Flipping through the Calendar section of the LA Times today, I noticed a small ad for a film entitled Shelter. Doubly noticeable was the image in the ad of two surfers standing on the beach. Curious, I went and checked out the trailer…
Hello! There’s a curveball thrown, and a strike by the looks of it. To put together a coming of age film focusing on a young gay man in the context of surfing, and possibly pull it off, well that’s a daring feat in my book.
Daring not so much from the perspective of the general public, but daring from the perspective of a surfer. I maintain there’s a fair (if under the surface) strain of homophobia in mainstream surfing culture. Can you name one openly gay professional/sponsored surfer, ever? Though that kind of inhospitable climate exists in all sports, it does feel a bit more pronounced in surfing.
Times and attitudes are changing quickly however. Studies have shown this younger generation to be the most tolerant ever. So who knows, maybe we’ll see a Shelter/Shelter double bill someday.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
funny you should bring this up..
I just recently..(2 days ago),suggested to a long -time friend of mine , a great surfer, and someone who co-incidentially had “just come out”…
that he make a surf video with a “Broke Back Mountain’ theme.
looks like somebody else beat him to the punch…
homophobia in the so-called “surfing culture’?
just a wee bit..
be careful, or you too could be turned into a Pillar of Salt.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
“Can you name one openly gay professional/sponsored surfer, ever?”
Just about every pro female up until the 90’s
April 6th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Plus there’s a new Movie called “Bra Bros” narated by Russel Crowe.
The setting is some Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The plot is: some nice young men dressed in Bras run around the Isand and “welcome” visitors?
Some of these Bra Bros seem to care more about “welcoming” visitors than surfing.
Mabuhay!