From the ‘Media-Idol-as-Trojan-Horse’ file, The New York Times (Sept. 19), in a big ol’ article, tells us that Oprah (by way of subtitles) has become the biggest thing for women on Saudi TV since sliced dates. She ‘… openly addresses subjects considered taboo locally’ and ‘… speaks of self-empowerment and change.’ One taboo subject, tho’, remains: officials of that particular station don’t ‘… broadcast segments on homosexuality.’ One wonders whether these newly self-empowered women might take it upon themselves to find out what it is that they’re not being told.
From the ‘Low-Meets-High’ file, The New York Times (Oct. 1) reviews a new play, Wig Out, and though the Times regards stars as declasse, this drama would get four. The play might center around a drag ball but it has ‘… echoes of Homer, Milton, the Bible, Shakespeare, vintage Hollywood and homespun American melodrama’ not to mention pop and hip-hop. It has a Greek chorus masquerading as the Supremes, multiple soliloquies starting ‘My grandmother had a wig’ and the widest assortment of sexualities since Kinsey. This might be the next big thing on Broadway.
From the ‘Medical-Mystery-Lore’ file, The Chicago Tribune (Oct. 2) says that HIV has been traced back 100 years to butchered chimpanzees in Africa but that the AIDS virus did not catch hold in humans until the recent explosive growth of population in Africa. No one, to our knowledge, has pointed out that since chimps are unaffected by the virus, species can get over it.
From the ‘British-Invasion-14&1/2’ file, the Chicago Sun-Times (Sept. 28) prepares us for the HBO TV series ‘Little Britain USA.’ The stars, Matt Lucas & David Williams, spend much of the time in their comic skits in drag. The British have always been big on this but two of their characters are homophobic bodybuilders. Some of the sketches are ‘cringe-producing.’ We’ll see.
From the ‘Slapped-Upside-the-Head-by-Their-Own-Principles’ file, The New York Times (Sept. 20) writes of a Raleigh, N.C., family, the Keels, who, along with their church, have been giving the general Baptist fellowship coniption fits. Their church, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, is quite Baptist, quite liberal and quite well-endowed (in the churchly sense—that is, they have plenty of money), which is why they can perform gay civil union ceremonies. Which is why they can have a lesbian as an assisstant pastor. Which is why they don’t care that they have been tossed out of several Baptist associations. Which is why the congregation just handled it when husband Randy Keel came out and was not tossed out. Says the Rev. Jack McKinney, Pullen’s pastor, ‘The Baptists have a high regard for personal conscience in the pulpit and the pew.’ He goes on to say that his church’s position on gay membership and same-sex unions squares with the Baptist ethos of congregational autonomy. Could this be akin to Jesus’ belief that all people, bar none, are salvageable and his suspicion that all human institutions, bar none, are suspect?