straight history and gay nghtlife
by Douglas Messerli
Director unknown Penn Pals / 2004 [30
minutes] [travel advertisement]
what he is writing: “My dearest beloved. How I
long to be with you, to see your radiant smile. Please journey to Philadelphia,
where we will be at liberty to meet this Monday, at Independence Hall, as the
clock strikes 6.”
In
the next frame we see a handsome man waiting outside of Pennsylvania Hall, an
attractive young woman flirting with him as she passes. Another man enters the
scene and meets up with our young man, the two walking off together.
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As
this all occurs, a woman’s voice notes: “Philadelphia and its countryside have
a long history of making everyone feel free. Philadelphia—Get your history
straight. And your nightlife gay.”
The short advertisement was part of a larger attempt to bring gay
visitors to Philadelphia by The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp
(GPTMC), who found that gays were avid travelers and spend more money than
straight tourists.
Los Angeles, May 13, 2024
Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog
(2024).
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