[Tim D]

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/mardi-...0211-84mm.html

And discuss.

[weathervain]

Elizabeth Farrelly is an insular namedropping mole-nuff said

[CeeJay]

Yeah I already commented on this in another thread...

[gnosis]

It's written by someone on the outside looking in. I can see why she might see it as overly commercialised and gentrified but she's only looking at it very very shallowly.

And yeah the line about sending it somewhere where it wouldn't be welcome is pretty offensive.

Poor Mardi Gras, it can't win. Every year I hear old people say there's too much flaunting of sexuality in people's faces and now people say it's too G rated and boring. Which one is it?

[dreadcircus]

WTF would that newspaper know anyhow. They only ever mention lgbt people when it's a slow news day. I kinda thought the same thing earlier this year but since going through the guide and booking the shows I'm seeing I think MG is shaping up to be a blast full of many queer performers and str8 people to boot... Thats what it's all about!

We want equality then we need to practice what we preach

Thanks ceejay for actually pointing this out to me in that earlier thread.
Bring on MG weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[weathervain]

Originally Posted by gnosis

Every year I hear old people say there's too much flaunting of sexuality in people's faces and now people say it's too G rated and boring. Which one is it?

Same Same Media Player

YouTube

[CeeJay]

SMH has had some good Mardi Gras Festival coverage as well though, including a big feature on Alan Cumming, a profile of Justin Bond (neither of whom could be described as straight or comfortable), and not forgetting the local talent - Trevor Ashley & Courtney Act who will now have All Saint's Virgina Gay (could it get any gayer?) standing in for Courtney's legs after her unfortunate skiing incident.

Their Parramatta season has been replaced though, by Phil Scott and Vincent Hooper's The Twink & the Showgirl (you can also see them at the Festival Bar at the Supper Club this Sunday after Fair Day)



Doesn't look very straight to me

[dreadcircus]

Originally Posted by gnosis

Poor Mardi Gras, it can't win. Every year I hear old people say there's too much flaunting of sexuality in people's faces and now people say it's too G rated and boring. Which one is it?

The conservative religious nuts say it's over the top and we think its gone tame.. I for one believe we need to take more risks again to rekindle our plight. Sex has always been labeled bad but used to excess at every opportunity by media. I for one want my MG to be dangerous, expect to see my tits quite a few times over MG as per usual

[CeeJay]

Perhaps it's just me, but I actually kinda like that there's a veneer of respectability, and you need to scratch the surface to find the seedy stuff.

(actually, I think some of my friends would say that's a not entirely inaccurate description of me...)

I don't think it needs to be an either/or thing.

[Christian Taylor]

i don't think this is about mardi gras being "clean" or "dirty", i just think this has more to do with it being "meaningful".

the quotes that stood out for me (and that i very much agree with):

"Sydney, the world's runner-up of gay meccas"

"New Mardi Gras, describes itself as 'one of the world's top 10 costume parades'. Costumery is fun, and Mardi Gras is making money. But the radical chic that once fitted it to Oxford Street like a hand in, well, a glove has gone. Now both parade and precinct seem somewhat past their best, not so much down at heel as too well-heeled; middle-aged, middle-brow, middle class. And it is impossible not to feel just a little nostalgic for the days when Mardi Gras meant something."

"This year, Mardi Gras has a 'Nations United' theme, its logo echoing the UN's without so much as a rude fingerful of spoof."

"But if Mardi Gras becomes any more tolerant and inclusive - any more G-rated - we may have to send it west just for an atmosphere in which it is still possible to give offence."

I think it's an awesome editorial piece. Well done Elizabeth. There are a lot of people - both insiders and outsiders - who can all see these things quite plainly.

[CeeJay]

I don't disagree with some of her observations. For example, I agree the theme is pretty naff (and why they thought they could get away with calling it United Nations as they originally announced after Sleaze is beyond me). And of course it's good to be critical (as long as the criticism is sound and merited).

I just find some of her arguments, and her selective look at the festival, a bit hard to take.

Also, having digs at the ages of Joan Rivers and Roberta Flack (who I kind of agree has only a very tenuous link with Mardi Gras) is bit off. Since when did it have to be a youth festival? Perhaps she could have mentioned the youth stuff that *is* part of the festival? Or that one of the "complex, subversive and funny " people she seems to admire is coming here for the Mardi Gras festival alongside the straight septuagenarians.

And again, the idea that we were only interesting when we were repressed is offensive. While we're at it, does it matter whether or not we're 'inherently interesting' to 'non-members'? Yes, Mardi Gras is about visibility, but hopefully it's about more than merely entertaining the straight masses.

Sorry, but the editorial is a bit of a curate's egg, and definitely not "awesome".

[gnosis]

Originally Posted by dreadcircus

The conservative religious nuts say it's over the top and we think its gone tame.. I for one believe we need to take more risks again to rekindle our plight. Sex has always been labeled bad but used to excess at every opportunity by media. I for one want my MG to be dangerous, expect to see my tits quite a few times over MG as per usual

Actually the more I think about it, the more I agree with the article. Mardi Gras needs to be very confronting. It needs to offend the delicate sensibilities and push the boundaries.

The parade now seems to pull in a lot of the straight crowds now who think of it as a big pissup and gawking experience. Happy to party with us on that one day but are in no way supportive the other 364 days of the year.

My straight brother, who's not homophobic at all, refuses to go because of all the western suburbs bogan crowds who are just there for the pissup.

Not to mention the only times I've ever encountered homophobia personally have been going to or leaving Mardi Gras by the same type of people. It needs to be more dangerous and in these people's faces.

[jackie87]

I agree with her, it has even gone bland to straight eyes WARNING! WARNING!

[CeeJay]

Gnosis, when you say "Mardi Gras", I take it you mean the parade? I think that's part of the problem with the article - what is it talking about? If it's the parade she's talking about, then why bring up the stuff about the festival?

What exactly is 'confronting'? Does that mean it just becomes more of a freakshow for the str8 crowds? What does being confronting/dangerous achieve? Would it make people more or less homophobic? (those are genuine questions - I don't know the answer)

There are parts of the festival that do push boundaries (read Jade's review of Betcha Thought I was Dead, for example). But not everything needs to be like that. Some things can be serious, though-provoking, celebratory, or just plain camp.

The majority of the crowd at the parade is not glbtq. Is it just a free performance for their benefit, that the partygoers are subsidising via ticket sales?

Would we be better off ditching the parade completely, and sticking to Fair Day, the festival and party?

[gnosis]

Yeah, I meant the parade. And you're right. That's what she's looking at, it's shallow because the parade is the face of Mardi Gras and unfortunately a lot of people aren't going to see the other (arguably better) parts that make up Mardi Gras.

In terms of 'confronting'. I think the 'freakshow' is what some in the crowd come to see, and they're going to pick and choose what they like anyway. If it makes people think and reassess what they think, then it's that sort of confrontational. But whether you can accomplish that in a parade is another thing entirely. Assimilation is boring.

[Zakalwe]

What does "challenging", "confronting", "edgy" (all those terms) mean? Well of course these things mean different things to different people.

As an example, an event or parade entry by the MCC, to me would not be confronting or challenging at all, probably quite boring and PG, but to some Christians (and other faiths no doubt) it is very confronting, just their existence is a challenge.

In the parade how would you, as another example, ask PFLAG to be less PG? How can they be more edgy? I can tell you now I dont want to see my parents in leather gear!

Now a play such as "Betcha Thought I Was Dead" that Jade rather enjoyed, I probably wouldnt like it at all, it all sounded a bit puerile to me. Personally, I'd love to see a presentation on Quantum Mechanics or String Theory, now that would be challenging!

We're such a diverse bunch, we all have things we like and dont like, sometimes they cross over, sometimes they dont. We have the opportunity to experience various events that would most likely never be produced otherwise. We can stretch our boundaries if we like, or not. There's a lot of variety. And really I dont think it's worth getting "het" up about.

[chilligarlic]

Well said Zakalwe.

And for those who've been in and around MG and it's orbit of festival activities and parties for many years, "edgy" has become the norm, boundaries have been pushed past, glam has become standard. How can we jaded ones find anything confronting?

But think of those who are seeing it for the first time - those from other countries where their love dare not speak it's name, from Rural Oz where a ruby slipper could get you killed, the young ones venturing out for the first time to see if they fit...and finding that the challenges laid down by us to the wider community ring so true in all that they desire that they cannot hide the joy from their faces.

It's lonely and boring at the top, and at the end. We have grown accustomed to it all.

But watch it all from the newbie's perspective - it'll all be new, confronting, challenging - and completely affirming all over again!