Movie Madness University Crash Courses offer a low-intensity way to explore a filmmaker or genre, in a friendly environment shared with fellow film lovers. Unlike our MMU seminars, these Crash Courses offer a more casual approach. There’s no formal lecture or discussion, but films are curated and presented by staff experts. You’ll also receive some “homework,” suggested reading and other films to find related to the topic (all optional, of course!).
In recent years, there's been a quiet explosion of stories from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and elsewhere that depict gay relationships. Originating as shonen-ai (literally, “boys’ love”), the BL genre includes novels, slash fan fiction, manga and manhwa, anime, television dramas, and movies. Originally written primarily by and for straight women, the genre's growing popularity has seen more emphasis on authentic queer representation in the production of these stories. Our June series will focus on movies that are upbeat, positive, and affirming, offering an antidote to the dearth of "happily ever after" gay love stories in mainstream Western media.
Our community partner for this series is Books with Pictures, Portland's favorite aggressively-inclusive comics shop with the most extensive selection of queer graphic novels in town.
For a full lineup of films being screened in this course, email education@moviemadness.org with “class titles” in the subject line. This course is curated by Movie Madness staffer Leno Forbes. Classes are held Thursdays in June at 7:00pm, beginning June 9, at the Movie Madness Miniplex. $30 ($25 for members) for the four-class series