Rating: R





Written and Directed by Dee Rees

Cinematography by Bradford Young

Produced by Nekisa Cooper









Starring





Alike by Adepero Oduye

Laura by Pernell Walker

Bina by Aasha Davis

Arthur by Charles Parnell

Sharonda by Sahra Mellesse

Audrey by Kim Wayans





"Pariah" means "an outcast". The film is about a black, 17 year-old girl named Alike and tells the story of her hard time coming out, her closet lovers and rejection by her religious mother. Set in modern-day New York City, Pariah is an eye opener in terms of progress towards equality and acceptance of the LGBT community.





Pariah tackles lots of issues surrounding today's LGBT youth (S) In many ways the storyline is similar to – but not completely the same as – that of Prayers for Bobby’s. The main difference is (apart from it being about a black lesbian instead of a white gay) it’s set in modern-day New York and it has a different ending. Prayers for Bobby – although stories such as Bobby’s still exist today – was set in the 1970s, yet Pariah shows the same situation in today’s society. It’s a reminder that in the fight for equality and acceptance of LGBT people, despite the major advances we’ve made as a nation since the 70s, we still have a long way to go as a society. In many ways the storyline is similar to – but not completely the same as – that of Prayers for Bobby’s. The main difference is (apart from it being about a black lesbian instead of a white gay) it’s set in modern-day New York and it has a different ending. Prayers for Bobby – although stories such as Bobby’s still exist today – was set in the 1970s, yet Pariah shows the same situation in today’s society. It’s a reminder that in the fight for equality and acceptance of LGBT people, despite the major advances we’ve made as a nation since the 70s, we still have a long way to go as a society.





Alike is from a Nigerian family. Nigeria is known to be the most strongly Catholic country in the world and needless to say, homosexuality is totally rejected. Alike’s mother, Bina, represents this mentality.





I actually preferred it to Prayers for Bobby in a lot of ways. For a start, Prayers for Bobby looks like it’s spreading a message of “it gets worse” compared to Pariah. In Prayers for Bobby, Bobby commits suicide and feels there’s no way out of the “sinful life” he’s leading, whereas in Pariah, Alike knows what her mother thinks, but doesn’t let it drive her to suicide and works everything out the best she can.



