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Current Talk '03 I / The Elephant in Dr. Longworth's Lab
« on: June 26, 2003, 08:01:38 PM »
Hi all, had the show on briefly today. Enjoyed the duelling beehive aspect (Bruno vs. Alexis--who had the biggest hair at Collinwood???)
I realize that as a gay man, I am prone to watch DS in a certain way, but I really found myself wondering--whatever the writer and director intended--whether David Selby, Lisa Richards and Chris Pennock had intended to play the scene in Cyrus' lab today where Cyrus "returns" and "explains" about his "working relationship" with Yeagar, as if Sabrina and Quentin suspected Cyrus of having had a sexual fling with Yeagar that the latter then chose to turn to his own nasty advantage.
Blackmail was a very real force in the typical male homosexual's life in the !960s. Threats of blackmail, and dealing with the repercussions thereof, feature even in soft core porn novels written for the consumption of the nascent gay communities in the big cities (NYC, San Francisco, Boston, etc.) as well as the more literary productions of the period such as John Rechy's City of Night.
Quentin's expression throughout the scene looked as if he'd lifted a stone and found something foul--a common mainstream straight-male reaction to insinuations of homosexuality then as now. And Sabrina looked as if she was ready to burst into tears at any moment (which is kind of Sabrina's default setting). Although I thought Richards brought out an element of anger at one point that felt very real--it seemed as if the penny had dropped and Sabrina was thinking, "so, you neglect me for THIS?"
I know that the text was that Longworth had run into trouble getting illegal substances for his experiments or some similar underworld thing with Yeagar, but the SUBTEXT seemed to turn around "so this is Cyrus' dirty little secret." I thought Pennock did a GREAT job with both roles today, as well.
I've always enjoyed the symbolism implicit in the names Yeagar and Longworth. The latter clearly emphasizes the good doctor's unworldly, simplistic moralism. Yeagar is another spelling of the German word Jaeger, which means "hunter." Pennock's body language in the role suggests a half-wild beast of prey very much on the prowl.
On another note, poor Damian Edwards, trapped in the leisure suit from Hell for all eternity. And Nicky thought Cassandra had it bad getting exorcised wearing a purple butterfly caftan.
Gothick
I realize that as a gay man, I am prone to watch DS in a certain way, but I really found myself wondering--whatever the writer and director intended--whether David Selby, Lisa Richards and Chris Pennock had intended to play the scene in Cyrus' lab today where Cyrus "returns" and "explains" about his "working relationship" with Yeagar, as if Sabrina and Quentin suspected Cyrus of having had a sexual fling with Yeagar that the latter then chose to turn to his own nasty advantage.
Blackmail was a very real force in the typical male homosexual's life in the !960s. Threats of blackmail, and dealing with the repercussions thereof, feature even in soft core porn novels written for the consumption of the nascent gay communities in the big cities (NYC, San Francisco, Boston, etc.) as well as the more literary productions of the period such as John Rechy's City of Night.
Quentin's expression throughout the scene looked as if he'd lifted a stone and found something foul--a common mainstream straight-male reaction to insinuations of homosexuality then as now. And Sabrina looked as if she was ready to burst into tears at any moment (which is kind of Sabrina's default setting). Although I thought Richards brought out an element of anger at one point that felt very real--it seemed as if the penny had dropped and Sabrina was thinking, "so, you neglect me for THIS?"
I know that the text was that Longworth had run into trouble getting illegal substances for his experiments or some similar underworld thing with Yeagar, but the SUBTEXT seemed to turn around "so this is Cyrus' dirty little secret." I thought Pennock did a GREAT job with both roles today, as well.
I've always enjoyed the symbolism implicit in the names Yeagar and Longworth. The latter clearly emphasizes the good doctor's unworldly, simplistic moralism. Yeagar is another spelling of the German word Jaeger, which means "hunter." Pennock's body language in the role suggests a half-wild beast of prey very much on the prowl.
On another note, poor Damian Edwards, trapped in the leisure suit from Hell for all eternity. And Nicky thought Cassandra had it bad getting exorcised wearing a purple butterfly caftan.
Gothick