But I M A Cheerleader

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But I’m a Cheerleader was released in 1999 by lesbian director Jamie Babbit. This movie is centered around the 17 year old highschooler Megan Bloomfield, portrayed by Natasha Lyonne, and Graham, played by Clea Duvall. This 85-minute movie, labeled as a comedy and romance, still provides comedic relief 25 years after its release. Despite its label as a comedic romance, the film revolves around a much more threatening topic for queer people: conversion therapy. However, that is why I think most queer people I know who have watched this movie find it funny — because it makes fun of conversion therapy, and many use humor as a coping mechanism for fears or trauma. But I’m a Cheerleader is a movie that deserves more positive reviews when analyzing it two …show more content…

The movie opens with cuts of high school cheerleaders flying through the air between the opening credits, cheering, and taking a turn of a more sexual nature by focusing the camera on the underside of skirts and on women’s chests. These sexual scenes get longer when we see Megan kissing her boyfriend, as that is what she imagines while she “kisses” him; she is not kissing him so much as leaving her mouth open with her tongue hanging out. These actions, along with having a picture of a woman in a bikini in her school locker and a Melissa Etheridge poster, cause her parents to confront Megan about being a lesbian. She then gets sent to the conversion therapy camp called True Directions. In the scenes leading up to True Directions, the colors are quite muted with browns and beiges, or the bright orange and white of Megan’s cheerleading costume. But upon arriving at True Directions, the color palette of the movie shifts to blues and pinks to reinforce the gender roles of boys wearing blue and girls wearing

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