I never thought I'd pay for a subscription to watch a show on the internet, especially in my financial situation but here I am, paying for Venice the Series. I've talked about the importance of positive role models for gay youth and even adults who are trying to come to terms with their sexuality and how important it is to see LGBT representation on your TV/computer screen. As great as it is to see Callie and Arizona on Grey's Anatomy, Emily and whichever-girl-she's-currently-dating on Pretty Little Liars or Brittany and Santana on Glee, those characters and relationships are still scaled down to suit the sensibilities of the white male christian america. It's kinda ok to be gay as long as no or very little intimacy is shown. For a person living in a country/area/region where it is not cool to be gay TV and web shows might be the only way to get in touch with community and to actually see "happy, content couple" representing their sexual orientation and the type of relationship they might want to have. If your family and society is always telling you being gay is wrong, how will you learn otherwise?
Last spring I was on afterellen.com reading about a possible lesbian couple on an american soap. They had a message board dedicated for the couple and someone mentioned or compared them to "Otalia on Guiding Light", another lesbian soap couple on another soap which had been cancelled few years before. They had a youtube link which I watched and immediately got hooked on. I watched their whole story from beginning to end and I gotta say, it was one of the best if not THE best love story I've ever seen on TV. It took them 1,5 years to do but you could see the slow build up and really understand what their love was based on. BUT, they were never allowed to kiss or do anything more than hug or "head bump" on screen. And the hugging really decreased once they were actually "dating". While they were still just friends and roommates they hugged quite a lot. Beautiful love story but very frustrating. Had I watched it in real time I'd probably would have pulled my hair out!
The actresses playing "Otalia", Olivia and Natalia, Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia had mad mad MAD chemistry. And their hot. Like super hot. And they were willing to do more than what the network gave them. So when the show was cancelled Crystal created Venice to continue to work the story, chemistry and fan base they've cultivated during the Otalia storyline. Which is where paying for a subscription comes in. In order to do more than network TV was willing to show they needed to go online. No outside censorship, but also no network money or advertisers.
Yesterday was the 3rd season premiere and I was eagerly waiting by my computer at 10pm when the episode came online. First people gracing your screen are Crystal and Jessica's characters Gina and Ani in bed together. What a great start! Is it next Wednesday already???
Not to forget my viewing pleasure but among other things the music is great. They use a lot of indie/no-name musicians who've submitted their songs to be used on Venice and I personally have broaden my horizons when it comes to music because of Venice. And I've actually bought the songs via iTunes instead of downloading them from other sites. Because it turns out I am actually willing to pay for quality. And for my rights. And for awareness. And for class acts like Crystal to continue to do what she does for my community. So...if you want to see what the fuzz is all about, you can see the first episode of every season on Youtube, just search Venice the Series. Their channel also has behind the scenes material and "talking about season 3"thingy do where Crystal talks with some of the cast members about the upcoming season. She and Jessica are so funny together. And cute. So cute. It is impossible not to smile when you look at them. It also might be because I'm a lesbian. And I totally heart them. And I feel a little pervy for totally hearting straight women who have husbands and kids at home but I do. If I was Catholic I'd go to confession but since I'm not I'm just gonna... go see the first scene from last night's episode.
And here's the music to accompany that scene.
Gia Ciambotti- Right as Rain
www.venicetheseries.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/venicetheseries
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
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