Maupin, LOOKING and The Unshockable Public
It's been a week abuzz with a level of gaiety that surprises even San Francisco. LOOKING, a new program that features gay male characters in Fog City, premiered last Sunday on HBO to mixed reviews. More excitingly, Armistead Maupin returned to the town that made him famous (he now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his partner). Maupin, whom I worship (obviously), is the best-selling writer of the "Tales of the City" series, a string of books that fictionalized life in 1970's San Francisco. He began penning his tales as a serial at The Pacific Sun then The San Francisco Chronicle, two broadsheets where he had worked as a correspondent.
Last Sunday, I enjoyed the chance to hear Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells interview Maupin on his latest (and last) installment of the TOTC series. It's a book called "The Days of Anna Madrigal" and it's delicious.
There will be no spoilers (as I'm only partway through) but "Days" centers around the memories of the 92-year-old-transgender-landlord, Anna Madrigal, during her colorful Nevada childhood. Her salad days are juxtaposed with the live action at the Burning Man Festival in the nearby Playa. Maupin's greatness is that he incorporates new slang and technology with ease, grace and humor while still allowing his characters to have a 40-year history of being San Franciscans. His generous words are legion and no character is too ordinary for elaboration. What initially drew readers to his serial was that it wasn't solely a book about gay folks but more about a newcomer (!) who somehow has to navigate her way around this strange, new, libertine planet.
LOOKING's coming-out was quite noisy for a show that is so quiet. A friend of mine, Christopher Muther at The Boston Globe, whose wit is not only wry but exacting, gives a fair dressing-down of the show and I agree with many of his points. One area in which I beg to differ is how he disparaged the show for essentially being retro and cliche. At one point, he says "Did I mention that this program takes place in 2014 San Francisco?" The thing to remember about this town is that it we still carry around the flowers of the 1960's (mostly in the Haight) and sport the moustaches of the 1970's (in SOMA and the Castro). The 70's, in particular, is romanticized as that care-free, pre-AIDS time for gay men that guys in my generation moved to San Francisco for. As Edmund White says, "To have been oppressed in the 1950's, freed in the 1960's, exalted in the 1970's and wiped out in the 1980's is a quick itinerary for a whole culture to follow." The gays in San Francisco still relish that exaltation however tacky it can seem at first glance.
Why then is LOOKING so mousy (at least by the example of the pilot)? Its worst transgression is making San Francisco appear boring. This is a line that Maupin was able to walk carefully, balancing the casualness of "who cares?" California with the exaltation of living somewhere special. Both pieces of work capture the foggy ease of dialogue between friends and strangers and that's where LOOKING, for me, shines. But is there any sense of irony? Anything that grabs our attention? Maupin was able to present the shockable in humdrum, humorous scenes but I wonder if the creators of LOOKING have the same type of skill. Or have we, the youtube viewing audience, as a whole become unshockable?
Last Sunday, I enjoyed the chance to hear Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells interview Maupin on his latest (and last) installment of the TOTC series. It's a book called "The Days of Anna Madrigal" and it's delicious.
There will be no spoilers (as I'm only partway through) but "Days" centers around the memories of the 92-year-old-transgender-landlord, Anna Madrigal, during her colorful Nevada childhood. Her salad days are juxtaposed with the live action at the Burning Man Festival in the nearby Playa. Maupin's greatness is that he incorporates new slang and technology with ease, grace and humor while still allowing his characters to have a 40-year history of being San Franciscans. His generous words are legion and no character is too ordinary for elaboration. What initially drew readers to his serial was that it wasn't solely a book about gay folks but more about a newcomer (!) who somehow has to navigate her way around this strange, new, libertine planet.
LOOKING's coming-out was quite noisy for a show that is so quiet. A friend of mine, Christopher Muther at The Boston Globe, whose wit is not only wry but exacting, gives a fair dressing-down of the show and I agree with many of his points. One area in which I beg to differ is how he disparaged the show for essentially being retro and cliche. At one point, he says "Did I mention that this program takes place in 2014 San Francisco?" The thing to remember about this town is that it we still carry around the flowers of the 1960's (mostly in the Haight) and sport the moustaches of the 1970's (in SOMA and the Castro). The 70's, in particular, is romanticized as that care-free, pre-AIDS time for gay men that guys in my generation moved to San Francisco for. As Edmund White says, "To have been oppressed in the 1950's, freed in the 1960's, exalted in the 1970's and wiped out in the 1980's is a quick itinerary for a whole culture to follow." The gays in San Francisco still relish that exaltation however tacky it can seem at first glance.
Why then is LOOKING so mousy (at least by the example of the pilot)? Its worst transgression is making San Francisco appear boring. This is a line that Maupin was able to walk carefully, balancing the casualness of "who cares?" California with the exaltation of living somewhere special. Both pieces of work capture the foggy ease of dialogue between friends and strangers and that's where LOOKING, for me, shines. But is there any sense of irony? Anything that grabs our attention? Maupin was able to present the shockable in humdrum, humorous scenes but I wonder if the creators of LOOKING have the same type of skill. Or have we, the youtube viewing audience, as a whole become unshockable?
Nice. Interesting that these works both premiered this week. I appreciate your insights.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy. You're right: the LOOKING pilot came across as a bit dull. I'm just excited being close to the filming location.
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