Queer films that shaped me

As part of their FeelScene campaign, Brook’s 20-24 Participation Advisory Group (PAG) are reflecting on the ways that media has shaped our perceptions of sex and relationships. In this blog, PAG member Rachel Jardine shares some recommendations of films and TV shows that hold a special place in her heart.

Movies and TV series have given me a way to see my life reflected through characters and stories, and sometimes through fantasy. I love watching a good film as much as the next person, and I love a queer film as much as the next queer person! Queer films have taught me a lot of lessons about queer life, queer histories and queer joy – something that I continue to seek out and watch.  

Inside Out (2015) isn’t a queer film by description or by subject matter but for me, it gave me a way to understand my emotions and see how my emotions are connected to my identity and my sense of self. It’s a very emotionally intelligent film despite being a film targeted at a younger audience. This film helped me to connect the dots between my emotions and my wider identity, helping me to understand myself on a deeper level. I’ve probably watched Inside Out (2015) about 20 times since it came out and I definitely won’t stop rewatching it any time soon. 

The first time I watched Pride (2014) was with my parents. It was scheduled on the TV after one of the usual TV series episodes had finished, and none of us were bothered about watching it at first. But two hours later our eyes were still glued to the TV. Focusing on the realities of life in the UK in the 1980s, Pride (2014) combines queer and political activism, centring the collective fight queer people and other marginalised groups continue to have. It follows an activist group, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, and their work to uplift and aid the 1984 Miners Strike.

This film reminds me of the constant fight that we have as discriminated people, and how we should always stand up for each other.

My favourite scene of this film is the Miners Welfare Club dance scene, where a member of LGSM begins dancing with the women of the village to the song Shame, Shame, Shame by Shirley & Company, while all the men look upon them with a level of shame and hatred for the joy he creates through dance. As the scene ascends, all of the welfare club members begin to feel the happiness and pride of finding light in difficult circumstances and join in with the dancing. It’s this scene that made me fall in love with this film, it encapsulates the joy of queerness, showing that even in hard moments, there is always happiness and community. 

I didn’t catch Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) when it premiered in UK cinemas in early 2020, but I was very lucky to be able to see a screening of it as part of the Glasgow Film Theatre’s Youth Screening programme in late 2022. At the time, I booked my ticket because I’d heard a lot of good things about it. After seeing it, I finally understood why so many people loved it so much. The film follows a relationship between two women, based in 1700s France. For me, it was the way that this film showcased subtlety, devotion and tenderness between the characters that struck me so much. I was very aware of realities of these feelings but I’d never seen queerness portrayed in media in this way. Portrait of a Lady on Fire opened my eyes to queer possibility. It felt as though something changed for me when I watched it, my queer fantasies that I had tried to dismiss turned into queer realities.

Even though this film isn’t the happiest queer film to exist, it holds a special place in my heart as being the film that finally allowed me to feel able to express myself and my sexuality. 

I went to see Bottoms (2023) for the first time with my friend Caitlin at our local cinema. I had recently gone through a big life change and my friends showed up for me in lovely ways. This time it was a trip to the cinema to see a very silly, honest coming-of-age film about being queer. The story line of Bottoms (2023) focuses on two queer teenagers and their efforts to date the girls in their school, through starting a very silly fight club. The second time I watched it, I streamed it from my couch, on a fourth date, with my now girlfriend. In those very early days of dating each other, we found common ground and laughter in the characters. We related to the awkward characters as they navigated their lives as young queer women, just as we were! This film is full of queer joy, it’s funny and light-hearted, while showing the realities of being queer right now. I’ll continue to turn to this film when I need a moment of laughter and silliness! 

Atypical was one of the many TV series that I watched while in high school, but I didn’t think much of it other than as a series that I quite enjoyed watching. It wasn’t until I continued watching all episodes of each season, and hyperfixating on the sister character, Casey, that I realised what was happening. Casey, played by Jack Haven, was one of my first queer crushes. I felt drawn to them and their characters’ storyline. Casey’s character goes through a lot of confusion towards their sexuality and identity, and this series perfectly encapsulates the realities of navigating your identity in real time. To me, this series showed the raw and honest realities of exploring your sexuality as a young queer person and highlighted the support system that surrounds you as you do.

I hadn’t seen this side of queerness explored like this before, and for a closeted queer person I found a point of reference and reflection in their character. 

These are only a few of the queer films that have really resonated with me. They always seem to pop up in the moments I need them the most. I’m always on the lookout for more queer films, past and present, and I cannot wait to see what films and TV series I will watch in the future!