering because of what's going on. And a lot of um organizers are looking to find different ways to raise money for these things because these things actually do to take money to to put on. They take a lot of money.
00:32:44
Speaker
um And a lot of corporations that were ah put their rainbow symbol on for June um are now pulling out. And it's it's ah it's it it's really sad. Can I can I read you something really quick? Please do.
00:33:00
Speaker
um Pride celebrations are often described as festivals of joy and visibility, but in recent years, organizers have increasingly had ah had to approach them as a major security operation. Absolutely. The 2025 Chicago Pride Parade city officials held dedicated public safety briefings and coordinated extensive police planning for an event expected to draw nearly 1 million attendees. yeah One million. So don't tell me there's not support out there. Fuck off. um Similarly, organizers of World Pride 2025 in Washington, D.C. implemented enhanced security measures, including surveillance, barricades, medical teams, and coordination with Homeland Security agencies. That's lot of money.
00:33:43
Speaker
Yeah, these precautions are not simply a reflection of large crowd large crowd sizes. LGBTQ organizations have cited a growing climate of threats and anti-LGBTQ incidents as a major factor behind increased security spending. In 2025, the Stonewall Columbus publicly called for heightened safety measures during Pride Month, while GLAAD documented more than 1,000 anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide during the year. What should be in a celebration of community increased... increasingly requires the kind of risk assessment and emergency planning associated with high profile public events.
00:34:19
Speaker
um Pride in several cities have been canceled or significantly scaled back this year, driven by a combination of declining corporate sponsorships, hostile political climates and permit disputes. Some of the specific ones that have been affected are in Long Beach, California, the annual three day Long ah Beach, California,
00:34:39
Speaker
Pride Festival was canceled abruptly just hours before it was slated to begin with city officials citing the lack of required safety and operational permits. Bullshit is what I call that. Tampa, Florida. Tampa Pride was canceled for the first time in history with organizers citing a hostile political and economic landscape that made securing municipal...
00:34:59
Speaker
Funding for government support. Impossible. Fuck Florida. Arlington, Texas. Arlington Pride was canceled by organizers who slated ah they could not in good conscience invite people to a city that refuses to protect them following the suspension of local anti-discriminatory protections. Fuck Texas. Grand Rapids, Michigan. The community apartment ah lounge only gave our left in Grand Rapids, of Michigan, I might say. oh I see. Okay. Yeah.
00:35:25
Speaker
Pride Party was canceled after longtime corporate sponsors pulled their funding, claiming they no longer have the cash to spare for DEI or Pride events. Fuck Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi. The Jackson Pride Center called off its annual Pride Fest due to severe board resignations, burnout, and the lack of resources. Fuck Mississippi. Fuck you all for not supporting the people that live in your community, that help your community, that that that literally...
00:35:53
Speaker
give you all the money you have. So back fuck you. It's fucking stupid. It's fucking bullshit. These people are real people. They exist. You need to acknowledge them. And that's why we still need pride. Fuck you.
00:36:08
Speaker
Fuck. Exactly. And, ah you know, i I think that there is sort of like a predilection for a lot of people that that are LGBT to sort of like wave off the parade or they don't go to it anymore or anything else. I'm going to be honest. We have to change that. That, that, that idea has to change. we We have to go more now. We need to start showing up for things. I know you've been to it before. I know you're bored with it. I know blah, blah, blah, blah. blah Shut up and fucking go.
00:36:33
Speaker
Get your ass up and go out there. These are people that are, that there will be people there out there for you. Go out there and be there for them. You know, I mean, here these are a lot of examples of of events that got canceled. I can tell you one that I know actually did go on because it's going on this weekend right now. And it's like the Northwest Indiana Pride Festival or whatever. And there's like one in Porter County and one in Lake County. And like, you know what? It doesn't sound like a lot. I know.
00:37:00
Speaker
But do you know how much effort it takes for people in that small gay community to do something like that? Do you know how much they have to do? How much they have to secure? How much money they have to raise to make that kind of shit happen?
00:37:13
Speaker
Or even like here in Ireland. Yeah, there's there's a big parade in Dublin and it's lovely and it's nice and I'll be there for it. But there are all these other little communities around around Ireland where like, guess what? It's not cool to be gay. Ireland is ah is a neat and nice and and interesting interesting place.
00:37:30
Speaker
Trust me, when you get out in the country, that fucking changes. When you're out in like fucking this county or that county or this little city, It's a whole different fuck about but it's different different bag of beans. I forget which city it was, but it was last year. The the morning of the Pride Parade in this little town, I forget what i wish I could remember right now, but in the morning of of of their little Pride Parade, some farmer who hates gay people went out that morning and put slurry all over the streets. you know what slurry is, Andrew? i don't, actually.
00:38:05
Speaker
It's cow shit. It's cow manure. Perfect. Now I want you to imagine all the work that you did for something. And then you wake up and you go to that fucking little town thing, the town where you grew up and someone one put shit for you to walk through.
00:38:23
Speaker
Imagine that. And then tell me that a pride parade is worth nothing. Then tell me that it's boring. Then tell me that you don't want to go to it because there are people that are giving everything to make it happen. Oh,
00:38:39
Speaker
Ugh. It's infuriating that we've, and listen, I'll throw it back on them, that we've been groomed to hate these people. Exactly. It's it's it's fucking bullshit. like Everyone needs to just wake the fuck up and listen, if if I want to be woke, I don't really give a shit. like You need to wake the fuck up day and and think for yourself. Stop.
00:39:04
Speaker
Stop following all this fucking bullshit and think for yourself for an instance. Actually put your little thinking cap on. Remember we used to have to do that in school, put our thinking cap on? Yep. And we actually have to think about things and we actually have to just understand that other people exist. I acknowledge that straight people exist.
00:39:26
Speaker
Why can't you acknowledge that gay people exist? It's very, very fucking weird. And and I'm going to tell you this from now on. Straight people, or I should say just non-LGBT people, if you're not actively with us, you're against us.
00:39:39
Speaker
Let me say that again. At this point, yes. If you you're not actively with us, you are against us. Actively. If you're not standing up for us in every single instance that you can, you are against us.
00:39:53
Speaker
The solidarity groups out there, if you're not actively standing with us, you are actively against us. that is how it That's how it's going to be from now on moving forward. You're either actively with us, defending us and helping us, or you are actively working against us.
00:40:10
Speaker
Take that to fucking heart because I'm tired of it. I'm done. I'm not spending my time being diplomatic anymore. I'm not spending my time being gracious. The only grace I will give once again, as I said it earlier, is that before they die, i sincerely hope for their own souls that they think they have, that they ask for forgiveness for what they've done in this world.
00:40:33
Speaker
That's the only thing that I hope for them. They won't. they will write they will they won't they will They will die being hateful. they'll die they'll they They would rather give their last breath cursing gay people.
00:40:45
Speaker
I'm confident of it. I'm confident. I am too. I totally am too. Andrew, I think if we talk any further about this, I think we're both going to have a heart attack. Jesus Christ. My blood pressure is so high right now. Listen, what I will say is this, and and yeah I would love to hear your final words here too, but...
00:41:02
Speaker
ah i I am not in a positive place right now. There you go. So I'm not thinking very positively about a lot of things. However, I do think that that doesn't mean that we stop fighting.
00:41:19
Speaker
It doesn't mean you lay down. It doesn't mean you roll over.
Entertainment Recommendations
00:41:23
Speaker
It means you keep fighting. It does mean that. I don't have a vision right now. i wish I did for what the future could be. I really wish I did. The only visions I have are dark. I'm not going to lie.
00:41:34
Speaker
But it doesn't mean I stop fighting. It doesn't mean I stop working. And I need all of you listening. and i need you, Andrew. i need all of us to keep doing that in one way or another.
00:41:44
Speaker
Whatever it is that you do you have to keep doing that. Don't give up as dark as it is. Yeah. And I'll say in ah in a deeply unserious world that we live in right now, you need to get serious. And.
00:41:59
Speaker
I know it's hard and I know it takes energy and and strife, but this is what we're here to do. We're here to be us and we're here to stand up to all these corrupt motherfuckers.
00:42:15
Speaker
And it's time to just fuck them. it's I'm sorry, we've worked with you long enough. It's time to now say fuck you.
00:42:26
Speaker
it's It's no longer reaching across the aisle. It's no longer understanding and graciousness. Oh, you. We're done. It's it's done. you've You've shown your true colors. You've shown what you truly are. Now it's time to fight back.
00:42:39
Speaker
Yeah. By the way, Andrew, before we end this segment too, I do want to say that obviously we have an in memoriam because Anthony Head passed away yesterday. um which is so sad.
00:42:50
Speaker
so sad. it really is. he was just He's so good in everything that he did. He was so good, but obviously, especially as Giles. So that's just that's just really sad news for for all of us who who love horror and Love all that kind of stuff. Someday we'll have to do the repo, the genetic opera, which he is saying. that would be great.
00:43:11
Speaker
So Anthony Head, rest in peace. Rise in power. go Go have some fun in the cosmos. Andrew, i think that does it for our first segment. what do you think? I'm ready to move on to what you've been watching, bitch.
00:43:26
Speaker
Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat.
00:43:37
Speaker
All right. You know it. You know it. Well, it's time for what you've been watching, bitch. you've been watching, you LGBT beautiful person. You're not a bitch. You're a beautiful person. Congratulations.
00:43:50
Speaker
This is the segment of the podcast where we talk about what we've been watching. This is a slightly truncated version we are ah ah recording back to back. So we only have three this week. But Matty, tell me what you've been watching, you little bitch. Yeah, so I'll start with the first one. We saw Backrooms in the cinema. Cool. I've not been to the cinema yet to see this. i So I definitely recommend going to see it in the cinema for sure. I'm going to. I just haven't had a chance.
00:44:16
Speaker
You know, and like, look, I'm going to watch it at home too once it comes out. But like, it's a i ah it's just good in the cinema. There you go. That's it. yeah um Look, i I liked it. I thought it was really good. it's um It is bizarre. It is strange. um I didn't know a lot of the back rooms lore going into it. And I say that because you don't need to either. So if you haven't spent...
00:44:41
Speaker
years watching Cain Parsons YouTube and looking at Reddit and, you know, going deep on all these threads and shit, you are going to be okay. It's, it's all right. You'll be able to follow along and you'll understand it. And in fact, it's going to give you a ah bug to go start watching all of those YouTube videos and start looking at all the threads. Cause now I've kind of got become obsessed with it.
00:45:04
Speaker
um It's really good. I think that the cast is lovely. um Renate Renz, I don't know how to pronounce her last name, is very good. um She's been in a lot of other movies, um and ah one of them that that people might have seen would be The Worst Person in the world a norwegian movie um a different man which was excellent i've talked about that one before she was just in sentimental value um she's norwegian and um she's excellent in this uh chowetzel edge of four uh is in this who was in 12 years a slave among a whole bunch of other movies life of chuck in 2012 and bring him home and all this other kind of stuff uh not bring him home uh uh the martian pardon me dr strange he's been in a ton of shit He plays sort of like our main character in this. um He's very, very good. um
00:45:53
Speaker
And, you know, look, this is a weird movie. it's it's It's bizarre. And the back rooms, I don't really understand it still. I'm going be honest. i I don't really get it. What I do know is that after I watched it, I started to look at places differently.
00:46:12
Speaker
And like... even like I caught myself doing it yesterday. I came up on the elevator and in in my building where I live And the hallway was empty and quiet.
00:46:23
Speaker
And I just never seen it that way before. And that really kind of freaked me out. I'm not going to lie. And it's happened in some other spaces that I walked into as well.
00:46:35
Speaker
And if I think that if a movie has the power to do that, to like sort of like wind into you and you start to see things differently, Man, that's some power behind that. I'll tell you what.
00:46:49
Speaker
And then, of course, the other thing that's really cool about it is, you know, there's been all these great stories about how it's like the number one movie in the world right now and how there's all these like lines of young people coming to see it and how people that are in the cinema, they're not like on their phones the whole time. They're they're really like intensely watching it. And so when you combine, you know, that experience that we know about with back rooms,
00:47:13
Speaker
Plus the experience that we know about with Obsession and people and younger people, especially being really into it and they're going to the cinema. You may have also heard that whoever owns Obsession, I can't remember, um but they push back the digital release date because it's doing so well in the cinema right now. Like that's great news for all of us. So it's, it's cool in so many ways. The movies themselves are cool.
00:47:36
Speaker
Backrooms itself is cool. It's also cool what it's doing for cinema right now. I think that's really, really interesting stuff. So but blah, blah, blah, blah. Thoroughly enjoyed Backrooms. Can't wait to watch it again. Cause I just want to catch more things in it. um And that's it. Go see it. There you go. Yeah.
00:47:51
Speaker
Horror will save cinema. Sorry. All right. My first one is I finally saw the Silent Night Deadly Night remake. Wow. um It's on Screambox, which is like a weird addition to that you can get on Amazon. And they actually have a quite a bit of stuff on there. Like it's all it's a lot of old stuff. But um I was pleasantly surprised to see my seven day subscription that I got. Oh, yeah.
00:48:17
Speaker
it could Could get me a lot of stuff. But yeah, the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake that came out in December of 2025 that everyone forgot about. It stars the guy from Halloween Ends, if you remember that guy. Okay. Do you know who I'm talking? Yeah. liked him. I thought was kind of cute.
00:48:35
Speaker
Yeah, and in this movie's actually pretty good for what it is. I mean, it's definitely low budget, but like it's it's the classic retelling of Silent Night and Deadly Night. It involves a kid who sees this kid who sees his parents killed by a Santa. and then But in this one, it's a little different.
00:48:52
Speaker
He... he ah this is giving minor, minor spoilers, but it's kind of not because it's the crux of the entire movie. But essentially the guy who killed his parents, he kills and he kind of absorbs his spirit.
00:49:09
Speaker
And so he has like a, he has like a, um, a talking head in his head all the time, telling him what to do. And that's kind of the crux for like all the killings and stuff. But, okay um, yeah,
00:49:20
Speaker
Highly entertaining movie. I don't know why they released this the way they did with it, like kind of being overshadowed by Christmas movies and whatever. I don't think it got a lot of production, like budget for marketing. And i think it was kind of over, like it, nobody went, I don't think anybody saw it. And, but I actually think it's pretty good for what it is. And they play, they play a little homages to the original. There's some, um, uh, I thought it was really funny that they play into the original um ah music. Because if you remember when we watched Silent Night, Deadly Night, there's like a soundtrack to that movie that's all original Christmas songs. And so there's like little stings of that music, which is really fun. cool
00:50:02
Speaker
And they massacre a lot of Nazis in it, which is really fun. That's awesome. we We need more of that, please. So yeah, if you want, you can go on Amazon. I'm not, you know, if you want to give Amazon money or if you don't, that's up to you. But like you can get a seven day free subscription to Screambox and watch this movie for free and then cancel your membership right away. So I would definitely recommend people go see Silent Night, Deadly Night, the remake.
00:50:26
Speaker
That's awesome. Cool. ah My next one is on Netflix right now. It's called The Burroughs. Have you started watching this? Or have you heard of it? Okay. No, so it's but it's by the yeah Stranger Things people, right? It is. Yeah, yeah. So this is sort of like Stranger Things, but with like retired people. Yeah. And it is. That's really funny. But I mean, listen, listen to this cast, right? Dennis O'Hare, Jane Kaczmarek, Clark Peters, Gina Davis, Alfred Molina, Bill Pullman, Alfred Woodward, Dee Wallace. I mean, this is a star studded cast, my friend. Very, very just ah ah amazing actors that have done a lot of a lot of movies that all of us have seen and loved.
00:51:11
Speaker
um So this is all about Alfred Molina's character named Sam. um He is the father of Jenna Malone's character, Claire. And the show opens with Claire and her husband, who who I forget. that I forget that guy's name. They are dropping him off um at this place called the Burroughs. And they are from Chicago. The Burroughs is out in the desert. I'm not entirely sure where. I think it's like Arizona or something like that. But they're dropping him off at the boroughs because ah his wife died and they had bought some house at this like retirement community that they heard about. But Sam was not able to get out of the contract.
00:51:48
Speaker
He doesn't want to go there anymore because his wife is gone and he doesn't want to be there by himself. So he's not happy about being there to begin with. But he has to go there. He ends up staying there. And almost from the beginning, he just starts to see some things that are really odd.
00:52:03
Speaker
And then things just keep getting odder and odder and odder until something happens and it becomes a little bit stranger thingsy. I'll leave it at that.
00:52:13
Speaker
Right. i'm I'm about halfway through it right now. And um I really like it. I think it's good. I hope that it stays good. And, um you know, it's nice to see these actors who are in their silver years. Right. They are um have something really cool to do. Like.
00:52:30
Speaker
they're all And they're all really good in it. Like, Geena Davis is fantastic. Alfred Molina, great. Alfred Woodward, so good in this. Clark Peters, awesome. Dennis O'Hare, lovely. Just, like, really good performances. You can tell they're all having a lot of fun. um And there's also, like, there's some interesting, like, little Easter eggs in there, too. So, like...
00:52:50
Speaker
I mean, Alfred Molina has been in so many things, but one thing that you might really love Alfred Molina and everyone does is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Right. And especially when, you know, he's with Indiana Jones and the start of it and they're going after the idol and everything else. And so like there's this one part where Alfred Molina's character is looking through like his storage unit and what's in the storage unit, the idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark. And so like just like little things like that, that they know that fans of these people will will really love seeing. Like I saw that and my heart was like, oh, that's so lovely, you know? So I've enjoyed it. I hope you guys do too. I i highly recommend watching The Burroughs on Netflix.
00:53:30
Speaker
Cool. Yeah, I just haven't gotten to it yet, but I definitely, it's on my list. I think i think i think both of you guys will like it a lot, I think. all right My next one is on AMC Plus and or Shudder. It's called Whistle. Have you heard anything about this? Not a thing.
00:53:44
Speaker
um So this is a movie about a death whistle. So ah someone finds a ah in a locker of a dead kid. They find this kind of artifact and it's it's and it's a it's a whistle. But it.
00:53:58
Speaker
I don't know how to describe this to you. it You blow into it, but it looks like a skull almost. Okay. um But what happens when you blow into the whistle is that it invokes how you are going to die to come and hunt you. du And so that's kind of the crux of the movie is if you blow into this thing, it's going to evoke. So like...
00:54:21
Speaker
I'll give you one example. That's an early character that dies in the movie, and I won't tell you who it is, but his his eventual death is that he's going to die of lung cancer. And that evokes it coming for him.
00:54:35
Speaker
it's It's kind of a weird thing. I liked this movie. it's not It's not perfect by any means. It's got a lot of weird CGI, i will say that. um But it was still really fun. It's kind of like...
00:54:47
Speaker
I'm trying to remember if we have done a movie like this and what I would compare it to, but I am coming up blank because it's kind of a teenage, it's kind of a dead teenager movie. If you, if I'm being honest, but like I liked it for a shutter movie, pretty fun. um Some dodgy CGI here and there, but like, if you're looking for just like a popcorn movie, I would definitely recommend whistle.
00:55:12
Speaker
Okay, cool. And my final one today, Andrew, is actually a book. It's a book by George Saunders, who's one of my favorite authors. um George Saunders writes a lot of like, um he's a ah very interesting blend of like magical realism and like um apocalyptic like reality and like science fiction-esque kind of things. He's just a bizarre writer.
00:55:42
Speaker
um But he's really good. There there was a a collection of short stories that he wrote called The 10th of December, which is probably his most famous stuff. ah But then there was also Lincoln and the Bardo, ah which won – did it win the Booker?
00:55:54
Speaker
I can't remember, but it one yeah won something huge. um I've met him before. He signed a book for me. I met him i met him actually at um at the Music Box in Chicago. he did a He did a talk there. He's a huge, huge writer.
00:56:06
Speaker
Anyway, his latest one is called Vigil. um It's not a very long one, but I'm i'm taking my time through it because i I can't read fast anymore in my old years. um And it's really good. I'm nearly done with it. ah Vigil is about um when you're about to die in this world that he has created, you are visited by other dead people who will come to comfort for you.
00:56:30
Speaker
And I don't understand the full like workings of the system because that's how George Saunders works. You you hardly can ever understand it all. But in this world, there is this old man named K.J. Boone. And K.J. Boone is like this this old guy who's dying now. And he has had a big hand in creating terrible things related to climate change. And so this this this being this spiritual being, the being, ghost of this woman who was who was killed is visiting him, trying to comfort him. But in the midst of trying to comfort him, he is visited by all these other people who he has done terrible things to. So it's a really interesting book and in classic George Saunders. It's weird and wacky. It's funny. And I can't wait to read the end of it because all of his stories always end with something just simple and profound. And so it's been a really good read so far. And I would recommend it if you're looking for something to read. Vigil by George Saunders.
00:57:35
Speaker
Kind of sounds like a consequential ah Christmas Carol type of. Yeah, a little bit. yeah It's a good way to think of it. Yeah. All right. My last one is on Hulu and Disney Plus. It is called Psycho Killer. This was in theaters back in January, I believe. And um I just but listen. So many things go in and out of theaters so quickly now that it's hard to go see all of them. um But I will say I'm glad I missed this one in theaters because it's not very good. a shame. um
00:58:08
Speaker
that's a show um This is about literally it is um It's about a detective trying to track down a psycho killer. And it's very, this, this movie, it's so lazy. The writing is so lazy.
00:58:26
Speaker
its she try They try to make up for it with like gore effects and like a fun sequence with like a sex cult and stuff like that. But like overall, I was just like, I had a couple moments where I was like, Whoa, cool. But then I was like, wait,
00:58:40
Speaker
but what does this mean to the story? And so I don't know this one, honestly, I'd say skip it. I feel bad for saying that, but like it doesn't do anything. if There's nothing new here. It's, it's, it's silence the lambs, but,
00:58:58
Speaker
Not. What a shame. I don't what else to say. it's It's just weak sauce. I don't know. It's it's not a good movie. um If I went back into it, I would tell myself not to watch it.
00:59:09
Speaker
But um that's all I have to say. Maybe maybe watch a clip of the clips of the cool stuff on YouTube and then... Oh, boy. Skip this one. Well, folks, that was another edition of What You've Been Watching, bitch. So Andrew brought us Silent Night, Deadly Night on Screambox, Whistle on AMC+, plus and Psycho Killer on Hulu.
00:59:33
Speaker
And Maddie brought us Backrooms, which you can still see in theaters, Vigil by George Saunders, the book, and The Burroughs on Netflix. So folks, go ahead and stay tuned. We'll be right back with our first film of the episode, They Them.
00:59:54
Speaker
They Them
01:00:01
Speaker
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm guessing that some of you, you're not happy. Maybe you don't fit in. People make fun of you. Well, I can't make you straight, but you give us this week and we might be able to help.
01:00:20
Speaker
Boys cabin over there, girls cabin over there. I use they, them pronouns, as in they can't believe they're at this camp.
01:00:29
Speaker
I have zero interest in not being gay. There's no judgments in this room. Sometimes Oisha was invisible.
01:00:40
Speaker
I would understand it a lot more if there was Bible thumping and queer bashing. Do you even believe in any of this?
01:00:49
Speaker
Come in, please.
01:00:53
Speaker
Do you think your parents are disappointed in you? Sometimes. So what do you do? You try to make yourself special. You become... they.
01:01:09
Speaker
Today, we're gonna be exploring traditional gender roles. Look how long they've been doing this. It's time to play. This could get a lot worse.
01:01:20
Speaker
where's my killer need to get out of here taste
01:01:36
Speaker
Just enjoy the sunshine and work on your tan. They slash them. He, she, they, them, call them what they want because that's what they want.
01:01:51
Speaker
And this is the movie, they, them. Maddie, tell us all about it. When queerness becomes the crime, who's really the monster? A group of LGBTQ plus teens arrives at Whistler Camp, a conversion therapy program run by the disarmingly charming Owen Whistler, promised a new sense of freedom by week's end. As the camp's methods grow increasingly psychologically sinister, the campers find solidarity in each other. But when a masked killer begins picking off victims, they must survive both the institution and the woods around it.
01:02:27
Speaker
They Slash Them is directed by John Logan, also written by The Same, produced by Blumhouse, and distributed by Peacock. The cast is Owen Whistler played by Kevin Bacon. Jordan played played by Theo Germain. Cora by Carrie Preston. Dr. Doris Strauss by Anna Kolumski. Oh, good old Anna Kolumski. Stu played by Austin Crute. Veronica by Monique Kim. Kim by Anna Lore. Zach by Cooper cooper Koch. or Yeah, it's Cooper Koch. Is that right?
01:02:58
Speaker
Okay, yeah. Alexandra by Quay Tan, Gabriel by Darwin Del Favro, and ah Zane played by Boone Platt. ah This film was not rated. It is 104 minutes long, ah released August 5th, 2022, straight to Peacock, filmed at Camp Rutledge and Hard Labor Creek State Park. It's exactly what you think. Rutledge, Georgia. We don't know the budget for the film. um and And that's it.
01:03:29
Speaker
So, ah Andrew, this is definitely a first time for me. I think it was for you, too. No, I actually watched this when it came out. Oh, did you? Oh, I didn't i didn't realize. Tell me more. I i was an early adopter of peacock i don't know why um but i this was like one of the first things that they came out with fair and so i i watched this um i will say up upon this watch i liked it better than the first watch i think the first watch for me i felt like it was a little bit pandering um but upon this upon this watch and upon years later and what we're living through um I found it a little bit more poignant, if I'm being honest. Awesome. um i i I really, really liked Kevin Bacon's performance. I actually think i actually think all of the quote-unquote counselors or the adults, yeah, all the staff, i I thought all of them were great. I think that they all do a good job of this of this performance. I think where the movie suffers a little bit is in some of the junior cast. I think that
01:04:33
Speaker
I think that just some of them come off a little bit corny or a little bit like ah just junior actors. I don't know. I don't know how else to like put it, but like... mean, to be fair, they are.
01:04:44
Speaker
Yeah. But like overall, I think the themes in here um maybe resonate more than they did in 2022. And so it's it's interesting to go back and watch this with my eyes that I've seen things that are happening nowadays. yeah And so I actually liked it more...
01:05:03
Speaker
now than i did back then i still think it has some flaws especially in some of the dialogue and some of the acting fair but overall i think it's a solid movie especially for one that goes direct to a streaming service i think that this was pretty fun um i think the kills are absolutely atrocious like they are they are bloody and gross and like And pretty fun. um and so like this one's kind of a mixed bag for me. i was telling Maddie before we were recorded that my my rating might change depending on the conversation that we have during this ah during this. And so like overall, I'm kind of like I'm kind of like six, seven about this. I like that. Yeah. Um, so I, I'm, I'm kind of in the weeds on this one a little bit and we'll talk about specific examples, but like, i like, I like this one.
01:05:58
Speaker
i think I have some issues, but let's talk about it. What did you think upon your first watch? Yeah, I'm, I'm not too far off a where you are, to be honest. I think we're, we're in very similar places on this. Um,
01:06:09
Speaker
You know, for for for the acting, I completely agree. I think that the the adults did really well. I think that the kids did mostly well, you know? And I i think, too, like, there you know, the writing's not easy, you know? And, like, I was i was thinking specifically about, like, their first group meeting. And um I forget all the names now, but, like, maybe it was Toby or somebody talks about, like,
01:06:34
Speaker
They're going to go see if if if I'm here for a week and if I if I stay for the week, then I get to go like see like something open on Broadway or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. And then Kevin Bacon's like, oh, well, I, you know, saw the original Merrily. We roll along or whatever. and they And he's like, bitch, Queen. And like, you know, some of that stuff's hard to play. know. I know.
01:06:53
Speaker
i know what I mean? Because like it is it's it's corny. Like it's that's like corny. cheesy, easy picking stuff that gay people say. do you know what I mean? And so like trying to play that I think is really hard. I don't think that that's easy. um So, you know, I think that they were doing their best with minimal good writing and some wackiness. um I think that there are some parts of the movie that don't work.
01:07:21
Speaker
I think that the musical interlude in the movie, for example, where it literally becomes a musical is not good. that's That should not have been there. I don't know who made that choice, but that was... you i think you case I think you can cut that entire scene and it doesn't affect the movie. One million percent. It added this very strange...
01:07:45
Speaker
super positive, like glee moment that just didn't need to be there at all. Like there, there could have been a moment of unity that had nothing to do with creating a musical piece.
01:07:59
Speaker
Musicals, just to inform people who did not study theater, The idea in a musical, right, the philosophy behind a musical, which is a weird thing. it's ah It's a very American art, the musical. It makes no sense because it's not an opera. It's like it's not a play. It's some weird thing in between. And the idea behind a musical is that when a song is sung, it is because the emotion is so strong that they could do nothing else but sing. And so like, i just don't, I just don't see that there. Like the musical theory doesn't really hit. And to have only one song in a musical is a bit bizarre. So I just, I don't, I don't know. I don't know anything about John Logan. Maybe he was a theater kid too. Maybe, you know, maybe this meant a lot to him.
01:08:46
Speaker
i don't mean to down it entirely, but it just, it it seriously did not work. um I think that the end of the movie is really interesting. i think that the end of the movie presents a question that i I think that gay people have been wrestling with for a long time. And that is, what do you do with your queer rage?
01:09:05
Speaker
What do you do with it? Do you use it to create more life? Or do you use it to destroy? And you know you can extrapolate that in so many ways. It could be destroyed through addiction, destroyed through violence, destroyed through...
01:09:19
Speaker
you know, blah, blah, blah, you know, fit fill in the blank. Or it could be creating life through creating community, you know, developing new friendships, getting into a relationship, you know, believing in love.
01:09:30
Speaker
So many things that you can do. And so that that final moment, and we can talk more about that, of course, I just think that's really, really interesting. um I don't think it's played all in the best way, I'll be honest. it was a little cringy there too. But like, it was interesting. I can't deny it. I kind of liked it. um and And, you know, I was saying earlier, it it triggered me too. It really did. You know, this reminded me of, um I've talked about this on the show before, but I'll talk about it again because I can.
01:09:58
Speaker
It's our show um and it's Pride Month. So there was a time in my life where ah that my my sister's mother-in-law um one day decided um to give my mother a pamphlet about a conversion camp for me. Right.
01:10:17
Speaker
And I will, there's two things I'll say here. Number one, I will never forgive her for doing that. I will never forgive her for doing that. That that person who I don't speak to anymore will never forgive her for that.
01:10:28
Speaker
And number two, I will never forget the look on my mother's face when she gave me that pamphlet. I'll never forget it. She looked embarrassed.
01:10:39
Speaker
She looked like she didn't know what to do And she looked like she didn't, know if she should believe it or not. hu And for someone who just lost their mother, I can tell you this, that person who did it,
01:10:56
Speaker
I am even further cemented in never forgiving you even after you die. I will never forgive that person for giving me that memory with my fucking mom, piece of fucking shit. So I can just tell you, if you've if you're a gay person and you never had to deal with this before, you're lucky.
01:11:15
Speaker
But if I had been younger, think thankfully I wasn't. If I had been younger, i might have ended up in a place like this. That's very possible in my life. Well, they prey on your worst fears. They prey on not fitting in ah your parents neglecting you, and being lonely. Mm-hmm.
01:11:34
Speaker
But my i but you know by the time that my dad died and she was you know she was a single mom then, and she had me to to still raise from 15 on, um you know thankfully my mom loved me and and knew better. But yeah, God, just the thought of it is is disturbing. So I was carrying that while I was watching this movie. Sure. And um that was a little weird for me.
01:11:59
Speaker
But um I think that it does a good job of, you know, yeah, it's a movie. You know, it's not all real. I get it. But of showing, you know, a view into what these places actually are.
01:12:11
Speaker
It's not some fucking summer camp where you're doing archery. This is a camp where they are actively trying to change you through diabolical means.
01:12:22
Speaker
Like making you shoot a dog. Exactly. So I mean, like, you know, this is this is something, you know, i i think that it deals with some really important shit. So blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, look, i it has its problems, but I liked it better than I thought I would. I can definitely say that for sure.
01:12:37
Speaker
Yeah, no, I totally agree. i think that there's manipulation in this throughout. I mean, when we, I know i just talked about the ah the shooting of the dog and like making someone shoot it. and it's set And when I think about going back, it's set up very early on because Gabriel, who we find out is working for the camp, So weird. Mentions to our main character that, oh, that you you can tell that dog is in pain, like that he walks weird and that he's in pain. It's like setting it up. So like, I didn't catch that. That's really interesting.
01:13:14
Speaker
Um, it, this is what I, this what I'll say about this movie. There are really clever things. I think that it just execution wise, I think that they maybe missed the mark a little bit. I don't, it's kind of hard to put it in context because like watching it this time around, I was like, Oh, that's kind of clever. Oh, that's kind of fun. i kind of forgot that Gabriel is part of the camp and like the quote unquote forbidden fruit, which is very weird because that's a very strange looking man. i will say that. Yeah, sure. But yeah,
01:13:42
Speaker
it's it's It's an interesting movie. And I i applaud you know the writer-director for kind of bringing this to the forefront because I think a lot of people are not willing to talk about these things anymore because they still do exist. I think that wasn't it just um Colorado, i think, that was trying to outlaw conversion camps and they shot it down. yeah And so like this is still happening. And you know when you see that that wall of pictures of like,
01:14:12
Speaker
quote-unquote, like, smiling children. terrible. It's terrible. And then you compare it to the photos that our main character finds with all of the bruises and tied up to trees and crying. And it's it's such it's such a juxtaposition that just...
01:14:28
Speaker
It's crazy. And there's there's one um quote in here that ah really, really fucked me up. And it was that woman, the ah the wife of Kevin Bacon. and And she is talking to our main character and she said, oh, it's terrible. Yeah.
01:14:45
Speaker
You're not man enough, ah but you're not woman enough. So you're nothing. And so you just try to make yourself special. And that's what I've been hearing my entire life is that being gay is just trying to make yourself feel special. And I'm just like, you think i want to be special? You think I want to like be hated my entire life?
01:15:09
Speaker
Like, fuck off.
Criticism of Pride Month and Film Discussions
01:15:10
Speaker
Like, I'm so sick of this. Why do you need a Pride month? You just want to be blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, I'm so sick of this. Shut up. Like, just go find, go find someone else. Go go find something else. Go get laid. Go do something with your life. Go fucking jack off again to fucking gay porn, you fucking psychopath losers. Yeah. You losers. Losers. um I think that Anna Klumsky plays a very interesting character in this because we find out that she is a former camper who is taking revenge upon. And you kind of like, it's funny because this movie doesn't, it starts off as a horror movie, of course. Like it there's the the first little act with the the ah the former, the person that's supposed to be the nurse who she kills at the beginning, which is actually pretty fun because I like that she puts on the break to light up the care, the, the killer in the rear view mirror. I think that's kind of, um, ah but you find out that like, Oh, these characters that were rooting for have never been in danger from the killer.
01:16:13
Speaker
They're only in danger from the other adults. Yeah. And I think that's really interesting. And you kind of um understand that like about because this movie, it takes its time. Like you don't you don't get killings until I think I clocked it at like 50 minutes after after the first one, of course. um But, you know, you don't get the killing of the gardener. And his name is insane. Balthazar. That is I don't understand. I don't understand that choice, but there we are.
01:16:41
Speaker
um You don't get his killing until almost an hour into the movie. And so the last like 45 minutes are kind of action packed when it, and by action packed, I mean sex and violence, if you know what I mean. Andrew, can I, I just, I'm looking at the very trivia that I fucking put on this worksheet. um I didn't realize John Logan is three time Oscar nominated screenwriter for Skyfall, Gladiator and the Aviator.
01:17:09
Speaker
Holy shit. I did not realize that. Making this his first feature directorial debut. Wow. um The film was shot under the working title Rejoice. It began filming in September of 2021. Womp womp. Several scenes were shot at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Georgia. Same location used for Friday the 13th Part 6, Jason Lives. And this, of course, is Kevin Bacon's second horror film involving a slasher killer terrorizing a camp. up go figure the first being duh friday the 13th in 1980 the film even winks at this a character jokes about expecting jason voorhees to come out of the woods yeah well did you notice um it took me a second but did you notice who so the the young lesbian who eventually has sex with the uh college student who is there to write a paper but she she comes she comes in there as like i'm bisexual and i want to be cured but you find out that she's actually there like researching a paper um did you notice who that girl the the blonde girl was no uh so she was in um the newest final destination movie that we watched she was the girl that gets yeah killed in the dumpster oh my god didn't even realize that oh that was a good destination too it was wild she um I think that it's funny that ah the the thing for the camp is respect, renew, and rejoice. But when but when Anna Klumski is talking to to ah Kevin Bacon's character... Can I say it, Andrew? Can I say it? Yeah, go ahead. Respect, renew, rejoice, revenge. Yeah.
01:18:47
Speaker
It's kind of corny, but I kind of liked it. So i don't it was it was totally corny, but I was also like, yeah, you know, that actually kind of works. It works. um I think that both of the adult counselors are played off really good. Like, I think that um the female counselor hitting on the one girl who is like very much like wrestling with her sexuality was a very intense scene yeah um with with the pie and everything. And then I think that the male, the male ah counselor who is like the kind of like a hard edge guy plays off.
01:19:20
Speaker
And then when you see them in bed together and they're both showing pictures of the other, like freaky it's, it's a weird, but then I started to think, Oh,
01:19:32
Speaker
is this something that actually happens? like I'm sure it is. Is this how we quote unquote procreate, like but also can still get off on our own desires? like it's One hundo.
01:19:46
Speaker
it It sent me down a little bit of a wormhole in my brain, if I'm being honest, with some of the people that I've known in my lifetime. Yeah, these fucking these fucking like like truly true psychopaths that are that are invested in this kind of thing. It's absolutely bizarre. Truly bizarre. I do have to call out um Alexandra and Gabriel.
01:20:07
Speaker
ah They are the weakest amongst our acting chops. Gabriel is a strange casting choice here. I don't understand. He's strange looking man. I'm sorry. yeah Very weird looking. Why is Gabriel Spanish?
01:20:22
Speaker
I don't know. Like they're, they're in, that any of though look, there's nothing, I just want to also point out the obvious. There's nothing wrong with, with casting a Spanish person or Spanish. No, but they're like, but they're like in like Appalachia. Like, yeah, it's, it's so out of left field. It just doesn't make any sense. I, I don't, I, I, I don't get it. So like,
01:20:45
Speaker
I mean, yeah, okay. But I think that that would have been played off a lot better if it would have just been sort of like a, ah you know, like in the same vein ah as Gabriel. And so what I mean by that would be like a femmy sort of like twinkie, you know, guy with a with a great body and, you know, nice hair and all the rest of it. There was a another character in the background that they could have used for that. That is that is that is also very true. But like they should have done that. but you and like And then that would have played into what's that character's name? What Zach would have been attracted to. Fine, great. like That would have worked. But Gabriel just, it just seemed bizarre to me. I'm sorry, but it did. I just i didn't understand why that person was there.
01:21:27
Speaker
And I don't know, like the the whole relationship of it just also seemed kind of weird, if I'm being real. I don't know. Well, it came out of left field. Yeah. um One thing I do want before we wrap it up here is that there's a really sad part at the end. And I don't know if you caught it or not.
01:21:43
Speaker
But tell me as Anna Klumski is kind of explaining herself and and, you know, kind of taking out ah Kevin Bacon's character ah um amongst the others in Korra and all the other ones, um she says, like, i I just want you burning in hell with me.
01:22:01
Speaker
And i said but so I said to myself, that's really sad, is that she still thinks she's wrong. She's still, like, they have embedded in her, even though she is taking out her revenge on this camp and and all of it, so she still she's still she still thinks she's wrong.
01:22:18
Speaker
yeah as as a person, not as her actions, but as a person. and that is That is immensely sad. That's immensely sad. It's really, really sad. heart My God. Okay, i think my i think my i think i've get I think I know my rating now.
01:22:35
Speaker
um I'll give you my rating. I'm going to give this a solid five. and um I mean, I've already said all of this, but some of the parts are corny, I'll grant, but it does a fair job of exposing just what camps like these are actually like. The writing needs some improving, some of the acting is silly, but all in all, this is one that triggered me in ways I didn't expect.
01:22:55
Speaker
The question of how our queer rage manifests is an important question raised at the end. Will we channel our rage for more life or will we use it for further destruction? Actually, I'm giving it a five and a half. I lied. Go ahead.
01:23:06
Speaker
Yeah, I'm also going to give a five. Sorry, you changed at the last second. I did. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to give it a i'm going to give it a five. i came up quite a bit on this, given our conversation. I think that I like the idea of this one quite a bit. And a lot of it really does work. I think some of the acting um from some of our junior actors takes me out of it a little bit and makes it a little bit corny. But overall, I still think it's a solid, solid movie.
01:23:35
Speaker
I agree with you. So, folks, that does it for they slash them. We'll be right back with our second film of the episode. We're all going to the World's of Fair.
01:23:48
Speaker
Hey, guys, Casey here. Welcome to my channel. Today I'm going to be taking the World's Fair challenge. So you want to join the Internet's scariest online horror game?
01:24:04
Speaker
We can't be held responsible for what you become. All you to do to get started is take the challenge. don't know what to expect.
01:24:17
Speaker
I want to go to the world's fair. I want to go to the world's fair. I want to go to the world's fair.
01:24:29
Speaker
This is for serious players only. I hope that you're ready to get scared.
01:24:38
Speaker
like watching myself on a TV all the way across the room. They're getting closer. think I'm turning into something terrible. I'm inside the video, you through the computer.
01:24:50
Speaker
It's gotten worse. I need to figure out what's going on. I can feel the forces of the fair pulling you in closer.
01:25:02
Speaker
the forces of the fair pulling you
01:25:09
Speaker
I see you there, even if you won't show your face.
01:25:19
Speaker
where foundation I soon, am just gonna disappear. And you won't have any idea what happened to me.
01:25:35
Speaker
You may have been to state fairs, but if you've never you've never been to this World's Fair. I'm not even sure we even went to the fair, I'll be completely honest. um Andrew, tell us about We're All Going to the World's Fair.
01:25:47
Speaker
She took the challenge. Now she's changing. Late on a cold night, teenage Casey sits alone in her attic bedroom and decides to take the World's Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game.
Exploration of Identity in 'We're All Going to the World's Fair'
01:26:00
Speaker
After the initial ritual, she begins documenting the changes that she may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available to the world for the world to see. As she loses herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out claiming to see something special in her uploads. This is directed by Jane Schoenbrunn and written by the same person. and Production and distribution were handled by Dweck Productions, Flies Collective, and Utopia. Casey is played by Anna Cobb, and JLB is played by Michael J. Rogers. This is not rated. It comes in at 86 minutes. It was released on April fifteen of 2022, filmed in ellenville New York.
01:26:46
Speaker
And the budget was about $100,000 with grossing about $101,000, which I don't even know where that came from because I never even heard of this movie. Maddie brought it to my attention. know And so we're we're talking about it now. Maddie, what did your what were your initial thoughts on we are all going to the World's Fair?
01:27:04
Speaker
Yeah, sure. So um I had seen I saw the TV glow ah ah whenever it came out. I saw it in the cinema. And, um you know, i I remember talking about it ah in during a a What You've Been Watching, bitch. And I remember saying basically like, you know, it's really interesting and I just need to watch it again. and I'm going to buy it and I'm going to watch it again. and just like I need to spend some time with it.
01:27:28
Speaker
I did buy it and i um I didn't watch it again. I'm not going to lie. I just kind of failed to. um And i don't know why. i actually did kind of like um I saw the TV glow, but it was really hard to like find your way into it.
01:27:49
Speaker
And it was takes a lot of interpretation. Yeah. And it was easier to do that with I saw the TV glow than it is with this film, which is also by Jane Schoenbren. And this is part of her trilogy. um i forget how she refers to it, but I think I have it in the trivia here. it is um ah her self induced hallucination trilogy. So this is the first entry in it. It's followed by i saw the TV glow, ah which came out in 2024.
01:28:16
Speaker
Um, and then, uh, it's, then there's one this year called teenage sex and death at camp miasma. What a title. Um, I think those are all by, by age 24.
01:28:27
Speaker
Um, so this one, um, I was, I was looking forward to it and I watched it. I watched it on criterion, uh, channel and, uh,
01:28:38
Speaker
Look, it's definitely a very interesting movie, and there is some some very interesting art that has gone into it. It's just, um you know, i so i have it down for my my final takeaway here, but it's like...
01:28:53
Speaker
It feels so personal, this movie, that it feels more like, you know, when you go through an art museum and you go to the modern art section and there's always like video art and it's like in its own little room with like a so like a, you know, a little block that you sit on kind of thing.
01:29:10
Speaker
That's what this feels like to me. and um And that's it. you know i think there are some really interesting things in here. you know You had a quote earlier that I think was really important.
01:29:21
Speaker
um And then you know another quote that that is in this is, you know I've always really loved horror movies. I thought it might be cool to try living in one. I thought that was really interesting. in the context of what this movie really is, right? And we know what it is because some simple Googling will tell you this is all about ah Jane Schoenbren's own um gender and sexual identity and her own awakening to to what she is and who she is. um And it was actually during the making of this film that she realized that she was transgender um and and came out as such and it started to change the way that she thought about art and filmmaking and everything else.
01:29:59
Speaker
um So I don't know. you know i don't really know what I walk away from this movie with, I'll be honest. um It's a bit of ah a head scratcher, but it is interesting. i don't know if I ever want to watch it again. I'll be kind of honest, but I don't know. Those are just some some beginning thoughts. Tell me what you thought.
01:30:16
Speaker
Yeah, i I literally went into this without even watching a preview for it. So like I literally didn't know what I was getting myself into. And so ah i I had fun trying to like figure the movie out, but I don't know that I was satisfied with the ending and like how it all wrapped up.
01:30:34
Speaker
If I'm being honest, because I think that the interesting part of this movie involves Casey and what she's going through. i think the uninteresting part that they kind of end on is JLB, because I think that he's kind of just like a lonely old man. And I don't really understand like what we're supposed to take away from his end of things because he's our end character. He's the one that wraps it up. He's the one that kind of like tells the end of the film. Yeah. And I kind of was like taken aback from that because I was like, fuck you. This is Casey's story. Like, I don't understand like why we're all of a sudden in JLB's world. And so like, i kind of found myself a little bit angry at this movie because I, often progressed
01:31:16
Speaker
i I wanted more about what Casey was going through. i wanted to understand what was going on with her dad because we never meet her. We never meet her dad, but we truly understand that she's terrified of him. um And I don't know. There was just something, there's something integrally missing in this movie that's filled with, him that's some, that's filled with random YouTube videos that I didn't appreciate. Like, yeah, I felt like,
01:31:41
Speaker
I felt like there's a good story in here and I liked, honestly, I really did like, and it kind of played into um one of my favorite books I've read ah recently where you don't know if this person is possessed or if they're putting on a show.
01:31:55
Speaker
And I like that idea of I like the idea of understanding that and how that plays on the internet and how that, how we are like shaping our, uh, our personality to what people are responding to on the internet. Because I think that's something very profound and something yeah that actually happens in the real world. I just don't think that this movie quite took it.
01:32:15
Speaker
to what I wanted. For instance, there's a moment in the movie where Casey goes out to like a garage area and she watches a video of a woman online kind of soothing. And I didn't know, I didn't know if that was supposed to be her ah deceased mom. Was that supposed to be a girlfriend? Was that supposed to just be someone random online that you're just watching like a ASMR video? i just don't think that like this movie fully understood the message it was trying to convey because at the end of the day, it's really about teenage suicide and teenage loneliness. Yeah, that's fair.
01:32:51
Speaker
And I, I, I, I struggle with this one because there are aspects of it that I really liked. I like what they're saying about the, um, the, uh, addiction to, of of affection, the addiction to the internet and the affection that the internet gives you. i like that. I think that's really interesting.
01:33:12
Speaker
However, I just don't think they took it over the finish line because of the way that they end the movie with this fucking weirdo telling us, oh yeah, we met in Manhattan and we went to get coffee. And then I was bizarre to me. That was bizarre.
01:33:24
Speaker
I was like, why are we doing this? Like, why can't we just see this from Casey's lens? I don't get why it had to end that way. I thought that was a very weird choice. It didn't make a lot of sense. very bizarre how they switch main characters. And I don't get that. Do you know what I thought was happening for a second?
01:33:40
Speaker
Tell me. I thought that maybe this was like some weird altered universe where JLB was Casey. Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I thought that that was where we were going to go. I thought that we were going to get a true transgender understanding of this movie. We don't go there, but we kind of do.
01:33:59
Speaker
I don't know. It's like a weird thing. um It was interesting to see Skype again. i remember that. do kind do do it do And I was like, oh, RIP Skype. like That's how we sound.
01:34:10
Speaker
It was so funny because that's how we conducted our very first interview on Fragge the 13th. Oh, it is. I didn't think about that. You know, I think one thing that the film does well is that it it does create a ah really deep sense of isolation. Yeah, totally. And that this um this sort of overwhelming need for connection in any way possible. And I think that ah queer people, ah that's nearly a universal experience for us in our early years. That we don't have anyone to connect to, that we're ah we find ourselves feeling like we're totally alone, um and we don't have a lot of means of meeting other people who are like us when we are young.
01:34:52
Speaker
um especially in yesteryear, but you know especially in times being up before like iPhones were so ubiquitous because you did have to do it on the internet in weird chat roomy kind of ways.
01:35:03
Speaker
um And so like i I think that the movie does a good job of that, creating that sense of isolation and sort of sticking there. It's not afraid to move away from it, um even when it gets like a little creepy and weird. And like you know i i I think it does a good job too of what you've already said, which is just sort of like this...
01:35:22
Speaker
ah this idea in in young people's minds that you have to be online all the time for everything. And it's another video for this and another video for that. And I mean, like think about today, like the the number of reels that will pass on your feed or whatever, where it's literally just like people filming their entire day.
01:35:44
Speaker
Like yeah it's a bizarre phenomenon to me that people think that this is like, that this is like the thing that people do now. um And, you know, you have it in this instance, you know, a young, a young person, I'll keep it non-binary, who's just looking for someone to talk to and to connect to and, know, lives a very lonely life in her bedroom all the way, probably upstairs, and with a dad with whom she's clearly not close um and who doesn't understand her. We know that from what she says. And um how dangerous those opportunities for connection can be.
01:36:21
Speaker
And the JLB character, i don't really get it. I'll be honest. All that know I know is that. I think you could have kept that character totally absent. Completely. And it just being a mysterious person online that she's like weird about. And it would have been and not even cut to his. It would have been better. and it would have been better.
01:36:38
Speaker
Yeah, I do know that apparently like this does match. It's it's supposed to match fairly closely what the experience of Jane Schoenbren was when she was in her in her awakening phase as a young person. And that she was she herself was, i I forget the article, but she she was groomed online as she described it. And so there there is, you know, back to me saying it's very personal, there is something there that she's trying to mine. i just think in this movie, once again,
01:37:10
Speaker
ah Unless you're giving us some more information here, it just we don't know how to read it. and yeah and And once again, the ending just it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. like Why are we at this guy's house? why i just i don't know. what why why Why did she go to meet him in Manhattan? I don't even understand that. just it it just It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It just doesn't.
01:37:31
Speaker
I will say um Casey's song, Love in Winter, kind of about, not going to lie. And what a dance, you know, and especially the moment where she just starts screaming out of nowhere. i i loved i It's those moments, though, that i I think it's truly just a cry for attention, right?
01:37:48
Speaker
Is that what we're supposed to do? I would agree. I guess. Oh gosh. I guess. Yeah. Who knows? was' interesting It was interesting though in the movie where we are just sent down Casey's YouTube hole, which I think is funny because like how many times has that happened where you just like let the next video play?
01:38:10
Speaker
You know what mean? Yeah, absolutely. think Sure. And I think that that's something that we need to understand about our culture now and about like how the algorithm takes you.
01:38:20
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, totally. i i don't know. there's There is good stuff in here. i actually think there is. well i mean just i think look there' There is some creepiness, too. Like, i mean, when he when he shows her the video of her, like, she's supposed to be sleeping, but she kind of wakes up at, like, 4.55 a.m., and she's got this weird-ass fucking face thing going on. Like...
01:38:39
Speaker
Yeah, that was a little creepy. Not gonna lie. And to know that the other kid pulls the tickets out of his arm, that was also bizarre. I don't know what to think about that. That was bizarre, but also like, yeah, it was also kind of creepy.
01:38:51
Speaker
And so I guess in the in in the string of the movie, and I'm asking for your opinion here, are we supposed to think that going to the World's Fair is real or not? Yeah.
01:39:05
Speaker
i I don't know. i mean, it it to me, I was just thinking is going to the World's Fair. It's just like a it's a it's a ah bo is it like a Slender Man situation? or Or is it a metaphor for just like becoming transgender? Like, is that what it really is? or Or is it a metaphor for suicide? is Is that what it really is? I think that I'm where I'm or was in the suicide camp because of like the you know, even the guy who like puts ah the tickets out of his arm. It's kind of a slash. You know what i mean? It's kind of interesting.
01:39:36
Speaker
Yeah. but And, you know, when he types to her at the end of the movie, like towards the end of the movie, he says, please don't do it. Just keep making videos. And I think that that's a metaphor. and And, you know, it goes on. This is where I think the movie fails. And I'm just going to harp on it again and again. Yeah. Please do. that hit in his He talks over the last part of the movie. And he kind of says like, oh, we talked a year later and she went into an outpatient facility and got help and da-da-da-da-da. And that led me to believe, oh, this wast this this was a suicide attempt and it was unsuccessful. And so she went and got help.
01:40:16
Speaker
That's how I interpreted it anyway. but then But then doesn't he say that he crossed through the planetarium and he went to the World's Fair? I think that someone said that. I can't remember if she said that or said that. It him. No, it was him. It was him at the end. When he's doing that final monologue.
01:40:34
Speaker
This is where it gets confused. was he saying what she said? was saying that she said. Yeah. You're right. You're right. You're right. I forgot about that. where it confusing, though. And that's why think that the –
01:40:46
Speaker
inclusion of JLB as a main character doesn't work. Because if's that's fair if we heard from her, oh, I went across the planetarium and I went to the World's Fair and then I was pulled back. That makes sense to come from her. And it would be clear. it would be very clear.
01:41:05
Speaker
yeah Okay. That's interesting. So, okay. So I think then... We both agree then it's a suicide attempt at the end of the day. I think so. All right. Okay. That makes sense. All right. Well, I mean, look, you know, it's, it's interesting. I, I, have you seen, that I saw the TV glow yet.
01:41:21
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I saw it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. What did you think of that one? We talked about it on the podcast, but like ah ultimately at the end of the day, like I, I liked it, but I kind of acknowledged that it wasn't my story to understand. That's right. i but Yeah, I remember us talking about that now. That's very true. And so like, I think I need to watch it again. um Because it was kind of a blind watch. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. And it's a very deep and, ah and you know, not not to put this out there again, because we talked about in this movie, a very deep and personal movie. yeah girl he yeah and And so like, i think that I have to look at it from that lens and not the lens of me looking for entertainment.
01:42:01
Speaker
That's fair. Well, Andrew, look, what did you rate were all going to the World's Fair? You know, I'm going to give this a 4.5. I still think it's got some creepy moments. I think that it's not fully realized, and maybe that's what led her to ah doing I Saw the TV Glow and hopefully this this new movie, Camp Mismia or whatever. um It's just, it's not quite there. i still enjoyed it.
01:42:24
Speaker
i Will I watch it again? Probably not. I feel the same way. I'm giving it four and a half myself. um and And all the things I already said, i think it's really interesting. i think that Jane Schoenbren has a lot to say. i do. And I want to know more of what they have to say.
01:42:40
Speaker
My challenge to Jane Schoenbren would be to, you've got to provide some clarity. You've got to provide some clarity. Clarity is kindness. And I think the messages that you're trying to get out there are really important and really good.
01:42:53
Speaker
But i I don't know. like I think it's it's just kind of hard to understand. And i I hate to be that person because, Andrew, you know I'm not that person when it comes to movies. but like It's really fair, though. The story has to be there.
01:43:08
Speaker
That's it. And I'm saying that because I think it's important. That's why I'm saying it. If you're if all we're doing is making movies for ourselves, right, then... ah That's going to be tough to change things. Do you know what i mean? And like, look, it's not on you to have to change everybody. i get it. I'm just saying, what if you did?
01:43:28
Speaker
What if you did with that immense talent that you have? That'd be kind of cool. I'm just saying.
Lighthearted Game on Film Characters
01:43:33
Speaker
Agreed. Well, that does it for our horror in the movies. We'll be right back to close out the show. Shantae, you stay. Shantae, you stay. Shantae, you stay.
01:43:46
Speaker
Shantae, you stay. Shantae, you stay. Well, folks, that was episode 164 of the 13th Horror Podcast. Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you're having a happy Pride Month and hope you have a great rest of your Pride Month. But before before we go, we're playing a game um that we like to call Hottie of the Episode. It's a real easy one. You've heard us play it before.
01:44:07
Speaker
We basically just choose who we think is the hottest. That's that's it. So, Andrew, for you, who is your hottie of the episode? cool yeah um this one comes from they slash them and i'm picking the bully of course i am you are of course um boone platt who plays zane uh male counselor of the camp on they slash them pretty hot not gonna lie and he yells at me so i'm probably gonna want to suck his dick woo
01:44:38
Speaker
What ah what ah what a shocking choice. ah Get it? um Andrew, mine is Zach, played by Cooper Koch. Not surprised. right He is pretty. And, like, to be fair, he's not really even my type. Like, he's but you you know my type is Twinks. um But, like, look du the dude has a good body. And, like, swimmers...
01:44:59
Speaker
I don't know, man. soon as He's like it's also gone on to have like a pretty good career at this point yeah because he he played like one of the Menendez brothers. hey he's He's been doing a lot of stuff. so you're just like Do you ever look at ah ah that a person like that and you're like, if I had that body, I won't tell you what.
01:45:18
Speaker
i would I would dangerous out there. idea very I would be a very slutty person. I'm sorry. God, I would be an absolute menace to society. I would be that. That would be me. I'm glad I'm not the only one that walks around and be like, if I had that body.
01:45:35
Speaker
100% are you fucking kidding me please Jesus um so look folks that is the end of 164 164 episodes done full length episodes a lot of them are two hours or more and besides the time that we were strangely on a network ad free and um look I challenge you to go out there my dear listener and find podcasts that are ad free That you can really love. Yeah. go Go try to find one. I'm going to guess that you can't. I'm going to be honest. like I was actually searching for ad-free podcasts the other day. Andrew, I couldn't find any. I couldn't find any.
01:46:16
Speaker
So like this is something special that we create for you. I'm going to definitely blow our horn on that. We've been doing it for a long time. We don't ask anything of our listeners. I truly mean it. Anyone can listen to this anytime, anywhere. don't you don't have to worry about fucking ads you have to worry about a paywall. We do have some people that help us and that's on our Patreon. And you can do that yourself if you want to. You can do it for $1 a month.
01:46:41
Speaker
And that $1 a month with all the other people that support us, it does this. It allows Andrew and I to break even. That's all. Let me tell you why we have to break even.
01:46:52
Speaker
Here's an example, because today i live in Ireland, right? I don't live in America, the land of plenty where every single movie is available all the time. i you have no, i I texted Andrew when he was asleep.
01:47:05
Speaker
You have no idea the fiasco I had to go to to fucking watch They Slash Them Today. I had to pay for this and pay for that and do this and do that. And at the end of the day, I still had to watch it on my fucking laptop. do you know what i mean? So like there are things that we pay for like movie rentals or like equipment, Zencaster, which is the platform that we record on um You name it. There's always this little bits and bobs that add up and scale out over time. at the end of the At the end of the year, it costs us, believe it or not, thousands of dollars every year to produce this podcast, this little independent podcast.
01:47:41
Speaker
So that's the end of my speech. If you want to join our Patreon and help us break even, you can do that for a dollar a month. Go to www.fragay13.com slash support.
01:47:53
Speaker
Or if you want to help us non-monetarily, which you should at this point, you've been listening for eight years, you should feel obligated to leave us a review. Come um It's really easy. You can go on Spotify and tap five stars. You don't even have to type anything in. It's literally yeah just tap.
01:48:12
Speaker
um or Or you can go on Apple Podcasts and um leave us a little review on there and leave us some... leave Listen, I think the only thing besides our friendship that keeps this podcast going is that every once in a while we hear from people. That's the truth.
01:48:30
Speaker
Like we hear, oh, we really liked what you said or like we challenge what you said. We welcome all of it, but it should come through a review and you should leave it. And unfortunately, we only accept five stars. So, yeah. So if you're doing anything other than that, you shouldn't do it. You know, and just on that note, Andrew, I will say we've gotten some really lovely notes recently from people yeah about what the show means to them. um Specifically, one of our friends in Chicago um who reached out and and said that they've they've been going through a a tough time with but the death of a parent and how important the show has been to them just listening to it in the car. We've heard from LGBT people over the years all around the world who have told us that they don't have anyone else to talk to, there's no one close to them, and that we've sort of been companions for them in the dark. And that means the world to us.
01:49:22
Speaker
So, you know, however, we're, however, we're touching you. um We hope to keep touching you for much longer. But you know what I mean? It's, it's a, it's a lovely thing. And we're, we continue to be very proud of the community that we've helped to build and and bring people together.
01:49:38
Speaker
Yeah. And like, honestly, like I, I love this little podcast. I know it will come to an end someday, but today's not that day. And so if you even care about it a little bit, please help us, please help us either monetarily or by reaching out to us. Amen. But,
01:49:56
Speaker
i I do want everyone to go out there and enjoy summer and enjoy the warm weather and enjoy each other and love each other as much as you can. Try not to hate each other is as hard as it is sometimes. But really what I want you to do is go ahead and slayed. Happy Pride. Bye, everybody.