Aries June 2014

with ridiculous unpredictable scenarios
that kept me asking “what’s gonna
happen next!?” The only conspicuous
issues that really rammed this
movie in the nuts were the fact that
some stories shouldn’t be condensed
into one movie, just like this one…
The depth of detail allocated for this
film is a far cry from what must be
held in the pages of the book from
which it was adapted, but it’s now
modern. (Hartinger-book author- did
make a whole series…) But really,
this movie isn’t on a H.P. budget, so
dismount the hippogriff and blow off
the cinematic expectation of a Hollywood
smash hit and enjoy the incredible
acting, WTF’s, and the awww’s
this movie has to offer.
On a more analytical note,
I was surprised to find that by the
time I was done watching the movie
a second time I had generated 16
pages of notes on a wide variety of
topics from the directing and editing
to the acting and character development.
While I do not have the
space necessary to extrapolate on all
reasons why I think there are pertinent
reasons to watch the film, there
are a few key story lines and character
archetypes that really caught my
attention.
All the relationships in this movie
seem to tell the same story on
slightly different avenues. One of
the greatest things you can do in life
is to find someone who you can be
yourself around, often times though;
we don’t have the ability to find that
person until we can come to terms
with how we want society to treat
us. Geography club explores several
different relationships in which each
person has a completely different
take on how they want society to
view them. As the movie develops
you are sure to relate one of these
situations. Interestingly enough,
many of the characters depicted in
the “Geography Club” were direct
parallels of people I knew.
Ever person alive can relate
to having less than their fair share of
integrity on more than one occasion.
Self reflection is a necessary break
away from the abstract falsities of
our everyday lives that can bring us
back to self actualization. Though
there is only one perspective telling
the story, the times during which
Russell becomes self reflective are
excellent parallels to his evolving
feelings towards being alone in the
world.
As the “geography club”
comes together it’s obvious that each
person inherently shares a common
fear of being judged for who
they really are by their peers. This
emotional theme is experienced by
everyone alive, so the importance of
a fun, safe and therapeutic support
group has almost become a requirement
for maturity. Because all of the
members of the “geography club”
are open to each other about the intricacies
of their fears, through their
connection, they are able to support
one another and lift weight from the
daily trials of high school.
Of course this movie has many
other plot lines and themes that are
a guaranteed accompaniment to any
LGBTIQA movie, and if you are
one of those people who enjoy films
about inspirational quotes based on
simple yet profound statements such
as “learn to be yourself,” trust me
you won’t be disappointed.
NOTES FROM
THE AUTHOR
“When I was writing Russel
(the main character
-- spelled “Russell” in the
movie version), I thought
of him as pretty autobiographical.
He’s not “me”
exactly, but he has my
sense of humor, my general
optimism, and my
sense of not being crazy
about being in the spotlight.
I see him and his
friends as being very very
quirky. I figured a lot of
gay guys could relate to
him and his friends, especially
the nerdy intellectual
types, but I didn’t
particularly think he’d
have massive crossover
appeal.”
19 ARIES / JUNE 2014