The tension between uncovering hidden aspects of film history and respecting the lives of those contained within it form the undergirding conflict of Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman, a film of such multitudinous interests and storytelling pursuits that it replicates the ecstasy of newfound romance. The film’s crux, beyond the blossoming lesbian relationship at its core, is Dunye’s aligning of hidden historiographies with the hassle of dating—of searching for something (or someone) that, at the surface, cannot be immediately seen with the naked eye.
Dunye establishes the problem of incomplete histories as Cheryl (Dunye) and Tamara (Valarie Walker) debate the value of, as Tamara puts it, watching “mammy shit from the ’30s.” They do so from behind the counter of a Philadelphia video store, where their employ is less driven by cinephilia—though Cheryl clearly knows her shit—than economic necessity. Unlike Kevin Smith’s Clerks,...
Dunye establishes the problem of incomplete histories as Cheryl (Dunye) and Tamara (Valarie Walker) debate the value of, as Tamara puts it, watching “mammy shit from the ’30s.” They do so from behind the counter of a Philadelphia video store, where their employ is less driven by cinephilia—though Cheryl clearly knows her shit—than economic necessity. Unlike Kevin Smith’s Clerks,...
- 7/14/2023
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
At this point, it's probably not a spoiler to say that a key "Yellowjackets" character is alive and somewhat well. That character is Vanessa "Van" Palmer (Lauren Ambrose and Liv Hewton), and if we're being honest, she's kind of living the best life out of all the show's plane crash survivors. Why is that? Well, she has her own video and DVD rental business, While You Were Streaming, smack dab in the middle of an undisclosed Pennsylvanian town. If you are even the slightest bit familiar with the work we do here at Slash Film dot com, it shouldn't be a surprise that we consider this the best possible fate to have.
What also isn't surprising is that Van has very good taste in movies, and also knows a thing or two about Hollywood's bizarre queer history. That's because While You Were Streaming is filled with Easter eggs to mainstream queer cinema,...
What also isn't surprising is that Van has very good taste in movies, and also knows a thing or two about Hollywood's bizarre queer history. That's because While You Were Streaming is filled with Easter eggs to mainstream queer cinema,...
- 4/21/2023
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
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