Articles in Arts
Celebration of Change Art Show and Silver Anniversary Performance
The big 25th Anniversary Celebration of Change will be at the Wilda Marston Theater in Loussac Library, on June 13 at 7 p.m., and you can get a taste of Celebration this weekend at CoC’s first Art Show!
Everyone is invited to the free First Friday reception, 7-9 p.m. on June 5 at the Kodiak Bar and Grill, 225 E 5th Ave. The show features a variety of art work by female Alaskans and continues through June 29.
Don’t miss the Celebration of Change Silver Anniversary performance. Celebrate over 20 years of community and women loving women. This show features familiar and fresh faces and includes music, dance, comedy and spoken word. The Radical Woman Award winner will be announced during the show. It will be a great night.
Tickets are $15 and available at the GLCCA and Metro. Last year they had standing room only, so get your tickets early.
Celebration of Change is the annual fundraiser for Radical Arts for Women (RAW), a Lesbian and Feminist philanthropic organization that funds Alaskan women art projects. RAW also holds an annual Short Story contest.
Outrage hits Anchorage for Pride Week
The controversial movie Outrage will premiere in Alaska during Pride Week, showing at The Bear Tooth on Monday, June 15 at 5:30 & 7:45 p.m. The Bear Tooth’s other Pride Week film will be Poltergay, shown on June 18.
Outrage: Do Ask, Do Tell is “a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians with appalling gay rights voting records who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. Outrage boldly reveals the hidden lives of some of our nation’s most powerful policymakers.”
Poltergay is “Poltergeist meets Saturday Night Fever with a gay spin. This French horror spoof, of a young couple who unknowingly buy a mansion haunted by disco dancing homosexuals, is set to a monstrous ’70s musical score.”
Watch the Outrage trailer:
MCCA’s Pastor Van Manen Goes On The Record
– from MCC Anchorage
Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage Pastor Norman Van Manen took to the airwaves this week both on radio and television conveying a strong position in favor of GLBTQ rights.
Pastor Van Manen spent two hours with Conservative Radio Show host Eddie Burke, a self proclaimed homophobe, fielding questions from callers and his host about the Scriptures, homosexuality and equality.
The radio show will be made available for listening on the MCC Anchorage website and the KTVA television interview will be aired during the first week of June.
Pastor Van Manen is no stranger to discrimination even within his own family. “When I came out as a homosexual, my family gathered together and declared family court and made a decision to lynch me. I hid in a ditch and escaped with my life.”
Pastor Van Manen has also experienced a form of discrimination here in Anchorage when he discovered he was prohibited from publically disclosing the name of the church in which MCC Anchorage previously gathered to conduct Sunday service. Said Pastor Van Manen, “The difference between where the church was, and where we are now (St. Mary’s Episcopal Church), is that we are truly here with the blessing of the church.”
Speaking to the Scriptures and Christ, Pastor Van Manen said, “The message of the Gospel, the message of Jesus Christ is to love God, love yourself, love your neighbor and to love your enemies.”
MCC Anchorage meets at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, on the corner of Lake Otis and Tudor, for a Sunday service at 2 p.m. in the A-Frame Chapel, and for Step By Step, a Biblical Studies program, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Sen. Begich, Outrage, Jake’s Take & Carrie Prejean
Gay AK: Notes from LGBT Alaska
Juneau Concert
“The Emma’s Revolution concert was a success,” writes Juneau Pride Chorus member Juanita Reese. “It was a privilege to open for the group and sing a song with them. Big turn out. They are wonderful people … funny, inspiring and good music.”
Sen. Begich to co-sponsor the Matthew Shepard Act
Thank you for calling Senators Begich and Murkowski in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act. Sen. Begich received many supportive calls and became a co-sponsor of the Act. “He did get the message,” wrote Diane DiSanto from Senator Begich’s office. “More Alaskans called to support it, and most of the negatives were from out of state.”
Outrage at the Bear Tooth
The movie Outrage opened last week in the Lower 48, and the Alaska Premiere will be at The Bear Tooth on Monday June 15 during Anchorage Pride Week. Outrage is “an indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation.” Watch the trailer.
Sarah Palin supports Carrie Prejean
Governor Palin released a statement in support of Miss California Carrie Prejean, who does not support same-sex marriage and has become a spokesperson for the anti-gay lobby. Palin’s statement begins: “The liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion is despicable.” Read the full statement.
Jake’s Take: Out of the Wild (& Gay)
Each week, Jake Nodar, the one gay “volunteer” on Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment shares his first hand take with AfterElton about the latest episode, and what it’s like being openly gay in a group full of straight people on a survival nature expedition. Read Jake’s Take.
Share your story
Are you an LGBT person who believes that you have been discriminated against by an employer, landlord, or business? Have you ever been told to stay closeted on the job? Are you a straight ally or family member who has felt the sting of public harassment or discrimination because of your friends or relatives, or because you were perceived as being “too masculine” or “too feminine”? There is no better time than at the public hearing on June 9 to share these stories with the people in a position to make a difference. If you can participate, please e-mail Tiffany McClain.
News Roundup on the Non-Discrimination Ordinance
An ordinance to add sexual orientation to the Anchorage non-discrimination code was introduced at Tuesday’s Assembly meeting. The public hearing is set for June 9 at the Assembly Chambers in Loussac Library. Contact Equality Works to share your experiences of discrimination at the hearing, and donate to this important effort.
Local residents and news sources are spreading the word about the ordinance. Take a moment to read these stories and leave supportive comments:
- Assemblymember Patrick Flynn blogged his reasons for supporting the measure and took a poll on the issue (still open in the right hand column.)
- The Anchorage Daily News article focused on opposition by Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, and was picked up by many newspapers and web sites.
- Mel Green wrote on the introduction of the ordinance and on the reactions to the ADN piece. The pieces are posted on her personal blog Henkimaa and here on Bent Alaska, and the second piece was posted on Progressive Alaska.
- Equality Works asks us to help end legal discrimination in Anchorage by writing to our Assembly members, sharing our experiences of discrimination at the June 9 hearing, and explaining to our friends and relatives that discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is currently legal in Alaska.
- KTVA Channel 11 interviewed Assemblymember Patrick Flynn, acting-mayor Matt Claman, Jerry Provo of ABT, and Mel Green, an ‘advocate against discrimination’ (and a Bent contributor.)
- KTUU Channel 2 interviewed gay rights supporter Diana Wolfe, opponent Jim Minnery of the Alaska Family Council, and Assembly member Patrick Flynn.
- The Anchorage Press article “Hello Culture War” spoke with Jeffrey Mittman of the ACLU of Alaska on the efforts to reach out to religious organizations and the problems with the ‘special rights’ argument.
- The conservative Alaska Standard posted “Anchorage residents should be free to discriminate” by Dan Fagan, and audio clips with Connor, a gay 16 year old who argues for the right to marry, and Bruce, a landlord.
- The Immoral Minority commented on the KTUU poll that asked if the Anchorage Assembly should pass an ordinance banning discrimination against homosexuals. (Results: Yes 52%, No 48%)
- Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis remembers the harassment experienced by straight allies who fought for a similar ordinance passed by the Assembly in 1992 but overturned by a newly elected Assembly in ’93. She promises to stand by us again and hopes “that we’ve grown as a city since then.”
KTVA and KTUU cover Anchorage Equal Protection Measure
An ordinance to add sexual orientation to the Anchorage non-discrimination code was introduced at Tuesday’s Assembly meeting, and the public hearing is set for June 9.
KTVA and KTUU covered the story for television. KTVA included a clip with Mel Green, occasional guest writer on Bent Alaska:
KTUU ran an online poll with their story, asking “Should the Anchorage Assembly pass an ordinance banning discrimination against homosexuals?” When the poll closed at 10 p.m., support for the ordinance was ahead, with 52% of participants voting Yes and 48% voting No.
Gay Man on The Alaska Experiment
The first episode of “Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment” airs tonight on the Discovery Channel and one of the participants is Jake Nodar, an openly gay man.
AfterElton interviewed Jake:
Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment isn’t your typical reality show. And thirty-year-old Jake Nodar isn’t your typical reality participant, especially not when it comes to those usually found on The Discovery Channel. Nodar is gay and, as hard as it is to believe, in nearly twenty-five years of operation, the network has never featured an out gay man in its programming.
That changes Tuesday night when Nodar, along with eight other participants, are dropped in the middle of the Alaskan bush and told to find their way out with minimal supplies and virtually no help. But don’t mistake this for a colder version of Survivor. There are no reward or immunity challenges, no scheming alliances and no million dollar prize.Instead, Nodar and the eight others face only brutal weather and mile after mile of trudging through the Alaskan wilderness as they work to navigate their way back to civilization.
The series was filmed in September 2008. After a three-day crash course in basic survival skills, including how to shoot a gun, skin an animal and start a fire without matches, the volunteers were flown to interior Alaska, described by Discovery as “one of the most inhospitable terrains on earth.”
“Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment” airs new episodes on Tuesdays April 14, 21 & 28 on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m. Alaska time.
MILK at the Oscars
“Milk” won two Oscars on Sunday: Best Actor for Sean Penn, and Best Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black!
Check out Black’s acceptance speech. He thanked the people who made the film, told how Harvey gave him hope as a gay teenager, and passed that hope to gay teens today. He mentioned marriage and equal rights in that context.
Was that too political, or was it appropriate for a film about a gay rights leader?
Withrow Wins RAW Story Contest
The winners of the RAW Short Story Contest 2009 are (… drumroll … )
1st Place ($500, publication and an invite to read at Celebration) – Frayed Yellow Rope by Wendy Withrow
2nd Place ($300) – She Remembers on a Cold Summer Day by Brianna Dym
3rd Place (tie, $50 each) – Tomorrow by Alix Layton and Gestures by Marilyn Conner
Honorable Mentions –
The Crinoline Revolution or Searching for Regina’s Vagina by Terrilyn F. Watts
Moving Mountains by S.P. Horton
The Thing That Killed Her by Karis Koett
Pathways of Desire by Jean Anderson
Holding Pattern by EJ Essic
Thunderstorm by Annette Baker
Congratulations to everyone who submitted a story!
Celebration of Change, Radical Arts for Women’s annual performing arts event and fundraiser, is June 13, 2009 in the Wilda Marston Theater at Loussac Library in Anchorage. Visit RAW for more information and to get involved.
The Naked Ptarmigan, the queer Alaska journal that published several of last year’s contest stories, is now accepting email submissions year-round.
“Milk” in Anchorage: A tale of two theaters
The movie Milk is showing at The Bear Tooth, Friday–Sunday at 7:50 p.m. and Tuesday–Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Only six showings — don’t miss it!
Milk is based on the life of Harvey Milk, an openly gay man who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
Milk shows Harvey (played by Sean Penn) uniting the gay community under his charismatic leadership, adding ‘sexual orientation’ to the city’s non-discrimination policy, and defeating Prop 6, Anita Bryant’s crusade against gay and lesbian teachers.
He also faced the constant threat of assassination.
The issues are timely after the narrow passing of Prop 8, California’s ban on gay marriage, and relevant in Anchorage where we still do not have ‘sexual orientation’ in the non-discrimination policy of our city or state.
Milk received 8 Academy Award Nominations including best picture, best director (Gus Van Sant), best actor (Sean Penn) and best supporting actor (Josh Brolin).
The biggest crowds are expected for the Friday and Saturday shows at The Bear Tooth.
An unsuccessful opening
Milk opened in Anchorage at the Century Theater on Dec 12. A few readers saw it and sent comments, posted here along with my review. But Milk was removed from the schedule after only two weeks. It was the lowest-grossing film in the theater that month, according to a Century 16 employee.
“I was stunned and disappointed to say the least,” wrote Matt in an email to Bent Alaska. “I’m no political activist, but the news of the film’s Anchorage demise didn’t make me think too highly of the community.”
Why did Milk flop at the Century in December?
- The national LGBT community is boycotting the Century/Cinemark Theaters because the company is Mormon-owned and the CEO donated almost $10,000 to pass Prop 8. The LDS Church urged members to donate to Prop 8, preached their support from the pulpit, and may have violated their tax-exempt status as a religious organization by engaging so directly in a ballot issue. Protests have occurred outside Mormon temples, and many LGBT people refuse to support business owners who gave money to take away our civil rights.
- Alaska’s LGBT community already boycotts Mormon-owned businesses like the Century because the Utah-based Church was a main backer of Alaska’s Measure 2, banning gay marriage here in 1998.
- Milk opened at the Century in the middle of the Anchorage International Film Festival, where other gay-themed films were shown the same week.
- We knew that Milk would have a second run at The Bear Tooth, a GLBT-supportive theater.
These factors combined to make the Century opening almost a non-event. It’s no wonder that ticket sales were dismal.
The real question is why the Milk producers chose to open the film at the Century, despite the boycott. If it had opened at a Regal Theater, like Brokeback Mountain did at the Dimond, the results would have been different.
A strong second run
In contrast, The Bear Tooth is a favorite of the LGBT community, as much for the good food and progressive atmosphere as for the showing of LGBT films.
Go see Milk this weekend at The Bear Tooth. Learn how Harvey lead successful campaigns for gay rights, and prove that a gay-themed movie can be successful in Anchorage.
