Queer Looks

by Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, John Greyson

Queer Looks is a collection of writing by video artists, filmmakers, and critics which explores the recent explosion of lesbian and gay independent media culture. A compelling compilation of artists' statements and critical theory, producer interviews and image-text works, this anthology demonstrates the vitality of queer artists under attack and fighting back. Each maker and writer deploys a surprising array of techniques and tactics, negotiating the difficult terrain between street pragmatism and theoretical inquiry, finding voices rich in chutzpah and subtlety. From guerilla Super-8 in Manila to AIDS video activism in New York, Queer Looks zooms in on this very queer place in media culture, revealing a wealth of strategies, a plurality of aesthetics, and an artillary of resistances.

Genres: LGBT, Film, Queer, Nonfiction

430 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 1993

Reviews

[Charlie Stetson · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

An extremely in depth collection of essays, with some amazing gems inside! Overly dense a lot of the time and not all of the pieces work coherently with the others but it was great to hear so many through lines on truly independent queer media and culture. I appreciated how diverse this collection felt; a great range of creative writing, film analysis, anthropological exposes, from a very worldly group of authors. Most of the films in here are impossible to find but the handful I was able to watch were really inspiring and I highly recommend everyone try to find any you can while reading this, it really made the chapters more meaningful. I wish there were more modern books like this!!!

[Kjerstin]

This book is huge and wonderfully varied in the styles of articles it includes. My biggest problem has been getting my hands on the films they discuss in here, a problem that makes me determined to find a way to make small cinema more accessible to whoevs wants to be exposed to it. so I'm not letting myself read about Isaac Julien's next movie until I get a copy from the man himself if need be. And only after I watch it, send it to all my friends and discuss it, will I read what this book has to say. so its taking me awhile to get through.

[Midna127 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quantity over quality will kill a collection, no matter the topic.

[Cassady Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top tip: don’t search up these films in a public place. Had to flee a coffee shop because an old couple thought I was watching porn. Not entirely sure I wasn’t…