Grand Valley State University’s Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center hosted Fruity Film Features weekly over the summer, offering a sense of community for those staying on campus over break.
During the summer months, campus inevitably slows down. The Fruity Film series was one of the few activities hosted over break, and the idea to host the series was brought to the LGBT Resource center by two student workers. They hoped for an event that would bring those remaining on campus together throughout the summer.
“We were just trying to think through some ideas of things to bring together students who do remain on campus over the summer,” Joey Grubbs-Hulst, the LGBT Resource Center assistant said. “(We wanted to) especially (bring together) LGBTQ students.”
Grubbs-Hulst highlighted ideas and events brought to light by student workers and others in the GVSU community.
“We think it’s really important to empower our students to take leadership over our space,” said Grubbs-Hulst. “(Fruity Films) is a good opportunity to bring students into our space through something both fun and educational.”
The weekly films were queer-based, and ranged from fun and humorous to historical and educational. Many of the movies were shown for their messages that challenge traditional heterosexual notions of family and marriage.
“We wanted to use these films as a learning opportunity for students who may not have seen them before,” Grubbs-Hulst said.
The LGBT Resource Center showed several movies from the 1980s and earlier as a reminder that films with queer characters and storylines have existed throughout cinematographic history. Grubbs-Hulst added that showing films like these help to represent and highlight the creativity of queer creators and put a spotlight on LGBTQIA+ identifying stories that may not have been mainstreamed in the media.
Among the films shown were Todd Haynes’ “Carol” (2015) and Billy Wilder’s “Some Like it Hot” (1959). Both films are set in the 1950s time period and include a vast representation of LGBTQIA+ characters. They also have themes of the self-discovery of queer identity and love. Progressive for its time and known for its unapologetic queerness, “Some Like it Hot” featured gender fluidity and non-heteronormative relationships, challenging the gender stereotypes, morality and censorship of the time period.
Moesha Jones, a women, gender and sexuality studies major at GVSU, works the front desk at the resource center and said that many people are unaware of the number of movies that are queer-based, or directed by someone of LGBTQIA+ identity.
“There are tons of movies about cis(gender) men and women,” Jones said. “When it comes to queer movies, (their existence is) simply not seen.”
Jones added that the LGBT Resource Center has many of these movies available for students to check out and view.
While the LGBT Resource Center is unsure if they will continue the movie showings during the fall and winter semesters, staff vocalized that they have plans to bring it back next summer. Throughout the academic year, the center hosts events and provides a variety of resources to LGBTQIA+ students and allies.
