Hello again! I have to admit, I'm not even sure where to pick up after nearly eight months away from blogging.
I've had a few e-mails from people wondering why I hadn't written anything about Luke & Noah in such a long time. There have certainly been some ups and downs for the boys since last August and plenty of off-screen controversy as well, with the apparent No Kissing Allowed mandate having been in effect since last September and the press attention surrounding the campaign by Nuke fans to change it.
Okay, here's a basic summary of what's gone on since I last wrote. After their kiss, Noah tried to fight his feelings for awhile, but in the end he couldn't. Maddie, Noah's girlfriend, took the news rather well, all things considered, and left town for college. Noah's father, the Colonel, didn't see things quite the same way. He pretended to be accepting of his son's boyfriend long enough to lure the boys off on fishing trip with him, where he planned to kill Luke.
What we ended up with as a result was the first of what promises to be many plot devices to keep the boys from being intimate: Luke in a wheel chair.
Of course, Noah was by Luke's side the whole time and helped him regain the use of his legs, but around that time fans started noticing how odd it was that Luke & Noah were no longer kissing. After their ground breaking first kiss in August, they shared one more quick lip lock in September (which Colonel Mayer walked in on), but in spite of some nice romantic moments between the two, their lips just weren't coming together. Even the pivotal moment where Luke took his first post-paralysis steps into Noah's waiting arms was celebrated with a hug.
Still, it wasn't until the now infamous Mistletoe Incident that fans really started seeing red. At Christmas time, they boys found themselves all alone under the mistletoe and finally moved in for another kiss after a three month dry spell... only to have the camera pan up to the mistletoe before their mouths actually met.
ATWT claimed it was an 'artistic decision', but the fans weren't buying it. They retaliated by launching the Kiss Campaign, bombarding the Powers that Be with Hershey's Kisses to make their demand that Luke & Noah be allowed to kiss like any other couple on the soap.
In the months since, there have been several near misses, where the boys moved in for a kiss only to pull apart at the last second for one reason or another. There was also the Valentine's Day episode which featured 'What If' stories about several couples, imagining their lives together in different circumstances. Each couple's story ended with a kiss except for Nuke's. They had to settle for their usual hug.
As if things weren't bad enough, the show has finally hit upon the perfect solution to why two out and proud gay men who are completely in love with each other would refrain from showing physical affection: Ameera. The very name has come to represent all that is wrong with the treatment of daytime's only current gay characters.
You see, it turns out that Noah's evil father was generous to an Iraqi woman and her daughter. His support kept them safe and when it stopped (because of the whole going to prison for trying to kill his gay son's boyfriend thing, you know) the woman died and her daughter, Ameera, managed somehow to get all the way to Oakdale, where Noah had to save her from a return to war torn Iraq by marrying her.
Ta da! Now the boys can't kiss in public for a reason! The INS would send poor innocent Ameera back to Iraq. I guess all the show has to do is refrain from ever showing the boys alone together in private (which they seem to be doing) and the lack of kissing is totally logical!
There have been some good moments along the way, of course, like Noah becoming a part of the Snyder family and even moving to the Snyder farm, and Luke & Noah discussing what they want their first time to be like. But when second base is a pat on the shoulder, I think we've got a long wait before we get to any romantic bedroom scenes.
There was also a conflict with two drunken frat boy types who pulled Ameera into their car. Though the dreaded F Bomb was dropped (and, I'm sorry, I don't think the show should be so free with that word- they've used it twice since Luke came out- if they're not going to show a simple kiss between two guys in love), I was glad to see that rather than being victims Noah & especially Luke fought back and were holding their own and kicking some ass.
But all in all, the story is in a really bad place right now that has a lot of viewers tuning out. The show clearly knows that Nuke is an incredibly popular couple- Van Hansis was just signed to a new, multi-year contract as Luke and the show just won a GLAAD award, not to mention that they've received more press coverage over all of this than they have for anything in decades- but none of that is going to last much longer if this continues. There is a lot of talk about where the No Kissing rule comes from- the network, Procter & Gamble, the producers?- and the show itself denies that such a double standard is in place. The audience isn't stupid, though, and we're not going to settle for second class status for Luke & Noah any more than we would for ourselves.
So that's where things are on the Nuke front. If you're wondering about the other daytime soaps, don't bother. Still no glbt characters is sight outside of Oakdale.
I also got an e-mail recently asking me to weigh in on the question of the year: Hillary or Obama?
I'm tempted to say that it doesn't matter. Neither one is going to be a trailblazer for progressive change, not really. They're both very much a part of the establishment and we should all know by now that the only real change comes from the outside, from the people forcing the establishment to make just enough of a change to keep anything more radical at bay.
I do believe this, but I also know that after the last disastrous seven years, no one can ever really say that it doesn't matter who the President is. Change for the better has to be forced on them, but change for the worse is all too easily accomplished when the wrong person is in the Oval Office.
Clinton and Obama are very similar in their positions on a lot of issues, but I want to look specifically at glbt issues (big surprise, I know).
I can't quite get past the fact that Senator Obama invited not one but several openly anti-gay individuals to join him on a political tour in South Carolina. Yes, he added an openly gay pastor to the tour, but only after he was heavily criticized.
It is true that he's said he's in favor of civil unions and he did vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment. But no Democrat considering a run for the Presidency would dare to vote for it, would they?
It all just makes me nervous about what he actually believes. I don't think for a second that he would be anywhere near as bad on glbt issues as Bush is or McCain would be, but I'm not at all convinced that he'd be open to positive change, either.
As a gay man, I can't quite forget the cop out that was Don't Ask Don't Tell and the slap in the face that was Bill Clinton's signing of the Defense of Marriage Act. But I'm not going to hold Hillary Clinton accountable for anything her husband did in office, any more than I'd hold Barack Obama accountable for something Michelle Obama did in her position at the University of Chicago.
Senator Clinton has spoken out about the failure of Don't Ask Don't Tell and has said she'd repeal the key part of the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as being a union of one man and one woman.
Personally, my vote goes to Senator Clinton. I just think she's more of a known quantity than the freshman Senator from Illinois.
I also want to say that it annoys the hell out of me to see the pressure being brought to bear on her right now to drop out of the race. All this ridiculous talk about having it settled before the convention pisses me off because plenty of people haven't voted yet and to force Clinton out of the race would be to deny them their vote.
The whole system is ridiculous. We should have a national primary election, get it all over with in one day of voting. Then all the people would have their chance to be heard. It's so ridiculous that our primaries drag on for months and months, costing countless millions, and even so are settled before so many people can even cast their vote!
