What Is A Parallel Universe

A Parallel Universe Takes Viewers Into The Everyday Shoes of the LGBT Community

Imagine A World Where Being “Gay” The Norm & Being Straight The Minority is a powerful portrayal of what life would be like if sexuality was flipped inside out. The short film had won several awards, for best comedy, and best acting.

In less than twenty minutes, viewers get sucked into this parallel universe. The establishing shot starts off with a flashback, involving a woman delivering a baby, while the other woman is helping her through it. Throughout this sequence, there is the background noise of the newborn crying, as Ashley narrates the flashback. The succeeding scenes provide a montage of what this child felt as she began growing up. The audience immediately

When her teacher comes to break it up, he explains to Ashley that her interest in boys is “just a phase”. That word seems to be very common nowadays. Growing up, the only time that I would hear the word “phase” was when I was told that boys have cooties. My parents had assumed that I’d grow out of that phase, but I never did.

What interests me about this short film is the realistic aspect of it. It’s not a documentary, yet it’s not a hundred percent fictional. Not only is the plot line relatable to the LGBT community, or anyone that has ever been bullied in such a way, but the setting of each scene provides the most accurate portrayal.

During the next scene, the boy that Ashley likes (Ian) tells her that he can’t reciprocate those feelings because his brother found out. He threatened to expose Ian to their fathers if he didn’t stop seeing Ashley. Ashley goes to kiss him one last time, when four of her peers catch them. Ian saves himself and blames it on Ashley, and Ashley is beaten up by Ian’s brother and her peers. When she arrives home, Karen makes her run upstairs to get cleaned up, while she tells Sharon that Ashley needs Karate lessons to learn how to defend herself. It appears as though Karen is focusing more on her child’s ability to defend herself, rather than how she’s feeling at that moment. Sharon plays the role of a bystander, since she isn’t pressuring Ashley, yet she’s doing nothing to be there for her own