In 2000, there was nothing.
Sure, there were Will & Grace that feature gay people as main character, but nothing, nothing like Queer As Folk. It portrayed gays as sexually active human being, went deep into many topics that may some may even comes off as disturbing – safe sex, anti-bullying, drug use, gay marriage, HIV/AIDS, political movement, gay bashing, etc. At the time, there wasn’t anything like Queer As Folk on TV. It was certainly trouble, something so daring, so unapologetic, something that so real in many ways.
And that’s when it happened. When he came along…
Look back now, the world is different than it was eleven years ago. It certainly changed a lots. Now, it’s not so hard to find gays character, not as a one pun-liner or just decoration (although it might be the case with Gossip Girl and 90210), be portrayed on TV. Look around you. Many hit TV shows feature gays character, some even developed major plot line – Kurt Hummel, Glee, Ian Gallagher, Shameless, Marshall Gregson, United States of Tara, Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell, Brothers & Sisters, etc. How? Why? Well, certainly thanks to someone. It was perhaps Queer As Folk that paved the way for them to be here.
Queer As Folk, while being criticized because of its overflow storyline that concentrate on sex (but again, I mean, who could resist a naked Brian Kinney/Gale Harold or Justin Taylor/Randy Harrison. Beside, it’s part of life, of being human. Of course they have sex. What else are they going to do in their free time? Turn on TV and watch Glee together? Too bad, there wasn’t any Glee. If straight people can fuck like rabbits, so could gays. Get over it), is a ground-breaking show. It was more than that. It was about love, about fighting for something you believe in, about being who you are, about the world. You could have Glee or Modern Family or Shameless now, but there would never again something like Queer As Folk. Never again, someone like Brian Kinney or Justin Taylor will grace the TV screen (unless you play Queer As Folk rerun, that is totally different).
What drawn people to Queer As Folk is it bold portrayal of gay lives, in a way, brutally honest and passionate. Yes, people may object the relationship between Brian and Justin, but then, they aren’t that far apart. All in all, love prevail. Not to mention, the bullying portrayed on Queer As Folk, is part of what have and is happening now. While I love the bullying arc on Glee, Queer As Folk push it onto another level. Kurt just being slammed into locker, thrown into dumpster, slushies, threaten to be kill and kiss-rape. Justin, on the other hand, get into fights, locker being burned and vandalized, kick out of the house and get bashed on the head. Yes, Kurt is strong. They could do anything to him and he would still strutted like he is a model on the catwalk of Milan. With Justin, everything is different. He stood up to his homophobic teacher, telling him to “fuck off,” he started the GSA at his school, he stood up against his father, politically involved and willing to sacrifice anything for something believe in. The most beautiful scene in the whole series is when Brian and Justin danced at his prom. It was pure love, affectionate and so beautiful. Yet, what happened after it was a nightmare. It brutal. It liked saying that love is love, is beautiful, but there are people can’t accept and see the beauty. And it’s the truth. Yet, even when he couldn’t use his right hand, Justin did draw again. He want to prove, that in the end, he still wind.
If you want to hit me, go right ahead. Only I’m not going to cry like some little faggots. And if you want to send me away, that’s OK too, because I bet there are more butt-fuckings going on in boarding school than in the backroom of Babylon. But whatever you do, it’s not gonna matter, because I would still be your queer son.
No apologies, no regrets.
Queer As Folk is like a “In your face” statement. “We’re here. We’re queer.” Never again, would the audience witness a love like one between Brian and Justin. Never again, would there be a cool mom like Debbie. Never again, would something stirs up so much troubles and controversy. While Glee is doing alright on its own, there are still different. There is no denying in the fact that both have major impact, especially Glee because its main audience is teenagers, and Glee in a way is shaping them, to developed a new mind (and of course, Glee is in fact the gayest show on television. ‘Nuff said), and that both are life changing TV shows, Glee is a world that we dream of (of course, there is still the bullying, but, you know), of acceptance and love. Queer As Folk is the world as it is, unapologetic.
People can hate it and criticized it, but it’s not going to matter. Because they were here. They paved the way for others to grown. They open a whole new possibilities, a whole new world. I could even go as far as saying that the chemistry, the love between Brian and Justin could rival Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. The show could end, but its still goes on, like the thumpa-thumpa of Babylon. It will never end because…
You will always be young and beautiful.
Love it, hate it. It’s not going away. It was the first show that count, and it will be the last to go. Enjoy Glee. Love Brothers & Sisters. Adore United States of Tara, but without Queer As Folk, these shows might not even exist. I understand that the impact of Glee is great, and as a Gleek, I applauded it. Still, Queer As Folk have done so much, and it deserves praise, not scorns and hatred just because of it sexual content. It doesn’t matter. What matter it’s that in many ways, Queer As Folk was the first show to have a gay teenager that sexually active, politically involved like Justin Taylor, that he even willing to sacrifice everything, making poster to bring down some homophobic prick like Stockwell. The first show that have no definition about “fade to black” when it comes to sex scenes. The first show that was there.
In 2000, there was nothing.
In 2000, there was Queer As Folk.
In 2011, there are Glee, United States of Tara, Happy Ending, Brothers and Sisters, 90210, Shameless, Game of Thrones, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, etc.
So the thumpa, thumpa continues. It always will. No matter what happens, no matter who’s president. As our lady of disco, the divine Miss Gloria Gaynor, has always sung to us: we will survive.
P.S: I believe in the theory that Kurt Hummel is like a mini Emmett Honeycutt, just like Chris Colfer is a mini Peter Paige. They look alike so much. And Sam needs to stop stealing the hairstyle from Sunshine. It’s not cool, Trouty Mouth. And stop standing on furniture, Blaine. People are comparing Britin to Klaine, and Brian does not appreciate being compare to a midget who randomly stand on furniture.
Captain Apollo 