Monday, October 17, 2011

Live Long And Prosper



Fascinating.


Days after I wrote about National Coming Out Day, look who boldly went where few men have gone before.


Actor Zachary Quinto (Mr. Spock, Sylar, among other incarnations), whose sexual orientation has long fueled Hollywood gossip, finally crossed the frontier in a low-key, casual manner in an interview in New York Magazine about his involvement in the play Angels in America:


"I just think revisiting that work and revisiting the themes of that work at a time when the political and social climate of the country is shifting so dramatically and so irreversibly, to really come up against the echoes of that hatred and that bigotry and that fear that still exists in our culture, just in a different context now — you know, I feel it was just a really interesting exploration for me.


Doing that play made me realize how fortunate I am to have been born when I was born. And to not have to witness the decimation of an entire generation of amazingly talented and otherwise vital men. And at the same time, as a gay man (emphasis mine), it made me feel like I — there's still so much work to be done. There's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed. The undercurrent of that fear and that, you know, insidiousness still is swarming. It's still all around us. To revisit that world at all, it took a toll on me. It definitely was an incredible experience but it was really daunting at times."



Interestingly, in his website, Quinto attributes his decision to come out on the recent suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, who killed himself after being bullied at school for being gay:

"when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself - i felt deeply troubled.  but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life - i felt indescribable despair.  i also made an it gets better video last year (video below) - in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time.  but in light of jamey's death - it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. "






On behalf of the next generation, may you live long and prosper.

20 comments:

  1. Watching his version of the video is indeed moving. Kudos to Sylar.

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  2. these days, sacrificing one's comfort zone is worth a thousand-gun salute, a 10-minute round of applause, or better yet, several snaps.

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  3. @ Kiks : Given the famewhoring and oversharing of many of today's celebrities, I wasn't sure if your take on Quinto's casual coming out was snarky or not.

    @ pointlessparanoia : Let's hope his public admission results in good things, not just for him but for the general LGBT community.

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  4. It's good that he finally acknowledged it. I've read too many gossip articles about his sexuality. ;p Now, how to deal with the Sylar nightmares? haha

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  5. @ Nyl : That's the reason I posted Spock pictures instead of Sylar. He's just more...benevolent.

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  6. I read this tweet where the girl says she's happy for Zachary but she's sad that stuff like this makes the news. I see her point. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be such a big deal but then again if it weren't then why are we still talking about it? lol

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  7. @ Nyl : Obviously, it is still a big deal. I think human society will always be heteronormative, but hey, look on the bright side. At least we're not burnt at the stake anymore - not universally, anyway.

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  8. I think human society will always be heteronormative...

    Just curious. Why do you think so? Is it because of that need to populate?

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  9. @ Manech : Yes. To me, it's as simple as the need to procreate

    And that's why us deviants are also sometimes referred to as "Nature's population control."

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  10. Ehem. Sorry, I meant procreate. Haha, stupid. Good thing you got it. Hahaha!

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  11. @ Manech : Haha, no biggie. One leads to the other, anyway :P

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  12. i hope someday i'll be able to come out. sometimes i think that maybe everyone already knows, and i'm merely holding out on the validation.

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  13. @ Sean : I was reading a recent post by a blogger I follow and he mentioned something about "being back in the closet again", and I had to stop and pause. I'd always thought that coming out was one ot those things from which there is no turning back, but I suppose that only applies if one came out globally and with as much fanfare as an international celebrity (George Michael, Ricky Martin, Ellen deGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, etc.)

    The anonymity of the rest of us unwashed masses might make it possible for us to retreat from being out, with none being the wiser. Save perhaps for the hopefully-select group of people we came out to, those "in the know" who themselves might be struggling with their "Out/Not Out" statuses.

    As for everyone "already knowing" and you "merely holding out on the validation," that made me chuckle, because I think a lot like that. Maybe we're more transparent than we think. Or maybe everyone else is more onto us than we give them credit for.

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  14. i hope he won't suffer the same fate in shobizness as the bitter Rupert Everett.

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  15. a great move for zachary..i admire him for doing this...

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  16. @ Alex Forrest : Well, Rupert Everett was a testy prune, but he also came out at a time when it wasn't that acceptable for a well-known Hollywood player to be so open with his sexuality. Zachary's timing - and personality -were just better.

    @ Mac : Hear, hear!

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  17. saw him in American Horror Story. he was convincing. nakakapanibago lang.

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  18. I knew it. Well, sort of. There's something about him that I couldn't exactly figure out myself.

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  19. it's amazing when you have the freedom to show to the world who you really are.

    Cool!

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  20. @ gillboard : Well, regardless of his sexual orientation, he is an actor, after all.

    @ Bien Venido : Heheh did he ping your gaydar?

    @ tim : Yes. I envy those who have the courage to face the world and show them who they really are. it must be so liberating not to hide anymore.

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