#matt baum

[feralthembo]

"cis women cant be drag queens" wrong. Elvira.

[memingursa]

Harris’s producer having to fucking scroll past multiple videos of James Somerton to get to actual original queer creators is like, heavy handed on the symbolism yeah

(fyi there’s a playlist on the video for the creators mentioned and more)

[socialistexan]

Man, it sure is a good thing this exact rhetoric wasn't completely recycled 65 years later by the very people who were targeted by that first moral panic.

We definitely don't have widespread panic from social conservatives about how teens are being groomed into being queer by a vast conspiracy that has resulted in action from Congress. Nope. Never happened again.

(watch Matt Baume's video "Is Rebel Without a Cause a Gay Movie?" and then the rest of his videos because they're fantastic)

[askfordoodles]

Checked James Somerton's channel stats, cuz I was curious

40.000 people unsubbing in just a few days. Gee, I wonder what happened right around that time 🤣

[renthony]

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(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)

Hi Honey, I'm Homo! by Matt Baume is an incredible resource on the history of queer representation in American sitcoms. Each chapter is adapted from a video essay on Matt Baume's YouTube channel (which I highly recommend), but the book adds more sources, extra context, and is generally cleaned up a little bit.

Here's the official summary:

For decades, amidst the bright lights, studio-audience laughs, and absurdly large apartment sets, the real-life story of American LGBTQ+ liberation unfolded in plain sight in front of millions of viewers, most of whom were laughing too hard to mind. From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets on All in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soap to behind-the-scenes activism on the set of The Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash and Will & Grace’s mixed reception to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America. Accessible, entertaining, and informative, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! features commentary and interviews from celebrities, behind-the-scenes creators, and more.

It's obviously America-centric, but it's an amazing resource if you're interested in queer American media history. It's well-written and engaging. It's not a super dense, jargon-heavy text like some of the other queer media studies books I've got on my personal shelf. This isn't written just for academics, it's for the average queer person who wants to learn more about queer history.

Baume's work has been an incredible resource for my own studies, and a decent number of sources I've got on my bookshelf are ones I found via the notes and citations on his essays. I wouldn't say "I want to be him," because he's already himself and I like being me, but I greatly admire his work and want to do something similar with my own career. You should absolutely go check his stuff out if you haven't already!

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[mx-piggy]

in light of Norman Lear's passing, and the incidental popularity of hbomberguy's video about a now disgraced plagiarising queer video essayist, here's a great video by Matt Baume (a creator endorsed by hbomberguy) about the significance of Norman Lear for US sitcoms. all of Matt Baume's videos are incredibly interesting and insightful if you're interested in the history of queer media, representation, celebrities etc.. he really helped me learn about aspects of queer history when i was a younger queer person. i'm still a young queer person, but i'm a far more informed one.

[cinemaocd]

Everyone shut the fuck up, hour long video about a 50 year old movie just dropped...

[honeysucklepink]

So I finished watching the Hbomberguy's video on James Somerton (I'm going to watch Todd in the Shadows later). I'm someone who teaches plagiarism and misinformation, and I'll admit even I was fooled. I watched his videos, AND Illuminaughti's. Lindsay Ellis got in hot water too and disappeared, can't recall if that was plagiarism or not. I did eventually stop watching Somerton a while ago, not because of the plagiarism, but because he had this darkness and snideness that was unsettling to me, and he was putting more focus on horror which was never my bag. I much prefer Matt Baume (which Somerton apparently also stole from? I can't figure out what though, Baume's source material is just more...optimistic?). God I hope it doesn't turn out HE'S a plagiarizer, too.

Maybe I should just fucking quit YouTube?

[luminouslumity]

TALES OF THE CITY and the Fight to Save PBS

[clowniconography]

its so interesting to learn about how what's considered gay coding and subtext has evolved in hollywood movies over the decades. when i watch Rope (1948) now i'm like. "yeah this movie is pretty gay but its still only hinted at" meanwhile everyone working on the movie at the time was like "the gayness of this movie is Very Obvious and None Of Us Are Allowed To Talk About It Directly or else all of our careers are over." except jimmy stewart of course who knew nothing and just wanted to be in the fun murder movie

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

I want an Oz adaptation in the vein of Lovecraft Country, challenging the rabid racism of an author whose work has shaped the face of American pop culture. Because L. Frank Baum, HOO BOY.

Okay there's The Wiz, but my impression (admittedly secondhand; I really want to see that play, but correct me if I'm wrong) is that challenging the racism of the story's original creator isn't the focus the way it is in Lovecraft Country. I want Native Dorothy (going by her home state of Kansas, she'd presumably be from one of the Plains cultures that Baum wanted dead) and transfem Black Ozma as an official couple. I would write this, but I already have so many ideas and honestly I should probably leave it to someone who's Indigenous or Black themselves.

[yeahiwasintheshit]

Matt Baume does these great videos about queer tv history and this video is no exception. He traces the link between more accurate depictions of gay bars in the late 70s and the watered down queer-less drag bars of the late 80s to the Reagan administration and the rise of the conservative movement. Pretty good and fun video

[tyrantosaurus-wrecks]

Man, the news about James Somerton is so rage-inducing, but at least we still have Matt Baum. James is just Matt Baum from the evil mirror dimension.

[toughpaperround]

Check out Straight Jacket, a queer film from 2004 from Richard Day.

Matt Baume has a great video explaining how this film was made, and the way it was buried (alongside a great deal of other queer media - see the new Regent list in the YT notes)

[renthony]

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(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)

Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling was a 2019 Netflix special that revisited a classic 90s Nicktoon, introducing the show's main characters to modern life after spending 20 years in space. It picks up where the show left off, but you don't necessarily need to watch the entire television series first--I watched the show as a kid, but I didn't really remember it that well when I first watched Static Cling.

Anyway, the plot centers around Rocko, the main character, trying to convince his favorite cartoon creator from the 90s to revive the original show. He discovers that during the 20 years he was in space, the show's creator has come out as a trans woman named Rachel, and she has a rocky relationship with the family who first inspired her to create the show. The narrative is all about adapting to change, so a huge focus of the story is on Rachel's father coming to accept his daughter and reconnect with her.

Here's the trailer:

And here's a very good video about it by Matt Baume, one of my favorite queer media analysts:

I was so braced for this to miss the mark, but I loved it so much. Rachel is a character who existed in the original show--they didn't invent her just to be a one-time character in a Very Special Episode.

I also love the meta-humor about nostalgia-based reboots. I love it whenever a movie or television show makes meta-commentary on the industry. I eat that shit right up.

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