Now having healed from their bird scratches and psychological trauma last episode, Sean and Cody settle into some chill digs—literally—as they take apart this visually stunning 1992 queer costume drama. In Orlando, the title character (Tilda Swinton), a twinky nobleman in 1600 England, receives a rich estate from Queen Elizabeth in exchange for a promise never to grow old. But after enduring hijinx at a frost fair on the Thames, a cruel diss from the alluring Princess Sasha, and the boredom of centuries, Orlando’s true identity as a trans woman tests the boundaries of Queen Liz’s bargain. Environmental issues discussed include winters in Elizabethan England, frost fairs in London and the history of hydrodynamics of the River Thames.

What exactly is a “frost fair,” how did they get started, and were they really like the way they’re portrayed in the film? Is climate change the reason they don’t happen anymore, or is it simpler than that? Why were traffic jams in London every bit as bad in the 17th century as they are today? What’s “Lapland mutton”? Why did books have such ridiculously long titles 200 years ago? How was Virginia Woolf yet another victim of bi erasure? Who is singularly responsible for why the heavy metal subculture adopted the whole gay biker look, and what does it have to do with this movie? Can you recite a brief history of queer cinema in the 1990s? Are these “heritage” pictures mostly satires in disguise? All these questions and more are having a heyday on the frozen river between London Bridge and Blackfriars in this deeply frozen episode of Green Screen.

Where you can find Orlando: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/orlando

Orlando (1992) on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107756/ Orlando (1992) on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/orlando/

Next Movie Up: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

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