Qmmunity: Want to Go to There
A 2000s-era sitcom rewatch stirs up thoughts on queer media
By James Scott, Fri., April 5, 2024
Reader, I must be real: I’m watching 30 Rock, again. As a teen, my parents and I watched NBC Thursdays with religious commitment. To return has been a fascinating experience – or as my friend said, this 2000s comedy show is “funny to watch.” While the modern urge in a rewatch is to cringe at every sharp-edged gay joke that pushes against the bumpers put up by squeamish suits on the bowling alley of entertainment, I prefer to see the off-color punches 30 Rock threw as a chance to knock over a few pins I haven’t touched in a while.
Why do many of the LGBTQ-specific jokes slung in 30 Rock’s mile-a-minute comedic pacing make the modern viewer wince? Some say the difference is time: In 2024, you just can’t make jokes about a sex freak starlet marrying her straight drag queen boyfriend who dresses as her for work. We’re in too progressive a society for that. However, I’d argue the jokes didn’t play in 2006 when the show first aired. Back in Aughts hell, the reason people shied from a show with so many pointed jokes about marginalized communities was because straight-cis-normie society refuses to bear anything that challenges the rippleless pool of its existence. Today, the deal is much the same despite increased queer visibility. To be honest, most mainstream LGBTQ content has the edge of safety scissors – dull and plastic, made to “protect” a conceptual queer viewer rather than facilitate the real community’s advancement.
My issue in why 30 Rock – and most previous decades’ incisive comedy that featured LGBTQ themes – doesn’t work entirely comes not from the content but the creator. I’m not saying Tina Fey isn’t funny or didn’t make a great show, but a point of view sorely lacking in 30 Rock is the transsexual’s. For how much Liz Lemon resonates in her baggy layered frumpery to the early transmasculine egg, how much more would the character hit were a real trans man able to contribute his own experiences into the narrative? Or what might have been yielded comedically were a trans woman able to dig her hands into the funny and fetid swamp of Jenna Maroney? The gender-affirming surgery jokes write themselves. Also: nonbinary Tracy Jordan – what more needs saying? I want to hear what his neopronouns would be.
When the wheel isn’t in our hands, we don’t have control over where the car goes. Same with a bowling alley – even the bumpers imply a level of outside control over the queer narrative. As queer artists, we have to become the ones taking the shot or our stories are doomed to be diluted. While no bumpers means the chance of gutter balls, it also means that the strikes belong to us alone. I want a future where the weirdo comedy calls come from inside the trans house, and baby: I’m picking up the phone.
Glamp, Glamp
Thursday 4, Lynny’s
Back for their second show, this open mic variety show invites folks to bring their six-min. max acts to the space just outside of MASS Gallery. The theme? Reboot! Heroic trio hosts Aira Juliet, Lynn Metcalf, and Erica Nix guide proceedings.
Out Youth Anniversary
Friday 5, Highland Lounge
Celebrate 34 years of helping local queer youth thrive at this nonprofit party, featuring drag, raffles, and fab-o prizes. Twenty percent of proceeds benefit Out Youth’s programs.
Aries Szn
Saturday 6, Cheer Up Charlies
Mess with the ram, you’ll get ... horny? Whatever you do, make sure you’re front and center for this eclipse pre-party featuring drag by Aries icons Sir Beau Elliot, Leia Sakura Dior, Munster Mash, Flex Brojas, and Arinna Dior Heys. The Trans Era hosts, DJ Fairy Aries spins, and yeah: No duh there’ll be tarot and a clothing swap.
Package Eclipse Party
Monday 8, Package Austin
Observe the celestial proceedings from First Street’s favorite sex shop, where complimentary bevies and eclipse glasses make the whole experience a safe and unforgettable time.
