Somewhere That's Wet*

August 14, 2024 7:25 AM

Matt Baume has a new documentary about the life and career of Howard Ashman -- the Off (Off) Broadway writer/director who brought us Little Shop of Horrors and later, Disney's Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

Matt Baume creates delightful YouTube essays focused on the queer history of the entertainment industry. It's an ever-expanding chronicle in the vein of The Celluloid Closet.

Some of my favorites:

Gay Coded Disney Villains
The Life and Career of Rock Hudson
The Gay History of The Golden Girls
The Making of Camp Icon, Elvira

* Although if she's singing about leaving the ocean, surely it should be "Somewhere That's Dry"?

posted by Laura Palmer's Cold Dead Kiss (3 comments total)

My wife and I have talked extensively about how Part of Your World hits a lot different when you put it in the context of being written by a gay man in the 1980s.

For that matter, so do the original lyrics to Arabian Nights, but oh man is that a sticky one.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:28 AM on August 14 [2 favorites]

Baume is a queer treasure, thanks for this. He's also the author of Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture, which came out last year and got rave reviews.
posted by mediareport at 9:29 AM on August 14 [1 favorite]

Needs a MattBaume tag. (Previously, Previouslier)

Thanks for posting this. YouTube isn't as insistent about reminding me about Baume as it is with random WWII channels for some reason.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:11 PM on August 14 [1 favorite]