Fifty one years ago this month, a strange and beautiful art film called Pink Narcissus had its San Francisco debut, and went on to forever change the life of my guest Ian MacKinnon. I spoke to Ian back in 2015, and this week we’re revisiting that interview to mark the half-century birthday of one of his favorite films. Growing up in the midwest, Ian couldn't even picture what life as a gay man even looked like. And he certainly couldn't have pictured what his life would become: parading up on stages as a performance artist, covered in brightly-colored phallic objects, to shout triumphantly in one-man shows about the pride he takes in being a sexual gay being.
We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out in 2023! It’s about how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom over the last half century, and I’ll be revealing the title and cover next week in my weekly newsletter — head over to gaysitcoms.com to subscribe and be the first to get all the details, and to pre-order your copy.
Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive bonus videos about pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and shoutouts in YouTube videos.
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