Above:
Pascal by Jan Deuzeman
-See More Below-
~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Easter Blooms
'Easter is the soul's first taste of Spring.'
Although any colorful spring bloom can be an Easter flower or centerpiece, in America, we generally associate Easter with the Lily. There's another flower in the bouquet however, that in many other countries, is far more popular. Check out which flower it is, and more visuals from photographer Andrew Bowman, on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
A Passionate Play:
'I shall be reborn. My breath in the heavens, bear witness. We shall be free. We'll we be loved.'
No the 1996 film Lilies in not specifically an Easter film, but it does include a religious themed play, one with similar themes to the traditional Passion Play. The play within the movie, and within the prison, tackles issues of life, death, passion, betrayal, a miscarriage of justice, and of course, required degree of redemption.
It's also of course titled Lilies, and includes various Lily themed visuals weaved into the movie. The original title was The Delicate Ones, the literal translation of Les feluettes. Based on a play by Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, the film includes a procession of different types of lilies. Some real, others made from paper and parchment.
I was unaware there is actually something known as the 'gay cult of lilies' Not a formal cult of course, a known association between the LGBTQ community and flower. It is said to have gone back to Oscar Wild, and even further back to Sappho. There is also a reference to the association of the lily flower with the Japanese yuri genre, which depicts intimate relationships between women. Although lilies are not really a symbol of lesbianism in America, they have become associated with lesbian and queer themes in the yuri genre within Japanese media.
I'm sure like many, some FH readers were introduced to the John Greyson directed film on late night television. I remember growing up in the 1990's, and before we had cable, we had a satellite dish, one which picked up several French speaking channels. It was sometime in the late 1990's that I first caught the Canadian gay themed film one late Friday night.
Carver
I was quickly drawn in by the story, and the beautiful male cast. Led by Jason Cadieux and Danny Gilmore. I was especially taken by Cadieux who looking back, with his beautiful face and lips, reminds me of a young Jonathan Schaech. Rounding out the cast were Alexander Chapman and Brent Carver. Chapman and Carver both played women. Given the play takes place in a male prison, all the female roles were played by men.
Chapman & Cadieux
Of course one of the attractions for me, a young and still closeted viewer, were the scenes of male skin. Both Danny Gilmore and Jason Cadieux show a little skin, but it's the beautiful Gilmore who has a full frontal scene within the play. Check it out on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
Recurrent Revival: Pascal by Jan Deuzeman
'He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.'
Peter 2:24
When it comes to religion, FH is a bit like a CEO. Christmas and Easter Only. I try not to bring religion into the blog except during certain religious holidays like Christmas, Hannukah and Easter. My parents were Protestant, and as a young kid, my parents forced me to attend our local church. My siblings and I had to go until we were 12 years old. Then, we were supported to make our own choice about whether we attended or not.
When the choice was min, I only went sporadically, usually just on holidays. I went more often when I in high school, to a Pentecostal church. It wasn't really a renewed faith, but more because of the girlfriend I had at the time. When we broke up, so did my regular attendance. I'm grateful however, that I was pushed to go as a kid. We had three ministers during my 12 year run, two men and one woman. All were non-judgemental, kind and spotlighted that caring and empathy for others, were the most important components of Christianity.
The treatment of others stayed with me, more than any bible verse or sermon. I believe that the caring for others and empathy are key to life, regardless of what you believe, or what religion you were born into. Sadly, these seemly simple attributes have been aggressively bleached away from the way so many 'self-proclaimed' Christians conduct themself today.
We only need to look at the currant political climate, around the world, and now much closer to home. Empathy and caring are now considered a weakness. Respecting others is only supported if the 'others' think like you, act like you, or bring in about as much money as you do. You can't really argue this goes against almost every traditional Christian value or teachings. Yet, astonishingly it's become the norm for so many. Seeing religious leaders support such hate and bigotry continues to frustrate and confound me.
These are not CEO's, they're more CINO's,... Christians in name only. They all type it in their social media profiles, but couldn't actually back up what they believe with any faith backed argument. They celebrate the Resurrection, but seem oddly ignorant about the death that preceded it. They don't seem able to connect the current level of hate, bigotry and division, with the fact that Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice. The act of sacrifice was central to the story. It was atonement for the sins of humanity.
Most of these 'Christian's' ensure to have new and expensive outfits for Easter Sunday. They've bought their Easter presents, their Easter ham and more than a few Lindt chocolate bunnies. There is just this painfully odd disconnect between their celebrations and the reason the holiday exists to begin with. We were taught to treat others, any others, with love an compassion. We were taught everyone, especially immigrants and strangers were created in God's image and should be treated with inherent dignity. The opposite of the way MAGA, and the bigotry oozing from their orange tinted leader.
I know most visiting FH on this Good Friday know, and already see this. I'm sure, I'm mostly preaching to the choir. I can't however, have my recurrent revival of Easter themed imagery, without it crossing my mind. No matter what you believe, or you're level of Faith, there is a power in the symbolism of religious imagery. Maybe it's the elevated themes, or maybe it's just the hypocrisy.... These visual from artist Jan Deuzeman are for me, poignantly powerful. They're a visual statement of the contrast between what we say we believe, with what we're willing to actually sacrifice for.
At the center of Jan's visuals is Pascal in the role of Jesus. Pascal and Jan have worked together multiple times, always with a theme. This year, Jan asked Pascal if he was interested in becoming Jesus, at least visually, for his annual Easter themed post. I've been fortunate to have featured Jan's work on previous Easter weekends, ever since first discovering his visuals over five years ago.
Each year, Jan strives to bring a new twist to the theme and this year was no exception. For this shoot, it was the addition of sfx make-up, something Jan had never worked with before. It took over an hour to create Pascal's would. Although it took awhile to achieve the look he wanted, Jan was thrilled with the visual results, and very proud of what he and Pascal created. Jan's goal is always both to tell a story, while also capturing the essence of the model in front of his lens. This year, I think he not only captured Pascal, but the essence of the person he was portraying, and the power and the meaning behind the holiday itself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)