Pride/SafeZone will combine education and entertainment when the club celebrates National Coming Out Month with a series of films that aim to inform people about issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Beginning today, Pride/SafeZone will show three films that cover different topics related to struggles people in the LGBT community face. The club held screenings of two of the three films for last year's National Coming Out Day and got a positive response, said Irma Rivera, the club's president. Rivera picked the films this year, choosing some of the most "tasteful and informative gay movies," she said.
National Coming Out Day is Thursday and has been celebrated since the late '80s when the first march on Washington by lesbians, gays and bisexuals took place as a protest for equal rights.
The first film, "Imagine Me and You," shows today at 6 p.m. in Holt Hall, Room 268. The film centers on a woman named Rachel who is getting married but has a sudden change of heart. As she walks toward her future husband, Rachel realizes that she has fallen in love with Luce, the couple's female florist.
The 2006 British comedy is about following instincts, a change of heart and does not make an issue out of homosexuality, Rivera said.
"(It) received many positive reviews and made people comfortable going to a gay film," she said.
The second film, "Better than Chocolate," will be shown on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. in Holt Hall, Room 268. It is about a woman who drops out of college and begins to work in a lesbian bookstore. The main character, Maggie, falls in love with an artist she meets named Kim.
Maggie's life is thrown off, and her privacy is invaded when she receives a phone call from her mother telling Maggie her marriage has failed and that she and Maggie's younger brother will be moving in with her. Dilemmas arise and multiple characters explore their sexuality.
"'Better than Chocolate' talks about how people can better their lives," Rivera said.
From Maggie to her mother and brother, the film is about discovering different forms of sexual identity. While the movie contains a lot of sexual content, the scenes are tasteful, she said.
"It can be intense, but the movie has something for everyone, even heterosexuals," Rivera said.
The last film for National Coming Out Month is a foreign film titled "Bad Education." This film is a little bit more suggestive than the first two, Rivera said. The 2004 Spanish release is about transgender issues and sexual identity issues within the Catholic Church. The protagonist, Enrique, grows up going to Catholic school and church, and is physically and sexually abused by one of the priests. Enrique later becomes a transvestite in his adult life.
"Even though people are becoming more open to lesbians, gays and bisexuals, transgenders still face a tremendous amount of criticism," Rivera said. "This film will give people a better understanding of what people are going through when they want to change who they are."
Showing films is a good way to reach and educate people, said Tray Robinson, Chico State's diversity coordinator. He said that Pride/Safe Zone worked hard to inform people about National Coming Out Day, and it has done a good job of planning activities throughout the month.
Rivera agrees that watching films is a good way for people to learn about LGBT issues, she said.
"This is Pride's chance to create a more approachable atmosphere for everyone," Rivera said.
Pride will have an informational fair for National Coming Out Day on Thursday. A conversation on diversity titled "Coming Out ... And Out ... And Out," will also be held in the Bell Memorial Union, Room 210 at noon today.
Sergy El-Morshedy can be at semorshedy@theorion.com
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