War is Not the Answer

Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight

Emerging from the distant darkness, a glowing young man walks toward the foreground wearing a white shirt and tan pants. He is carrying some sort of stick or staff aloft in the air. Waiting in the foreground is a shirtless young man with his arms outstretched in a peculiar angle.

What is happening here? The image evokes such a strong sense of sweet hungry anticipation.

It turns out the story of this particular image was not hard to uncover. It comes from a film made in 1949 by Gregory J. Markopoulos, a 21 year old gay man. A little bit about the filmmaker before we get to Christmas USA...

Rarely seen and nearly forgotten, Markopoulos' films were once compared to the works of Joyce, Proust, and Einstein. --Kristin M. Jones, ArtForum

Markopolous was born in Toledo Ohio and raised by immigrant Greek parents. He started making movies when he was 12 years old with a borrowed 8mm silent movie camera. His work has been described as "dreamlike, dialogue-free mini dramas, filled with images of myth and symbol, and highlighted by conspicuously attractive young men" and "...shows excessive scenes of homosexuality and nudity [including] closeups, in color and often protracted, of such things as a male nipple, a painted and coiffured male head, a buttock, and two-shots of a facially inert girl and boy." 

How shocking, indeed. [n.b. sarcasm] 

The 1950s and 1960s (and 70s, 80s, 90s, and...) were a horrifically oppressive time for anyone who experienced same sex love and attraction. To that point, observe the quote in To Free the Cinema written by Andrew Sarris:

Markopolous ... is a really nasty, unpleasant person, who really plays hardball, really gets angry, vicious about things, because of this homosexual thing. 

Markopolous responded to his critics by calling them "soulless morons" and asked that his films be removed from American distribution. Markopolous was a gay filmmaker attempting to depict gay people and their lives on screen at a time when being deep within the closet was de rigueur. It couldn't have been very easy for him.

The average man is destroying beauty. The average man no longer looks into another man's eyes. Everyone is afraid . . . sometimes I think the only way to save the United States is by going somewhere else--just as the ancient Greek philosophers fled to Asia Minor and Italy. --Gregory Markopolous

Once hailed as "the American avant-garde-cinema's supreme erotic poet," Markopolous (March 12, 1928-November 20, 1992) nearly vanished from the American consciousness by his own volition. After prohibiting all his films from distribution in 1967, Markopoulos and his lover, filmmaker Robert Beavers, left the U.S for Greece. The couple also refused interviews and demanded a chapter on  Markopolous be removed from P. Adams Sitney's book Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde.

It wasn't until after Markopolous died in 1992 that Beavers allowed his partner's work to be shown in the United States.

Christmas U.S.A is not a primarily erotic film. It contains no nudity (unless shirtless men is considered nudity), no lingering looks at nipples (okay, maybe a couple nip slips here and there), and no depictions of sex (okay, maybe a little suggestive hunger). Instead it offers a look at the painful repression people with same sex desire experienced in the late 1940s and early 50s. There is an equal amount of shimmering excitement of desire. 

As the movie starts, we watch as our main character moves through a dream sequence of a carnival, alone and hidden in plain sight among the rides, freak shows, and passing crowds. In another scene, we see our main character, a clean cut young man, shaving in the bathroom mirror. In another series of dream like images, we see a reflection of himself emerge from the forest like a woodland fairy dressed in a flowing kimono. Two worlds collide when our clean cut boy communicates with his inner woodland fairy on the phone. Desire and difference  hidden in plain sight.

We move on and meet our character's family. A rather worn out looking mother, busy performing the domestic rituals expected of a woman in this era. A prim looking sister, reading a comic book suggesting the traditional roles expected of women. A father in his chair, barely able to contain his fear (or contempt) for his youthful shirtless son.

Our protagonist strips, sits in the tub, and closes his eyes. There is a hint of sensuality and sexuality in the air. The door knob rattles and we are reminded of the fear of being discovered, being exposed, being found out to be homosexual. 

Our young protagonist embarks on a journey carrying a candle aloft in the air across town, over train tracks, and under a bridge. He finally encounters a shirtless young man standing motionless with his hands outstretched. The young boy bows before the statue and we are left with the sense that some sort of connection happened. 

Hidden and exposed. Safe and vulnerable. Take the time to watch this 13 minute film with all its subtle details and moments. As far as I know, this is the first positive depiction of gay people in the movies.

The original film was silent. Music, composed by Larry Marotta, was added by someone at a later date. 

Christmas, U.S.A. (1949) from Sbignew Rustaveli on Vimeo.
directed by Gregory Markopoulos

Read more about Gregory Markopoulos here, here, here, here, here, and here.

For more images of vintage men and their relationships (some gay, some straight) visit: Vintage Men: Innocence Lost | The Photography of William Gedney; It's Only a Paper Moon;Vintage Gay America: Crawford Barton; These Men Are Not Gay | This Is Not A Farmer | Disfarmer; Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight, Come Make Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Bush, Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer, Two men, Two Poses; Photos are Not Always What They Seem, Vintage Sailors: An Awkward Realization, Three Men on a Horse, Welkom Bar: Vintage Same Sex Marriage, Pretty in Pink: Two Vintage Chinese Men, Memorial Day Surprise: Vintage Sailor Love, Memorial Day: Vintage Dancing Sailors, The Curious Case of Two Men Embracing, They'll Never Know How Close We Were, Vintage Love: Roger Miller Pegram,Manly Affections: Robert Gant, Homo Bride and Groom Restored to Dignity, The Men in the Trees, The Girl in the Outhouse, Tommy and Buzz: All My Love,Men in Photo Booths, and Invisible: Philadelphia Gay Wedding c. 1957. You can also follow me on Tumblr.

On Spending White Privilege

White people often get very agitated upon encountering a discussion about white privilege. It's invisible and unrecognized--and can create a good deal of discomfort in those who do recognize it (or who are forced to recognize it). Too much of our shared dialogue about privilege suggests it's a bad thing--something that white people should feel guilty about. Something that should be avoided at all costs.

...and that's a serious problem. We can't avoid white privilege. It isn't privilege that we've earned. It's senseless to feel guilty about something we have no control over.

However, white privilege isn't something we can ignore. 

White privilege is something that has been given to us by a civilization that has systematically favored white people over all others for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. White people can silently reap the benefits of this unearned privilege or make a choice to spend that privilege wisely.

A friend on twitter passed this clip along in which a women shows the easy and elegant way one person choosing to spend their privilege wisely can change the world.

A white person spending their privilege can help everyone be treated with equality, dignity, and respect. Nobody loses. Everybody wins.

Try it. You might even like it. Be a big spender. 

Come Makes Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Busch

I'm totally loving this photograph of two men on a park bench. While their identities are lost to history, the sign on the ground points us back to 1904. It seems the Anheuser Busch company commissioned a song, Under the Anheuser Bush, to advertise their beer.

One can't help but wonder what these two young men were doing embracing under the bush. Friends, most likely, who enjoyed a few beers and posed for a picture in a time when men had significantly more latitude in expressing intimacy within their friendships.

Come, come, come and make eyes with me
Under the Anheuser bush
Come, come dring some Budweis with me
Under the Anheuser bush.

Here the old German band
Just let me hold your hand - ja-a!
Do, do come and have a stein or two
Under the Anheuser bush.

For more images of vintage men and their relationships (some gay, some straight) visit: Vintage Men: Innocence Lost | The Photography of William Gedney; It's Only a Paper Moon;Vintage Gay America: Crawford Barton; These Men Are Not Gay | This Is Not A Farmer | Disfarmer; Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight, Come Make Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Bush, Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer, Two men, Two Poses; Photos are Not Always What They Seem, Vintage Sailors: An Awkward Realization, Three Men on a Horse, Welkom Bar: Vintage Same Sex Marriage, Pretty in Pink: Two Vintage Chinese Men, Memorial Day Surprise: Vintage Sailor Love, Memorial Day: Vintage Dancing Sailors, The Curious Case of Two Men Embracing, They'll Never Know How Close We Were, Vintage Love: Roger Miller Pegram,Manly Affections: Robert Gant, Homo Bride and Groom Restored to Dignity, The Men in the Trees, The Girl in the Outhouse, Tommy and Buzz: All My Love,Men in Photo Booths, and Invisible: Philadelphia Gay Wedding c. 1957. You can also follow me on Tumblr.

Mondays with Alan: The Universe

Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer

Hugh Mangum

Duke University Libraries have a wonderful collection of digitized photos and empherea. Among there collections is a trove of photos taken by Hugh Leonard Magnum (1877-1922). Referred to as an "itinerant photographer," Mangum traveled through the cities and countryside of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Through his camera lens, he captured lives, lifestyles, and relationships from the early 20th century. Without these images, many of these lives would be totally obscured by history. 

There are some short YouTube clips about Magnum here and here. You can find some biographical information about him here.

After the page break I've included some of the most striking examples of his work that depict friendship between men. I'll upload a larger cross section of his work to my Tumblr page and put the links here.

For more images of vintage men and their relationships (some gay, some straight) visit: Two Men and Their Dog; Adam and Steve in the Garden of Eden: On Intimacy Between Men; A Man and His Dog; The Beasts of West Point; Vintage Men: Innocence Lost | The Photography of William Gedney; It's Only a Paper Moon;Vintage Gay America: Crawford Barton; These Men Are Not Gay | This Is Not A Farmer | Disfarmer; Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight, Come Make Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Bush, Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer, Two men, Two Poses; Photos are Not Always What They Seem,Vintage Sailors: An Awkward Realization, Three Men on a Horse, Welkom Bar: Vintage Same Sex Marriage, Pretty in Pink: Two Vintage Chinese Men, Memorial Day Surprise: Vintage Sailor Love, Memorial Day: Vintage Dancing Sailors, The Curious Case of Two Men Embracing, They'll Never Know How Close We Were, Vintage Love: Roger Miller Pegram,Manly Affections: Robert Gant, Homo Bride and Groom Restored to Dignity, The Men in the Trees, The Girl in the Outhouse, Tommy and Buzz: All My Love,Men in Photo Booths, and Invisible: Philadelphia Gay Wedding c. 1957. You can also follow me on Tumblr.

Two Men, Two Poses

Sadly this moment these two men shared is lost to history. The images themselves tell a story. Linger a bit and let them talk to you.

For more images of vintage men and their relationships (some gay, some straight) visit: Two Men and Their Dog;Adam and Steve in the Garden of Eden: On Intimacy Between Men; A Man and His Dog; The Beasts of West Point; Vintage Men: Innocence Lost | The Photography of William Gedney; It's Only a Paper Moon;Vintage Gay America: Crawford Barton; These Men Are Not Gay | This Is Not A Farmer | Disfarmer; Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight, Come Make Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Bush, Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer, Two men, Two Poses; Photos are Not Always What They Seem,Vintage Sailors: An Awkward Realization, Three Men on a Horse, Welkom Bar: Vintage Same Sex Marriage, Pretty in Pink: Two Vintage Chinese Men, Memorial Day Surprise: Vintage Sailor Love, Memorial Day: Vintage Dancing Sailors, The Curious Case of Two Men Embracing, They'll Never Know How Close We Were, Vintage Love: Roger Miller Pegram,Manly Affections: Robert Gant, Homo Bride and Groom Restored to Dignity, The Men in the Trees, The Girl in the Outhouse, Tommy and Buzz: All My Love,Men in Photo Booths, and Invisible: Philadelphia Gay Wedding c. 1957. You can also follow me on Tumblr.

Mondays with Alan: Becoming Nothing

For more musings on nothing, click here.