Northern Exposure - Jan. 10th
Emily Rizzo
night; it had a remarkably high motss content.
Ron and Eric, the gay inn keepers, were major characters and were even shown
in bed together (ok, they were sleeping). To give a brief plot synopsis,
the Aurora Borealis is causing the residents to have each other's dreams
and one of the gay men finds himself obsessively dreaming about women's shoes
and learns that he is having Maurice's dreams. They make a snide comment to
Maurice about women's shoes and he realizes that they know his secret.
Later they are shown playing bridge with several other men from Cecily and
after one of them wins, Maurice accuses them of cheating, claiming that
their years of cohabitation have allowed them to perfect secret signals.
Later Maurice is talking with Ruth Anne and complains that the world is
being taken over by deviants and why can't people like Ron and Eric go back
into the closet where they belong and that there must be boundaries. Ruth
Anne chastizes him and says that this isn't about table manners it's about
sex and where sex is concerned it's a jungle. She ads that as long as no one
gets hurt it shouldn't matter what people do together. Maurice then asks
her if she discovered that an upstanding citizen had a fetish for women's
lingerie, or shoes perhaps, would she change her opinion of him; she
answered that of course she wouldn't. Maurice goes away looking relieved.
I found the episode quite gay positive for two reasons. First it showed the
two gay men as a couple doing everyday things like walking down the street
arm in arm and also being fully accepted by the other residents. Second,
the final scene between Maurice and Ruth Anne hinted that Maurice's bigotry
was rooted in his own fear of exposure about his own fetish.
It's too bad that they chose to show this episode on the same night
as "Tales of the City," but then they got a very positive message across to
people who might have been avoiding Maupin since they didn't want to see
"those kind of people...you know."
Emily
Sim Aberson
Emily Rizzo <riz...@FASECON.ECON.NYU.EDU> wrote:
>I found the episode quite gay positive for two reasons. First it showed the
>two gay men as a couple doing everyday things like walking down the street
>arm in arm and also being fully accepted by the other residents. Second,
>the final scene between Maurice and Ruth Anne hinted that Maurice's bigotry
>was rooted in his own fear of exposure about his own fetish.
Not only that, but they showed the couple in bed, not once, but twice,
with none of the nasty controversy which occurred when "Thirtysomething"
did the same thing.
My favorite line of the show, though, had to be Hollings' "I'm my
father? I'm my mother? I'm chipped beef on toast?"
Sim, who got to watch NE because WPBT is showing TOTC over six nights at
11pm, unedited.
--
Sim Aberson AOML/Hurricane Research Division Miami, FL
I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion.
If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man.
Henry David Thoreau
Melinda Shore
>Ruth
>Anne chastizes him and says that this isn't about table manners it's about
>sex and where sex is concerned it's a jungle.
I thought this was the most interesting discussion about
sexuality that I've seen on TV. It was absolutely
unapologetic, it didn't talk about root causes, and it
really didn't even talk about love. She basically just
said "here it is, get used to it."
--
Melinda Shore - Cornell Theory Center - sh...@tc.cornell.edu
Chuk Craig
> I found the episode quite gay positive for two reasons. First it showed the
> two gay men as a couple doing everyday things like walking down the street
> arm in arm and also being fully accepted by the other residents.
I spent three hours last night watching TV, first Northern Exposure and then
Tales of the City. Afterwards, I felt so *light*, so elated. I think it
was just this, the casual way that both dramas had men walking hand in hand,
simply lying in bed, comfortable with each other.
chuk
--
Charles E. Craig
University Computer Center Internet: ch...@nwu.edu
Northwestern University NeXTmail: ch...@giskard.acns.nwu.edu
Marc Talusan
: Emily Rizzo writes
: > I found the episode quite gay positive for two reasons. First it showed the
: > two gay men as a couple doing everyday things like walking down the street
: > arm in arm and also being fully accepted by the other residents.
: I spent three hours last night watching TV, first Northern Exposure and then
: Tales of the City. Afterwards, I felt so *light*, so elated. I think it
: was just this, the casual way that both dramas had men walking hand in hand,
: simply lying in bed, comfortable with each other.
I didn't realize Monday night was such a big event for gay representation
on television. I was unable to watch neither Northern Exposure or Tales
of the City. I can be rather oblivious that way. If there's anyonne in
the Boston area who has tapes of either show and would be willing to let
me borrow it, would he/she kindly e-mail me.
Marc Talusan
tal...@husc8.harvard.edu
Michael Thomas
> In article <rizzoe.223...@FASECON.ECON.NYU.EDU> riz...@FASECON.ECON.NYU.EDU (Emily Rizzo) writes:
> >Ruth
> >Anne chastizes him and says that this isn't about table manners it's about
> >sex and where sex is concerned it's a jungle.
> I thought this was the most interesting discussion about
> sexuality that I've seen on TV. It was absolutely
> unapologetic, it didn't talk about root causes, and it
> really didn't even talk about love. She basically just
> said "here it is, get used to it."
I instantly thought "Camille Paglia." But you probably
knew that...
--
Michael Thomas (mi...@gordian.com)
"I don't think Bambi Eyes will get you that flame thrower..."
-- Hobbes to Calvin
606 Sanchez, San Francisco Ca. 94114