Word: araki
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...your reaction to a film about gay teens is, "More teen angst," or, "Another homo movie," director Gregg Araki has beat you to it. Araki uses those same words in the introductory captions to his "Totally F***ed Up," an unusual film about six young gay friends in Los Angeles...
Though its cast of Blacks, Hispanics and Caucasians approaches terminal P.C., "Totally F***ed Up" is never trite. Araki's multiracial cast shows that homosexuality is not just a "white male thing." Even so, the movie is ultimately about the need to understand the issues that confront gay teenagers today--and not about race...
Beginning with random fragments out of the lives of these teens, Araki creates a clear picture of who they are and establishes an immediate sympathy between the audience and the characters...
...Steven says, "I want to show the way things are." To this effect, Araki intersperses the narrative with "Reality Bites"-style video fragments recorded by Steven. These sound bites collectively show the variety of gay experience and warn against the dangers of stereotyping...
Humor punctuates the politics--the film never becomes didactic. Tricia opines on AIDS, "It's a born-again Nazi-Republican wet dream come true." And when Tom Cruise comes up during a conversation about sexual fantasies, Araki cuts to the caption: "Tom Cruise: Rock Hudson...