This landmark erotic art film from 1971 indulges in your candy-colored fantasies
Welcome back to our queer film retrospective, “A Gay Old Time.” In this week’s column, we revisit Pink Narcissus, a landmark gay erotic art film that invites its viewers to indulge in fantasy.We all bring a little bit of ourselves into the entertainment we enjoy.
Whether it’s listening to the lyrics of a song that remind us of a particular heartbreak, reading a novel that brings us back to our own coming-of-age, or watching a movie where we can relate a bit too closely with the protagonist, it is hard to detach our own experiences from whatever it is we’re consuming.
Most of us are able to empathize, understand, or relate in some way or another.Although this is true for most pieces of mainstream entertainment, it’s even truer for those that fall outside the boundaries of traditional form and narrative.
Those that are more experimental, and allow for far more personal projection and interpretation. With these, the film (because here we’re talking movies) often has whatever meaning the viewer is bringing to it, with whatever their baggage and analysis and feelings.This is all to say that 1971’s experimental art house queer film Pink Narcissus makes for an incredibly interesting and unique viewing experience.
