Running with the pack

Oh nice try, “Twilight” people — you know perfectly well I have no interest in the movie or the books (based on my twin allergies to Mormon allegory and awful prose) but then you go and debut the film sequel’s new pack of werewolves:

Great to see some sexy Native men on our screens but sorry Edward, sorry Jacob, I will never love you!

Right now, my heart belongs to FOX News’ Shepherd Smith (yeah, I said ‘FOX’), who broke away from his conservative pack when he just couldn’t take their excuses for torturing people anymore. Seriously, Smith’s my big hero today:

Pack behaviour can be hard to break. Buzzfree Prom, a Texas-based non-profit aimed at getting high schoolers to drink less on the big night (yeah, good luck with that) went for a provocative ad that misfired badly:

We gays can take a lot of abuse but mixing an orange jumpsuit with a fuschia corsage? That is pushing us to our limits! When asked about using the fear of prison rape to motivate young people, the ad’s creator said, “If you find it homophobic, that’s your opinion.”

Ah yes…opinion. Often mutable and easily swayed, usually when in groups. That’s the pack mentality. It’s what drives homophobia and all the various fears of minorities but fortunately, opinions can change and new packs can be created. I love the feeling of unity-in-diversity inherent in this new ad designed to defuse the white-hot gay marriage debate in Iowa:

 

No packs, just people. I’ll have more on this tomorrow…

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

Keep Reading

The protagonists of Blood Lines embracing

The big twist in ‘Blood Lines’ is more than shocking

Gail Maurice’s queer Métis romance takes a massive risk—letting it dig deep into the pain and loss perpetuated by colonial structures
A still from Girls Like Girls

‘Girls Like Girls’ once meant everything to me. I’ve outgrown it

Hayley Kiyoko’s new movie tries to recapture the magic of the mid-2010s music video it’s based on. But time has dulled its revolutionary edge
John Early in Maddie's Secret holding two jars above an open box

‘Maddie’s Secret’ is the movie about eating disorders we need

John Early’s pastiche of after-school specials mixes belly laughs with gut punches. It’s a rare masterwork
Van Goth

Van Goth made ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ look easy. But victory has a price

The drag phenom’s run complicated our idea of what a reality TV villain could be. She tells Xtra about clawing her way to the top—and her fight for what comes next
Advertisement