June Q&A! Uhura's Improv, Cowboy Poets, & a "My Mother the Car" Mystery
Added 2023-06-01 20:05:30 +0000 UTCBackup link in case the video doesn't play: https://youtu.be/428j8ljRpVs
Hello there! I'm adding something new this month!
Lately, a lot of Patrons have been sending me clips & questions & observations & whatnot, so I've decided to do a once-a-month Q&A video where I respond to some of the things you've sent me. Let me know if this is something you like & want more of!
I'm planning to do Q&A videos at the start of every month, and they'll be public posts so anyone can watch them. (And of course, I'll still be doing bonus videos every Sunday for Patrons at the $2-and-up level. So if you like these Q&A videos, there's plenty more stuff for you to watch!)
So -- in this month's inaugural Q&A, I'm responding to some excellent questions about a duo of cowboy poets that appeared on Carson instead of Ellen DeGeneres; also a question about whether a line on Star Trek involving a sweaty Sulu was improvised to get around the censors; and we're taking a look at the mysterious mountains in the background of My Mother the Car. Plus an amazing clip of Lucille Ball not taking any shit from a man in the audience. And more!
Let me know if you like these new monthly Q&A roundups, or if there's anything you'd want me to adjust about them.
And thanks again for being a part of the Patreon!
Matt
Here's the full clip of Lucy calling out that guy in the audience -- it happens at 14:45, 15:43, 20:43, and 37:32. https://youtu.be/6fH4wkPSytc
Here's the clip of Ellen making a bit of an error in her 2002 standup special: https://youtu.be/j-SPVnPMj5M
Cowboy poets on Carson (starting around 19:20): https://youtu.be/04thIHVlk4Y
Get my book and see my upcoming live events: http://gaysitcoms.com
Me on Savage Lovecast: https://savage.love/lovecast/2023/05/30/television-and-queer-history-with-matt-baume/
Comments
I think when Uhura said neither, she meant 1. Not a fair maiden and 2. I don't need you to protect me.
Jeff-todd Jencks
2024-06-29 05:15:12 +0000 UTCThe bigger focus remains on the international pageants, particularly Miss Universe. Our main local pageant establishes the "winners" who will go to each international competition.
Rocky Sunico
2023-07-04 03:02:45 +0000 UTCOh that's really interesting! Is the attention mostly on beauty pageants in the Philippines, or international ones?
Matt Baume
2023-07-04 00:28:18 +0000 UTCI totally think you're onto something about this whole relationship between gay men (at least) and pop culture. I don't have an answer to explain any of it either, but it is something I've observed. Over here in the Philippines, this has resulted in a LOT of queer friends who are ridiculously knowledgeable about beauty pageants down to being able to name winners, runners-up and even semi-finalists in sequence for years of the different pageants. It's fascinating.
Rocky Sunico
2023-07-03 16:44:34 +0000 UTCI've got a few thoughts so bear with me: 1. Saw you in Portland, everyone should see you. This Q&A thing is great because what I really wanted to do was just hear more, and the conversation format worked. I also never knew the author of Frog and Toad was gay! I loved those books, so much that I still have my scribbled on mini hardcover versions from childhood. Makes them make so much sense. Also, the thing about Mr. Ed being a queer coded couple blew my mind. It makes so much sense, and I only ever saw a few episodes. 2. I was a huge nerd and figuring out my sexuality (Bi) when I got into Star Trek in the 80s, along with the X-Men and a bunch of other things I wouldn't understand were queer coded until much later. I think you're very right about pop culture and representation, especially in the Sci-Fi world. This is true of books of the era, too. 3. Ever since you started talking about My Mother the Car, I've been thinking about how I learned about the show. What's frustrating, is that I'm not sure! I read the comics every day when I was a kid in the 80s. I am still a huge Bloom County fan. I think it was Bloom County, but I'm not sure, but My Mother the Car was a regular punchline for a while. It was an ongoing bit. For years I thought it was an in-universe joke which I understood from context of shows like that, but didn't realize it was a real show. I didn't know it was real until the late 90s! I always wondered about it, but kind of forgot and never looked it up to see actual footage. So it was amazing to see the theme song and opener. I'm going to look it up to see an episode or two. I may go back and reread my Bloom County collections to see if I can find it, but if someone else remembers this context and where it was from, that would be awesome.
Zardogs! Zardogs!
2023-06-11 18:08:50 +0000 UTCI definitely fall into the 'best little boy syndrome', but also wonder if the connection between LGBTQ+ identities and neurodiversity play a role? This is something I'm just learning about myself (and in myself) but feel like there could be a connection there?
Gillian
2023-06-07 04:05:51 +0000 UTCAs a library worker, can in interject to say - yes! Authors get royalties for their books being signed out from libraries (at least that's how it is in Canada). That's why if you lose/damage a library book, it can cost more to pay for a replacement - we don't just buy books 'at cost', but it's a whole library specific process/payment system that takes into account the authors being paid fairly for the consistent use of their book.🤓
Gillian
2023-06-07 03:43:46 +0000 UTCThat is interesting, Focusing particularly on music or arts is a very feminine trait, as straight males or a large number of my female lesbian friends focus on sports or cars traditionally masculine things. So thinking about my original point that I was trying to make, perhaps the need to do it is just a human thing, whereas what everyone focuses on may be driven by whether the individual feels particularly (traditionally) masculine or feminine? It's interesting to think about.
Saltywench
2023-06-05 19:16:35 +0000 UTCIt’s not so much about having something to focus on, it’s that we LGBTQ+ have a propensity for focusing on pop culture (which is much broader than music), specifically television, broadway, and movies. It’s a little too prevalent to be coincidental.
QueBijoux
2023-06-05 17:31:08 +0000 UTCI don't think it has anything to do with being gay that makes some men particularly tuned to specific pop culture. I ran a fan forum for a rock group for 15 years, and dealt with teenage girls who could rattle off unbelievable minutia about their favorite star. And you only have to glance at K-pop to see millions of fans of both sexes who can do the same about any possible member of any group out there. It seems to me that whether it's a sport, or a person in particular, it's a trait of human beings to belong to some form of cult of personality. Religion was the first one; we all need to invest belief in something and once we FIND something, we invest wholeheartedly. I've never met a single person who didn't have something they could talk about down to microbes if necessary. It certainly doesn't seem to be a human sexual trait, so I wouldn't think gays knowing Ethel Merman's bra size had to do with being queer, any more than someone being able to tell you every team member's batting average had something to do with being straight, or someone knowing every K-pop star's license plate numbers made them a stalker. Everyone on the planet collected/stalked digital Pokémon. It seems to be some sort of fundamental human need to zero in on something and study it. Just my opinion.
Saltywench
2023-06-04 18:29:37 +0000 UTCAndy Daly does a character parodying the Cowboy Poet phenomenon that feels very inspired by that Carson appearance. Dalton Wilcox's poems sound remarkably like that, but his bit is that he's convinced any kind of city slicker he doesn't like is some kind of movie monster who he has to slay. (He also has a poem about having sex with a hole in the ground)
Joe
2023-06-04 04:41:55 +0000 UTCSo cool you used my question! Yes, it really was about future books because this one is so fun and informative. Glad that you are working on one, even if it is two years out. For your sign off on future videos, finding something other than Fleckmans would distinguish it from the normal bonus videos and make it special. BTW, my “name” is from an aria in Faust: O dieu! que de bijoux (AKA, The Jewel Song). I just shortened it. :-)
QueBijoux
2023-06-03 19:22:20 +0000 UTCI think that would be super helpful, yes!!!
Matt Baume
2023-06-03 16:59:12 +0000 UTCWould you like us to make requests to our local libraries to stock your book? Not sure if this would be helpful or unhelpful to you as an author at this stage.
Daniel Markson
2023-06-03 15:49:10 +0000 UTCI've watched the Lucy interview in the past and my sense at the time was that Lucy was partially making a comedy bit (the audience laughed) over David Sheehan touching the ladies. I've seen a lot of hosts in the old days hold onto people because sometimes they unconsciously pull away from a mic and that makes for bad TV. I also think that she might not have liked him. Sheehan started in the LA market as an entertainment reporter in 1970 and remained until he retired in 2004. He was one of those snarky guys who made fun of things he didn't like so he could seem witty. He may have pissed her off if he commented about the latter days of Here's Lucy or the specials that followed (none of them were her best work). He might have been a lech too, I don't know. He died in 2020 so maybe he missed MeToo. Regarding why gay people are experts in pop culture… I think it’s a number of things that stem back to our childhoods. - It’s a way to connect with other people, to have expertise about something. I’ve heard it said that everybody’s a geek about something, movies, books, TV, sports, comics, etc. A lot of kids connected over sports but that sure wasn’t me. - As a kid, I loved TV because it was an escape, and I could find people who were like me or were who I wanted to be. I grew up on a farm, and at a very early age, I knew that wasn’t the life I wanted. I wanted city life and an office job like the smartly dressed Darren Stevens had (without the shitty boss). I couldn't fathom Green Acres' Oliver Douglas's need to move to the country. - TV families are also understanding and loving -- either the nuclear or chosen families. I’ve always been drawn to the chosen families of TV -- Golden Girls, Cheers, Star Trek, Gilligan, Mary Tyler Moore, etc. -- with loyal people who would do anything for their friends. I have a feeling that’s attractive to a lot of gay people.
Trevor
2023-06-03 04:59:42 +0000 UTCPop culture has been a way to understand me and my world; the more I could understand, the more I wanted to learn.
Francisco Abate
2023-06-03 00:38:45 +0000 UTCWhoops, sorry! Here it is: https://savage.love/lovecast/2023/05/30/television-and-queer-history-with-matt-baume/
Matt Baume
2023-06-02 21:10:06 +0000 UTCbtw, that cardboard you "thing" you made. in production work, gaffers/grips we call that a FLAG. helps control how light falls the "talent" I thought you'd enjoy that trivia.
Darren Simon
2023-06-02 18:44:40 +0000 UTCno link notes to podcast...
Darren Simon
2023-06-02 18:31:52 +0000 UTCI vote for "tell me what my signoff should be..." 😀
Marcin Zdun
2023-06-02 05:07:23 +0000 UTCOh wow I think you're absolutely right. We're narrowing it down!!!
Matt Baume
2023-06-02 02:59:59 +0000 UTCAhahahaha I love it
Matt Baume
2023-06-02 02:52:40 +0000 UTCLove the segment! I vote for the first closing clip to be "take your hands off her David"
Steve McLean
2023-06-02 02:38:04 +0000 UTCMy Mother the Car opening- looks like Pasadena with its mix of oak and palms. I'd say go into Google street view and look out for that big white building. Suburbs in Pasadena tend not to change much so it might still be around. Somewhere around this location looking west towards the mountains. https://goo.gl/maps/wTGFwkFaRrkb2Jdy7
TBoneSF
2023-06-02 00:05:52 +0000 UTC
