Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
For a long time, Scotland really didn't "do" gay. Being gay was considered dangerous and taboo, and it actually stayed illegal there until the 1980s. It’s pretty wild to think about how a country that seemed to take such pride in its prejudices managed to flip the script and end up with some of the best gay rights in Europe. Back then, homosexuality was just something that families, churches, doctors, and society in general chose to totally ignore.
Dr. Jeff Meek, who wrote Queer Voices in Post-War Scotland, explains that there was basically a total ban on even talking about same-sex desire. While gay men had been targeted by strict laws since the late 19th century, same-sex contact between women was never actually made illegal. Gay men existed, obviously, but they didn't fit that "tough guy" image of Scottish masculinity, so they were forced into the shadows—meeting in public toilets or secret parties. If you got caught, the fallout was brutal: you could face two years in prison or get locked up in a psych ward. Things started to shift in 1969 when a brave group called the Scottish Minorities Group (SMG) decided that since they couldn't change who they were, they’d change Scotland instead. They started organizing discos and meetups, and while it started small, the community eventually grew. Then the HIV/AIDS crisis hit; Scotland got a massive wake-up call in 1985 when 60% of intravenous drug users at an Edinburgh hospital tested positive. Since the year 2000, attitudes have done a total 180. Today, surveys show over two-thirds of Scots support gay marriage, and now it’s actually homophobia that’s considered taboo.
It's honestly a remarkable transformation to see Scotland rated as the top country in Europe for LGBT legal equality in just one generation. This documentary does a great job showing just how deep the silence was back in the 50s and 60s. It really highlights how that silence only ended because gay people organized themselves. The SMG wasn't just about parties; it was about building a community consciousness, which eventually created the political pressure needed to stop treating people like criminals. It’s a fascinating perspective, though I did notice it’s pretty narrow—there’s almost nothing about bisexual or trans identities, and representation for Black or minority ethnic groups is basically non-existent. I personally learned a ton from this. I think we often just assume that Western or "white" countries were always gay-friendly, which definitely wasn't the case. I knew a bit about how the movement progressed in the US, but getting the lowdown on the Scottish struggle was a real eye-opener. It’s a solid history lesson, even if it doesn't cover the entire spectrum of the community.
It’s an interesting look at how a country went from total repression to leading the way in equality, even if the film misses some of the more diverse voices in the community. (5.5/10)
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