happy pride month from queer icon the babadook pic.twitter.com/f2JxwQbRDd
— jacob (@jacobbullards) June 3, 2017
Queer representation in film seems to finally be looking up. Moonlight won the Oscar, a film about interspecies romance decided gay is okay, and The Babadook has become the most generously taloned queer icon to ever twerk atop a rainbow float. Since the internet took the monster from Jennifer Kent’s 2014 thriller and dubbed him the unofficial icon of Pride Month, The Babadook has migrated from the depths of Tumblr to IRL Pride rallies all across the country. Now, he’s making his fabulous entrance back to the movies to raise awareness for LGBTQ issues. Who knew scaring a nuclear Australian family could be such a powerful act of queer resistance?
Arena Cinelounge in Los Angeles has announced “The Babadook Raises,” a special run of The Babadook screenings from June 23-27. The event series will further open up the Babadiscourse with a conversation titled “Babashook: From Monster to Cultural Icon.” There’s even a Babadook cosplay karaoke party at a secret location in Hollywood.
The jury is out on how exactly Babs become a gay icon. Some say it was a Netflix glitch that caused the film to appear in the database’s LGBT section, others say it was a Tumblr joke posted back in October. Regardless of what prompted The Babadook’s coming out, he’s here and he’s queer, and he’s babawerking his best self for a damn fine cause. Here’s hoping his East Coast allies are taking notes.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Twitter