15/06/2024
The world is a dangerous place these days, with the scientists who maintain the doomsday clock putting the time at just a minute or so to midnight. To give you some context, back in the early nineties after the collapse of communism and the apparent success of liberal democracies, it was put back to nineteen minutes from midnight. Ecological collapse, and economic turmoil is not helped by irresponsible politicians talking up the possibility of nuclear holocaust. Now, LGBTQIA+ people have always been a mainstay of the peace movement and there is a close correlation between our movement and those against militarisation across the globe. Good books to reach for include "Democratic Defence" and "We Don't Want to March Straight" by Peter Tatchell and that classic piece of alternative theatre, "Poppies" by Noel Grieg. With all the stupidity of straight heterosexual machismo and its threat to the stability of our fragile world, the LGBT+ arts portal "into" delves into queer cinema history and revisits the slightly barmy and unintentionally hilarious 1988 B-movie Miracle Mile. The convoluted plot involves a straight couple finding out that the barking leaders of the world have launched nuclear armageddon and hatch a plot to flee to Antarctica. But after missing the plane, they need to find a pilot fast. Cue a gay muscle queen and his young boyfriend who agree to fly them all to safety. Sadly, in a surprisingly dark ending, it does not end well, and they all die with everyone else. Henry Giardina at "into" concludes "Essentially, it’s a wild ride and not the best pick for anyone who lays awake at night worrying about a Chernobyl-level event befalling the US. But do I recommend it anyway? Of course. There are muscle gays in it! What more do you want! Basically there’s a very important, if hidden, message at the end of Miracle Mile: when the world ends, we’re taking our cute, spandex-clad boyfriends with us. Period!"
