Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Warframe

    Biggest ‘Warframe’ Announcements From PAX East 2025

    05/13/2025
    The First Descendant Season 3: Breakthrough keyart

    ‘The First Descendant’ Season 3 Looks Like A Gamechanger

    05/11/2025
    Mafia: The Old Country promotional still

    Everything We Know About ‘Mafia: The Old Country’

    05/08/2025
    Sunderfolk Phone Players

    10 ‘Sunderfolk’ Tips To Help You And Your Party Thrive

    05/02/2025
    Bob in Thunderbolts But Why Tho

    ‘Thunderbolts*’ Visualizes Depression As Only A Superhero Movie Can

    05/02/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Blood of Zeus
  • MCU
But Why Tho?
Home » BWT Recommends » Four Reminders That Queer Love Is Nothing New

Four Reminders That Queer Love Is Nothing New

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt07/21/20234 Mins Read
Queer Love Outfest LA 2023 - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Queer Love Outfest LA 2023 - But Why Tho

Queer love is nothing new. The world over it has always existed, shaping the world around it and the world to come. These four films document real histories, imagine histories that could have been, and fill in the blanks for histories that never got to be. The films herein are as informative about real histories as they are moving in their depictions of the world as it could have been were queerness and queer love more accepted in their time. Through documentary, experimental histrionics, and short film, these four films that screened at Outfest LA 2023 remind us, inform us, and inspire us.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes

Hidden Master — But Why Tho

Hidden Master is a documentary by director Sam Shahid about the forgotten, nearly lost, but essential history of queer, American, cosmopolitan culture in the 30s and 40s, especially as it revolved around master photographer George Platt Lynes. It’s a beautiful reminder that queer love is not only nothing new but something that was a central part of 1930s American artistic culture domestically and abroad. Some of the greatest artists of the period were contemporaries and friends of Platt Lynes and queerness was essential to the way they experienced and transcribed the world through their art.

The film’s a little too long and repetitive for my liking at certain times, but the documentary does an impeccable job showcasing the breadth and depth of the photographer’s life, work, and impact. It also paints an illustrious picture of his life through people who knew and loved him, through folks who have long heard stories about him, and by way of experts in the field. The fact that George Platt Lynes is not a household name in the history of photography is a monumental shame and I sincerely hope this documentary can help ensure his legacy continues to strengthen and his work becomes more proliferated again.

Playland

Playland — But Why Tho

Georden West writes and directs one of Outfest LA 2023’s most creative odes to queer love. In this case, it’s more about the love of a queer space, the Playland Café, Boston’s oldest gay bar. Playland is a veritable fantasia of overlapping vignettes imagining a night in the storied bar. It’s nearly entirely a visual affair with minimal dialogue and a small amount of background radio chatter to narrate the place in time. In all, it’s an evident psalm for an important place in the queer history of Boston that is no longer but clearly shaped the lives of so many of its patrons and employees.

Studio One Forever

Studio One Forever — But Why Tho

Directed by Marc Saltarelli, Studio One Forever is part retrospective of the iconic and essential gay club, part story of the fight to preserve the site today. Studio One was a West Hollywood club essential to the safety, community, and lives of the gay community in the 70s and 80s, defining culture and tracking late-century queer history from liberation protests, through the AIDS crisis, and to today. Studio One’s story is told through the voices of those who lived and loved in that space who remain to tell its tale, each story more surprising, touching, or heartbreaking than the next. No matter which aspect of the club’s history is being told, it’s always being told with reverence and a reminder that so much of the queer love that bloomed there still lives on today.

Your Love

Your Love — But Why Tho

Your Love is a sweet, brief short film by Sundeep Morrison about a granddaughter who discovers her grandmother’s past love through an old letter in her grandmother’s room. It’s simple and straightforward, but instantly effective at demonstrating the universality of queer love across space and time. The granddaughter is moved by the story and thrilled by the sweet ending, just the way so many queer folks are hopeful their grandparents might feel about their queer love. It’s nice to see a story about how queer love is normal and acceptable at any age and at any point in time.


The enduring history of queer love is is on full display in these four films, and thank goodness for it. They each screened as part of Outfest LA 2023.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleSDCC 2023: Chris Bacon, Composer of “Wednesday”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘LINK CLICK,’ Season 2 Episode 3 — “Two Funerals”
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

Netflix Animated Series

5 Animated Series On Netflix You Don’t Want To Miss

05/06/2025
10 Best Video Game Adaptations

10 Greatest Video Game Adaptions So Far

05/05/2025
Asajj Ventress in Tales of the Underworld

Every Star Wars Story To Know Before ‘Tales of the Underworld’

05/04/2025
Michael B Jordan in various movies he has starred in

10 Of The Best Michael B. Jordan Films So Far

05/03/2025
Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up

Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up: What to Watch

05/01/2025
What to Watch After Sinners

You’ve Watched ‘Sinners’ Now Here’s What’s Next

04/23/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Cho Bo-ah and Lee Jae-wook in Dear Hongrang
8.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Dear Hongrang’ Weaves A Tangled Web

By Sarah Musnicky05/16/2025Updated:05/16/2025

With its foundation set in mystery and intrigue, it’s no surprise that Dear Hongrang (Tangeum) is a complicated viewing experience.

Murderbot Season 1 keyart from Apple TV Plus
9.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Murderbot’ Continues Apple TV+’s Sci-Fi Winning Streak

By Kate Sánchez05/12/2025Updated:05/13/2025

Humor, action, and the weirdness of science fiction keep Apple TV+’s Murderbot hitting every single episode.

Bet (2025)
6.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Bet’ Is a Bold and Risky Live-Action Adaption

By LaNeysha Campbell05/15/2025Updated:05/15/2025

‘Bet’ (2025) brings the high-stakes world of ‘Kakegurui’ to life (again), an American live-action adaptation of Homura Kawamoto’s manga series.

Marie Bach Hansen in Secrets We Keep
6.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘Secrets We Keep’ Will Give You Whiplash

By Sarah Musnicky05/15/2025

Secrets We Keep is a decent binge-watch. However, it needed to take a beat to let the suspense grow and be savored properly.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here