The Queer Theater Experience!
The experience of watching a queer film in San Francisco, being surrounded by your community is like no other. Let me paint the scene…
Everyone has found a place to sit and is talking idly with friends. The lights start to dim, and the chatter begins to die down. The director might take the stage to say a few words before the film, in which everyone cheers and listens closely to what they have to say. And soon, the film begins to play.
My favorite experience of watching a film at Frameline (so far) is Heightened Scrutiny. The energy for this documentary was so high that you could feel it in the room. Everyone already knew the Supreme Court decision for the trial that this film revolved around. They decided to rule against the protection of trans youth, allowing states to make hormone blockers and hormones illegal—ignoring science and trans voices. Everyone seeing this film was still processing this attack on our community. We were all incredibly excited to watch Chase Strangio, the trans ACLU attorney in the documentary, do his best to fight for trans rights.
I am using my viewing of Heightened Scrutiny to continue painting this canvas for you, as this film has had the most extreme audience support thus far. While many of the audience’s responses have been found throughout the majority of the films I have seen thus far, they were simply more pronounced for this film. Let us continue…
When someone says something profound: Clap! Clap! Clap!
When someone vile (ex. Matt Walsh) says, as they often do, something vile: Ssssssssssssssss! *Sounds like a snake hissing*
There are moments when the audience may shout! For example, there is a scene from Matt Walsh’s (I hate writing his name) “What is a Woman?” in which he says something along the lines of, “Maybe I’m the idiot?” and the audience, collectively, screams out, “You are!!!” I truly hope the director cherishes this reaction.
Some of my favorite moments watching “Heightened Scrutiny” is in the beginning; we all clap when Chase Strangio appears on screen, and immediately silence ourselves when he begins to speak. It was as though we were being conducted. In actuality, none of us wanted to miss a second of what Strangio had to say.
Another moment is when Strangio’s one-eyed black cat is shown, and the audience all goes “Awwwwwwwwwww” and then laughs at our collective reaction.
Q-Fest in Eau Claire has some of this experience, but it is not the same. I wish it was, and it is the closest you can get to the queer viewing experience San Francisco’s Frameline gives in Wisconsin (most likely).
The freedom I feel in San Francisco is not even close to how I feel in Eau Claire. I don’t feel like I have to mask my neurodivergency or queerness, at all, and because of that I am not afraid to speak. I don’t have to watch myself or think twice before saying or doing something. It is incredibly freeing and contributes to an incredible film viewing experience where the audience feels like one and still respects all the aspects that make us individually unique.
