Drift Reality

It was over five years ago that a close friend from University visited me in DC. Like some other homosexuals I knew, this particular friend had come out of the closet in University and was telling me about her new life, fully immersed in the lesbian community.

I eagerly listened with the predictable and tacky excitement of a heterosexual male in their twenties to an amorous story my friend was recounting and when the retelling was complete managed a very profound response:

“Boy, lesbians are hot.”

My friend eyed me broodingly for several moments, as if deciding whether to lambaste me or ignore me, before finally deciding to be patient with an idiot and help me understand that,

“The heterosexual male sexual fantasy of two women together is sort of annoying to most lesbians.”

“Oh,” I responded eloquently.

That was probably one of my first lessons in lesbian culture and has stuck with me throughout the years.

In the past few weeks it has certainly popped up in my head as I have been recently introduced to the Showtime series, the L Word and I am not ashamed to admit that I have more or less become a fan of the show. The reason it has popped up in my head is because I would argue that the L Word supports my initial, naïve notion that lesbians are hot. At the same time, to reduce the value of a tremendously well written and produced series to a sophomoric male observation would be completely unjust.

So in honor of my new favorite show, I would like to present the following list of 5 things I think about the L Word:

1. The production crew behind the L Word is terrific – Cast aside, I think the L Word has a great production crew. Up until the current season, I feel like the writing has been top-notch. Additionally, I feel like the photography work is of a pretty high caliber for television and the direction is pretty solid as well. This season I sort of feel like the characters are falling into predictable patterns and I have sort of a feeling of déjà vu while experiencing some of the sub-plots but I don’t want to dwell on the negative. Over the six or seven seasons that the show has been running, I think the production work has been excellent.

2. The L Word is a cultural centerpiece - There are times when a television show develops such socio-cultural gravity that I would consider it to be a centerpiece. You can tell this has happened when people start:

A) Planning social events around the show - I know as a fact that there are L Word parties that happen and I have heard that you can hear a pin drop during these parties while the show is actually on.

B) Start defining themselves according to characters on the show – Have you ever heard someone say “Yeah, I’m sort of like Joey from Friends?” I have, and I instantly decided I did not like the person who said that to me – not only because they just said they bear all the traits of an individual who for all intents and purposes is mentally handicapped, but because they just used a character from the show Friends to define themselves. At any rate, my sense is that this phenomenon has already taken place with the L Word in the lesbian community.

C) Discussing and recounting the show uncontrollably – When I was in High School, I remember the day after Seinfeld, everyone would be re-enacting scenes from the show and laughing hilariously. Well, I am sure that in the aftermath of a new L Word Episode, there is a notable percentage of content in the collective conversations that occur between lesbians that is exclusively devoted to what just happened on the L Word.

3. The L Word suffers from CFS (Chronic Mainstream Fiction Syndrome) – Back in the 90s, Friends was criticized for unrealistically portraying what it would be like for a group of friends living in the City – they were too attractive, too happy and had too much disposable time and income. The same goes for other popular television series (Seinfeld is exempt however). Well, the exact same criticisms could be applied to the L Word. The cast is unrealistically attractive, successful and seem to have too much time on their hands. Although this makes for great, entertaining television it also can detract from the empathy that is possible – evident in my compulsive fast-forwarding of any scene involving Bette and her Father from season 2, a sub-plot I am sorry to say I simply found boring in its attempt to conjure gravity.

Not your typical lesbians

4. The L word manages to balance the real with the utopic in a tasteful manner – Yes I realize I just said I couldn’t empathize with the show because I did not believe that it presented a realistic texture to life and this point seems rather contradictory in nature. Then again, being truly entertained by a show and being truly moved by a show are very different things. For instance, I would love to spend a week (or a month) in the utopic image portrayed by the HBO series Entourage but have not really thought about the show (nor any of its characters) for one second when it isn’t on. There is something to be said for embellishing life on-screen and offering utopia to the world. At the same time, you are walking a fine line because the more you embellish and adorn, the less substance is left. I would offer this final point as a recognition that the L Word has managed to walk the tightrope between style and substance for several years now – and I hope they continue to do so for several more.

5. The L Word is not just for lesbians - I don’t feel embarassed saying I enjoy the show because the fact of the matter is that it is good dramatic television and I know as a fact that other heterosexual guys watch the show. I can assure you if the L Word didn’t have broad appeal, Showtime would have never slotted it at 9PM on a Sunday evening. The fact that they slot it at that time means that their research indicates that a large population of people watch and enjoy the show. The fact that the only people I hear who are vocal about the show are lesbians and women simply means that there is a large population of people in different demographics - including heterosexual males - who enjoy the show.