Lesbian Movie Update - Caramel

On the surface, the premise of Caramel is nothing new: the lives of five female friends centered around the local beauty salon, this time set in Beirut, Lebanon. Writer-director-star Nadine Labaki manages to render the material fresh, however, by exploring the juxtaposition of modern Western behavior within traditional Middle Eastern society. Each woman in the film is making her way through a life filled with contradictions, desire often taking a backseat to duty — particularly in the case of tomboy Rima, who falls for another woman.


Read the rest of the AfterEllen.com review here.

Margaret Cho Won't Cross Picket Line For Ellen

Margaret Cho posted on her blog a kind and honest statement on why she will not be appearing with her friend Ellen during the writers strike.

"The power of visibility can never be underestimated. For this, [Ellen] will always be my hero. She gave us the ultimate gift, herself, her true self, and with that gift, she made us all proud to be who we are. That is why when she asked me to do her show I was absolutely thrilled. I love her show! Especially the dancing!!! But with the writers on strike, I am unable to do it.

This was a very difficult decision to make. I absolutely love Ellen, for a million reasons and for a very long time, but because of the way that I was raised, because my political views are they way they are, because I believe that workers should have the power and the ability to make their lives better, because many of my close friends are the ones picketing, I cannot cross the picket line.

This was hard for me because I had to question what was more important to me -- my queer allegiance to Ellen, or my dedication to the writers and their families and all the people who have been sacrificing so much to the strike. The reason Ellen hasn't stopped production is because she refuses to put the 135 people who are employed on her show out of work, which is completely admirable and frankly heroic, considering all the flak she has gotten from the media. I apologize to Ellen and I hope that she understands my decision, and that when the strike is over, I will be able to do the show again. It has been a dream of mine for quite a while now, and I hope someday it will come true."