That's Entertainment!

Looking for a little light hearted distraction from the worries of the tumultuous times that we now find ourselves in, I cracked open the Arts and Entertainment section of last Sunday's Star Tribune.

And came across an article from Kristin Tillotsen titled Flaming Film Festival sheds light on gay experience. Hmmm...could be interesting.

Being homosexual no longer automatically marks a person as an alternative-lifestyler.

Alternative-lifestyler? Sounds like some kind of horrible marketing label. "You see, our product has particular appeal to the alternative-lifestyler."

So how can gays, lesbians and trannies yearning for a little counterculture action get relief from all that relentless 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' mainstreaming?

It ain't easy being queer these days you know. After all those years of being on the outside edges of society, gays are now not only being tolerated, but openly celebrated in the popular culture. Those gays who previously reveled in the outsider role are having a difficult time adjusting. They're squirming uncomfortably like teenagers getting a hug from mom as she drops them at the mall. These would-be rebels seem to have lost their cause.

By the way, maybe it's just me, but when I hear the word trannie, what usual comes to mind is auto, not private parts.

By skipping straight -- or some other way -- to the Flaming Film Festival at Intermedia Arts. The fourth annual fest, running Wednesday through next Sunday, features its usual mix of low-budget bawdiness, in-your-face politics and arty experimentation with plenty of 'we're here; we're queer' attitude on top.

Low-budget bawdiness? In-your-face politics? Arty experimentation? With an extra big helping of aggressive gay 'tude slathered on top?

Honey, get dressed, grab the kids, and start the car. This is can't miss material we're talking about here.

One look at a short film like "Iraqtion," Minneapolis filmmaker Piper Vision's commentary on President Bush and the Sept. 11 attacks using a seldom-seen part of her anatomy, and you know this isn't Disneyland (although a revamped Lady from "Lady and the Tramp" does make a memorable appearance in another short).

You know the Left has often been accused of talking out of their asses when it comes to Bush, but this is a whole new ballgame altogether. Talk about thinking outside the box.

"I think it's great that young people get to see positive gay images in the mainstream media, but 'Will & Grace' doesn't reflect the people I know," said Lisa Ganser, the festival's director. "I don't drive an SUV or get my nails done. There's a lot of activism in the queer community, and that's more what we're trying to celebrate.

That's a pretty fine line there isn't it Lisa? Too butchy to get your nails done, but not butchy enough to drive a truck?

One of Ganser's favorite submissions is the short "Operation Invert," Tara Mateik's comparison of botox treatments and gender-reassignment surgery.

You know I had my heart set on seeing Troy, but how can it compete with split screen shots of faces getting jammed with needles and privates clipped, snipped, and stitched?

A title with broader appeal is the hourlong John Scagliotti documentary "Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World," a reminder that as gays and lesbians in the United States fight for the right to marry and to be ordained, their counterparts in other countries have more pressing concerns -- such as trying to avoid being stoned, raped or jailed for their sexual orientation. The arrest of the Cairo 52, a group of men in Egypt who were put on trial for the crime of being gay, was a rallying point in the 1990s for organized international gay-rights demonstrations. The report points out that while homosexuality is often demonized as a vice of the Western world in Asia and the Middle East, depictions of gay unions in ancient art and history disprove that theory.

I imagine the documentary will focus on the benefits to all citizens, in particular minorities, of living in Western style liberal democracies, and how the spread of such freedoms around the world should be encouraged. Yeah, right.

A panel discussion on what it's like to be "queer and not from here" will follow Thursday's screening of "Dangerous Living."

"We're hearing from some people that the film is more negative than what they've actually experienced, so we're going to talk about that," Ganser said.

Really? You mean that having your neighbor refer to you as "the girls" instead of lesbians isn't the same as getting stoned, raped, or jailed?

The Flaming Film Festival leaves no opportunity for dissension unfulfilled. It just wouldn't be flamin' any other way.

How refreshing. Because God knows in John Ashcroft's Amerika opportunities for dissent are becoming increasingly rare.

Once again the Star Tribune leaves no opportunity to showcase and promote alternative-lifestylers unfulfilled. It just wouldn't be flamingly liberal any other way.