'The Miseducation of Cameron Post', 2018

Following the trend of my previous post, I want to talk about ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ (2018). This movie takes place in the same time period, but is about a girl who is sent to a gay conversion therapy program. It’s 1993 and Cameron and her friend, Coley, are secretly having a romantic relationship. When the girls are outed to Cameron’s aunt (and legal guardian), Cameron is sent to God’s Promise, run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh. This film also depicts several other LGBT+ characters at various stages of acceptance in the program, but Cameron finds friends among Jane and Adam, who also resist the overall message of ‘God’s Promise’.

Some things I liked: When I was a teenager, I read the book that it’s based on (by Emily Danforth), and I also had a huge crush on Chloe Moretz at the time. If you told me that they’d turn the book into a movie and she’d play the lead, I would have lost my little gay mind. The film is also directed by a woman, Desiree Akhavan, and two of the main characters from the book are queer people of color. A win for #representation!

Some things I didn’t like: I hate to be cliche, but the book really is better than the movie in this case (however, not by much - I still loved the movie). Danforth’s novel does a better job of tying things together for Cameron at the end of the novel. That being said, both the book and the movie left me with a feeling of something missing, at their end. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride.

The five words I would use to describe this movie: witty, compassionate, spirited, rebellious, hopeful

My queer take: Like ‘Boy Erased’, ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ serves to remind audiences of an important problem that still exists in our society, but as a fictional story, it can afford to do so in a slightly more uplifting way. As a lesbian, I found this movie (and Cameron’s triumphs and struggles) quite relatable, even though I’ve never had to deal with something as awful as conversion therapy. The movie also has very positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes by critics and viewers alike. If you have an HBO subscription, you can watch it there.

Fun fact: This movie won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize (aka the top prize) when it premiered at the Sundance film festival in 2018.

Fun (queer) fact: Cast member Sasha Lane, who plays one of Cameron’s friends Jane, is openly bisexual in real life. So is Desiree Akhavan, who directed the film, and has also directed other queer films and TV shows (including ‘Appropriate Behavior’ and the TV show ‘The Bisexual’). Read an interview with Akhavan here.