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Stop! That! Train!

By Golu
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...
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Queer And Here: Season 1 (Documentary Series)

By Golu
This docuseries is a lively and personal look at what it’s like to be queer in New Zealand today. Hosted by the really charming Aniwa Whaiapu Koloamatangi, it feels like you're being invited into all these different parts of the rainbow community that usually don't get much time on TV. The first season is made up of six episodes, each about 30 minutes long, and they all dive into different topics like family, faith, and the specific experience of being Takatāpui, which is the Māori queer identity. It does a really nice job of balancing the tough history of the LGBTQ+ community with a lot of modern-day happiness and pride.

The show starts with Aniwa traveling all over the place to meet folks from every walk of life to see how their background and identity mix together. In the first episode, Aniwa actually takes his first HIV test, works through some stuff from his childhood by playing rugby with the NZ Falcons—one of the country’s gay teams—and checks out what Rainbow Youth is doing to help out. Moving into the second episode, he’s inspired by Mani Mitchell, who is a big deal in the intersex advocacy world, and he also chats with MP Chloe Swarbrick at the Auckland Pride March and spends time with Louisa Wall, who’s an icon in both politics and sports. By the third episode, Aniwa is performing with the kapa haka group Ahakoa te Aha and hanging out backstage with Half Queen before a big set. He even goes to Masterton to meet Lyrikz Rimene, a trans guy who’s big on TikTok. In the later episodes, he joins the pride march, meets filmmaker Alesha Ahdar, and learns about the country’s queer history from a non-binary historian. Finally, Aniwa introduces us to his own family, hangs with legendary figures like Jaycee and Lea Pao, and visits a gay couple in Wellington, Rawa and Frankie, who are trying to start a family.

Aniwa is such a great host because he’s got this really natural, chatty vibe that makes everyone feel comfortable opening up about some pretty heavy stuff without it feeling like a stiff interview. IIt helps that he is extremely good looking. I really loved that they focused so much on the Takatāpui identity, because you don't see that perspective very often in big queer media, and it made the whole thing feel really fresh. It’s interesting because it seems like a lot of people in the community don't actually know much about the queer history of New Zealand since it feels so far away from their daily lives. Even if I couldn't personally relate to every single story, it was still really cool just to learn about them. I also liked that they didn't drag the stories out; you get just enough info to learn about someone without the show becoming too exhausting or heavy to watch.

I’ll be honest and say this might not be for everyone, especially if you aren't into documentaries. But for anyone who wants to learn about queer history or get a feel for the heart of the community in the Pacific, this is a really great place to start. (6/10)
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