MASS
in
MOTION
IT'S A MAN'S WORLD AND YOU MEN CAN HAVE IT
IT'S A MAN'S WORLD AND YOU MEN CAN HAVE IT
Tonight, I belatedly learned of the death of one time porn star Taron O. Webb, aka CocoDorm's Pimp. The news came not through any gay news site, or even from the big gay porn news sites like The Sword and Queer Me Now, but by word of mouth, from a friend. Taron's passing wasn't covered by them: the life of a young black man isn't newsworthy enough, even if he was once a part of the industry those sites cover.
"They say never wait until it's too late to apologize & for that I'm so thankful I had a opportunity to tell you in person... how sorry I am & also to let you know I forgive [you] as well. People coming into [your] life at the unexpected time, and you was one of them. Now looking back every obstacles I had to overcome I overcame them from the lesson I learn from you (my first) and for that [you] will always remain in my heart... words can't explain how hurt I am right now, but I'm know your in a better place. I will always love you Taron O. Webb R.I.P (tore this pic up almost 7 years ago, every time I wanted to threw it away I couldn't, I'm glad I didn't."
Moe Marquize posted on 18th May, "Nobody will never know, you was my first my everything, I love [you] soo much Taron O. Webb I thank God I got to hold you right before you took your last breath.. I'm soo hurt right now, I can't stop cry.. please god, I need help."
That's what's left, lives touched, lives devastated. Those of us who knew of Taron through his performances - a short chapter in an even shorter life - are saddened, shocked, confused by the the jarring juxtaposition of sex and death, of youth and mortality. And there will be those who will write Taron off for the path he travelled; "another dead porn star", as if witnessing him having sex diminishes him, but not the viewer.
The plot for this one is straightforward. An affluent older gay couple in Buenos Aires meet a younger guy online, and invite him over for dinner - and a threesome. And that's exactly what happens in this Argentinian movie. TLA's promotional material, including the cover art, makes the most of the film's ménage à trois, but there's more to this delightful little film than sex.
Faggots aren't very good at history, it seems. I first discovered this when I saw Crayton Robey's Making The Boys, which started off with a vox pop of young gays. None of them knew about The Boys In The Band. I didn't, either. And why would we? Who teaches us LGBT history? If you're lucky, you have an elder. If not, you've got Lady Gaga and Beyonce.
Like faggots everywhere, I once knew Joan Crawford only from the character assassination that is Mommie Dearest, and the career bookend Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (arguably, Crawford's last picture). But thanks to my beloved elder, and the Tired Old Queen At The Movies, I started looking at the rest of her oeuvre. I watched Mildred Pierce and Sudden Fear, and I was hooked. I started buying every Crawford picture I could get my hands on: Autumn Leaves, Johnny Guitar, Harriet Craig, Humoresque... Each movie left me more intoxicated than before. And then I reached 1932's Grand Hotel. Crawford was Crawford, younger and as mesmerising as ever, but there's only so far back in time you can go before the picture starts to break up, and becomes unreadable. Grand Hotel didn't translate for me; it felt, at times, like watching a YouTube web series in black and white. The make-up on the men jarred, the music overbeared, and the cuts were awkward. It was slow. So I stepped away from Miss Crawford for a while, worried that her remaining pictures would be unwatchable. I shouldn't have worried: I came back to The Shining Hour (1938), a decent flick, and Mannequin (1937), a real pleasure. It's always a thrill to see Joanie as an immaculate wage slave, right before she meets Mr. Right and ends up in mink. And she stars alongside tragic hunk Alan Curtis, who died in 1953, aged just 43.
As a Crawford fan, I've always been a little wary of Bette Davis. Yeah, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? is her picture, and All About Eve is legendary, but I've still only seen a few of her movies, in comparison to dozens of Crawford's.
