Slow Takes Archives

Slow Takes

movie features

Slow Takes: We Come to This Place for Magic

A movie theatre was the first reason I left my apartment after the 2016 election.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Dec 8, 2022

hulu

Slow Takes

Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle hold hands and laugh cry looking up at a screen in the final moments of Pen15.

tv feature

Slow Takes: “Pen15” and Embracing Alternate Girlhoods

Watching the first season during what I considered my second puberty was miserable. I could acknowledge its effectiveness, but I felt alienated.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Nov 3, 2022

horror

Horror Is So Gay

Lauren Beatty as Grey in Bloodthirsty and Teagan Johnston as Catherine in The Strings wear headphones. A skeleton hand holding a flower reaches between them.

movie features

Slow Takes: The Year of Queer Indie Musicians Creating in Solitude and Losing Their Minds

Horror has always been the most democratized genre.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Oct 6, 2022

#affiliatemarketing

Slow Takes

lgbt book reviews

Slow Takes: “Stone Fruit” and Choosing Given Family

I learned about the concept of chosen family from a heterosexual uncle I don’t talk to anymore.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Sep 1, 2022

Slow Takes

Isabel Sandoval in a black Miu Miu sweater sits up on a yellow picnic blanket. She's wearing blue eye shadow and her face is lit in golden light. Shadows of leaves are seen on her face and the blanket.

movie features

Slow Takes: “Shangri-La” and What Makes a Great Short Film

Since the rise of video, “just go out and make something” has been a rallying cry to young filmmakers. I would add not to lose yourself along the way —…

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Aug 4, 2022

reality tv

Slow Takes

Rachel, Hina, and Krissi sit in the 12 Dates of Christmas cabin surrounded by Christmas light-covered trees during the gift ceremony. Rachel is wearing a black dress. Krissi is wearing a red dress. Hina is sitting on a chair that's elevated and they're wearing a dark purple suit.

first person

Slow Takes: “12 Dates of Christmas” and When Transphobia Makes You a Chaos Demon

If you want to live in a reality show, go ahead and sow chaos, but if you’d rather have a romcom, you have to let go.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Jul 7, 2022

Slow Takes

A screenshot from The Foundation for AIDS Research's "Scenes from Angels in America" fundraiser. Vella Lovell as Harper is superimposed above Andrew Rannells as Prior. The backdrop is a mix of a starry sky over a building and a staircase with candles leading from the bottom of the frame to the top. Lovell wears a black nightie and Rannells wears a turquoise robe and makeup.

theater

Slow Takes: A Tribute to Zoom Theatre

The story of how I joined theatre is like if the Disney Channel was dark and gay.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Jun 2, 2022

Slow Takes

Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) in the Fast & Furious franchise hold hands while looking into each other's eyes.

movie features

Slow Takes: “F9: The Fast Saga” and the Danger of Queer Assimilation

I will always believe that homoerotic criminals are far queerer than explicitly gay cops.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

May 5, 2022

Slow Takes

Fusako Urabe and Aoba Kawai in Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy are holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes

movie reviews

Slow Takes: “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” and the Futility of Time Travel

Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s triptych of cinematic short stories is about love and fate and coincidence. It’s also about the past.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Apr 7, 2022

Slow Takes

The singer Lucy Dacus sitting in an empty movie theater

music

Slow Takes: Lucy Dacus’ “Home Video” and the Representation of Specificity

Home Video isn’t universal. It’s not even universally queer. It’s solely and specifically Lucy Dacus.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Mar 3, 2022

In My Skin

Slow Takes

Photo 1: Two girls embrace outdoors. The one on the right is touching the one on the left's face. Photo two: Two girls look at each other while embracing outdoors. They are both smiling.

tv feature

Slow Takes: “In My Skin” and the Value of Second Chances

The second and final series of In My Skin is one of the best seasons of television I’ve ever seen.

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Feb 3, 2022

regular

short stories

A collage of the cover for Casey Plett's A Dream Of A Woman

first person

Slow Takes: Casey Plett’s “A Dream of a Woman” and Forgiveness as a Love Story

Often I find myself pushing so hard against the image of trans loneliness that I don’t allow myself to acknowledge the truths that lie within. This book acknowledged them for…

Drew Burnett Gregory —

Jan 6, 2022