depictions of self
by Douglas Messerli
Abigail Child (director) On
the Downlow / 2007
Ray, a Cleveland man who characterizes
himself as a thug, surprises us in his very first conversation by revealing
that he is attracted to the most feminine of men, often dressed as drag queens.
For him they are women and he treats
them as women, and in his odd view, as women he does not need to reveal whether
or not he has HIV or uses a condom. While attracted to "pretty boys,"
he prefers the most feminine ones perhaps because he further establishes his
sense of masculinity, of being a "top" instead of a "bottom."
Antonio reveals a past prison life where
he slept with hundreds of men, even guards, playing the role almost of a woman,
presenting a shocking view of US prison life, some of which we might have
imagined but never understood as being so thoroughly prevelant. By film's end,
Antonio is again arrested, his current lover faithfully waiting for his return.
Billy, who has had two children with a
woman, lives with an older man in a kind of mentor relationship, recognizing
the "downlow" community as more like family than the frictions of
family life itself. Yet he would he give up everything, he admits, if he could
only get custody of his children and raise them in a "normal"
environment.
In fact, all of these men see the "downlow"
lifestyle as a communal one, as mix of various kinds of sexualities, Kerwin
going so far as to describe the "downlow" life of Cleveland as being
a kid of blur of different beings—as opposed to the more regimented lifestyles
of both Black and white families.
Whatever we might think of or have thought
of the "downlow," it is brilliantly challenged by Child's
documentary, as we gradually come to know these figures who bravely reveal to
us on camera the open secrets of their lives. One of the most painful moments
of the film is Kerwin's nervous admission to his father over the phone,
expressing his bisexuality. He is terrified by his father's potential response,
but the father surprises him and the audience by being generously loving and
caring for his son, once again working against expectations.
Tagging along with these men to
some of the "downlow" bars and clubs we witness a world which is
simultaneously life-affirming and, occasionally, frightening. Flare-ups
sometimes occur when someone is defined in way that does not align with their
perceptions of self. Yet it is these very perceptions of their own beings, the
way they manage in a world unreceptive to their sexuality, that shows us just
how truly sophisticated these folks are. As Billy puts it: “Contrary
to popular belief, being gay is not something you can turn on and turn off when
you feel like, as far as the motions go and what you actually like. Now the way
that you present yourself is something different, you may present yourself as a
thug or present yourself as somebody who’s on the DL or present yourself as a
drag queen, or somebody who is way out there, the way you present it, you can
turn on and turn off changes, or modes or what you want it to be, but the
actual feeling, NO.”
Through a gritty and yet
beautiful vision of city, we come to know and feel for these Cleveland men and
women, who have discovered a way to stay in touch with their worlds while still
living lives apart.
Los Angeles, March 5, 2012
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