Blogging Desires

It was a one of a kind experience. The place was pretty awesome. The people were fabulous. And the films! And the discussions that were going on — both in the formal panels and in more ad hoc configurations.

I must admit though that the tech-related panels seemed to be a little bit off. And after the first panel, I became very nervous about the tech panels — mostly because I had to be in them and my understanding of queer issues and film was (still is but not as much) pretty thin. But it worked out in the end.  The ones who did go to the panels rocked — and asked so many compelling questions.

I am still thinking about Alvin’s follow-up question on the assumption that women re-presented in digital spaces were attached to women’s bodies — and what if they weren’t? What does that mean for women’s re-presentations in the Internet.

And Namita’s aha! comment about the idea of representation of women, as has been understood in other media like film or tv, may no longer be relevant to digital spaces. Perhaps it’s not so much “representation” as it is “participation”? Will have to think about that some more.

And the conversation on the bus ride from Neemrana to Delhi on the balancing act one needs to do on anonymity, identities (online and real ones) and accountability in digital spaces.  I still have no clear answer though my practical bent tells me to just encourage everyone to experiment with these Web 2.0 tools (like blogging) and find their comfortable fulcrums to balance their identities, anonymity and accountabilities for what they say / how they behave in digital spaces. Though I understand that that response hardly helps… So no answers there.

Many, many questions still. Like where do I find versions 1 - 3 of Iron Pussy? How do I get more Rahul Bose films?  Just how normative is heteronormativity? What does being a “queer asian” really mean? Does censorship really just curtail creativity or does it provide an impetus for more creativity to circumvent them? Can queer communities and creative expressions flourish just beneath the radar of fundamentalism?

Questions that have been on replay in my head — accompanied by snippets of the visual feast that some of the films shown have provided. Questions I’m pretty sure that will continue to niggle. Questions that beg more discussion.

So yeah, I am still reeling and waiting to catch my breath from the event. I’m glad we have this space to explore issues and topics further.