Monday, August 08, 2005

QAF Series Finale

"Queer as Folk" ended its run on Showtime last night. Gay.com has a quick roundup of what happened, and Jason launches into his thoughts about how many in the gay community feel we should "play straight" to gain acceptance -- among other things.

Now, please know... I understand that, at times, the LGBT community needs to sometimes send the "We're just like you" message to the rest of the world.---It can be incredibly useful, appropriate, and powerful.

However, for many years now, I've become more and more a fan of the "We are NOT like you" message.---Many times, I just... I don't want others to try to "empathize." I am tired of trying to get others to "understand."

When did "understanding" become a prerequisite for respecting (or god forbid, loving) another human being?!?!

The fact is we ARE different,... and I'm sorry... but in many cases, we're even better.---I'm almost finished with wanting to be "tolerated."---I'm ready for us to be ADMIRED.

I, too, tire of the message mostly trotted out by the politicians looking to score some gay votes or "human-rights" groups looking to score more contributions. We are different. We don't necessarily fit in. But we are special. Isn't that what the diversity police always telling us about why we should be so accepting of other groups?

And as for the graphic sex "QAF" brought to cable TV ... what do we gain from having a neutered fuss-boy like Will Truman on the boob tube every Thursday night for the past eight years? Hello! Gay people do not watch "Will & Grace" because we associate ourselves with either Will or Jack. We watch because we love Karen! Sex is part of our lives, certainly more of a part that "The Sopranos" bloodlust.

Now the series finale itself, in my opinion, was rushed. Too many loose ends existed that could not be tied up in one show. For Emmett, one of the more colorful characters, we are left with the final image of him just "hooking up." I did like the surprise of again bringing back Blake for Ted, as perhaps his true love.

I did not like the writers following through on the lesbians migrating to Canada. I felt a more powerful message would have been for them to pack and prepare to leave -- only to change their minds and stay and fight. In fact, much of last night's message was one of defeat, until Michael's speech and the final scene. I would have preferred a more "upbeat" ending, with Brian reopening the club, the lesbians staying, the anti-gay proposition defeated and Emmett or someone saying, "We've come a long way, baby."

To me, that would have been a much better message to close out what has been a groundbreaking cultural experience. Still, season five was a vast improvement over the previous two years. I only wished "QAF" had gone out with the bang it came in with, not a whimper.

UPDATE 1: Cola Boy provides his take, which leaves me to believe that maybe I misunderstood the ending. Was the closing sequence a dream or reality? Maybe we aren't suppose to know.

UPDATE 2: Scotty shares a touching story of the impact "QAF" had on his life. And I never added a link in the blogroll for Scotty. I am still confused by all of the Scotts. I'm correcting that now.


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