''The Lollipop Generation'' is a 2008 Canadian underground

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

written, produced, and directed by G. B. Jones, whose previous films include '' The Troublemakers'' and ''

The Yo-Yo Gang G. B. Jones (born 1965) is a Canadian artist, filmmaker, musician, and publisher of zines. She is best known for producing the queer punk zine ''J.D.s'' and her ''Tom Girls'' drawings. Career Music Jones' musical career began as a young child, s ...

''. It premiered as the Gala Feature presentation of the

Images Festival The Images Festival is a yearly event devoted to independent and experimental film, video art, new media and media installation that takes place each spring in Toronto. History The Images festival was founded in 1987, originally conceived a ...

in Toronto on April 3, 2008. Starring Jena von Brücker, the film tells the story of Georgie, a teenager who is forced to run away from home after

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

to her parents, and the homeless

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

youth and other people she meets on the streets.

Synopsis

G. B. Jones’ The Lollipop Generation is a film about runaway queer kids, a gang of lollipop-eating social misfits let loose on the streets of Toronto. They stumble into drugs, danger, and prostitution, and inhabit an

underground culture Underground culture, or simply underground, is a term to describe various alternative cultures which either consider themselves different from the mainstream of society and culture, or are considered so by others. The word "underground" is used ...

infused with a pervasive yet innocent kind of sleaze. Seasoned with a bottom-up punk aesthetic and a good handful of homemade porn, the film presents an altogether refreshing critique of the stultifying norms of convention.

Cast

* Jena von Brücker as Georgie * Mark Ewert as Rufus * Jane Danger as Janie * KC Klass as Peanut *

Vaginal Davis Vaginal Davis (born in Los Angeles, California) is an American performer, painter, independent curator, composer, film-maker and writer. Born intersex and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, Davis gained notoriety in New York during the 1980s ...

as Beulah Blacktress *

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr. (born September 29, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Megatron" after the ''Transforme ...

as Playground pervert *

Joel Gibb Joel W. Gibb (born 28 January 1977) is a Berlin-based Canadian artist and singer-songwriter who leads the "gay church folk" group The Hidden Cameras. He was born in Kincardine, Ontario. Career His first involvement with the music scene was a ...

as Retardo * Jen Smith as Redheaded hopscotch girl * Johnny Noxzema as Porn director * Mitchell Watkins as Porn star * Rachel Pepper as Rich girl (Peanut's trick) * Torry Colichio as Metro Theatre girl * Becky Palov as Blonde hopscotch girl * DD Donato as Peanut's boyfriend * Andrew Cecil as Skateboarding streetkid in washroom * Paul P. as Washroom boy *

Scott Treleaven Scott Treleaven is a Canadian artist whose work employs a variety of media including painting, collage, film, video, drawing, photography and installation. Artwork ''Artform Magazine'' invoked references to Jean Genet, William S. Burroughs, Ja ...

as Washroom boy * Christy Cameron as Girl in store * Anonymous Boy as Hustler in a black leather jacket * Gary Fembot as New wave hustler * Ian Philips as Hustler * Kevin Constrictor as Hustler * Stevec as Hustler * Helen Bed as Shop owner * Clitoris Turner as Shop clerk *

Rick Castro Rick Castro (July 20, 1958) is an American photography, photographer, motion picture director, stylist, curator and writer whose work focuses on BDSM, fetish, and desire. Early life Castro began work as a fashion stylist and clothing designer. O ...

as Photographer * Ronster as Dumpster diver * G. B. Jones as Doorway denizen

Production

The film was made over a period of 15 years, "one Super-8 reel at a time", whenever the director could afford to buy another cartridge of film. In the end, the Toronto band

Kids on TV Kids on TV was a Canadian punk music, punk-house music, house queercore band from Toronto, active from 2003 to 2013. The group consisted of John Caffery on bass and vocals, Minus Smile on drums, electronics and vocals, Chris 'Wolf' Mills on guita ...

organized a benefit so that G.B. Jones could finish it. When asked if the film belonged to the "queer experimental" genre, G. B. Jones replied, "No, no, no. I mean, I think some people don't really get what we're doing, so they try to stick a label on us, to try to define and limit us. Some people call it experimental film, some people call it documentary filmmaking, other people call it “New Queer Cinema.” But we're going beyond the borders they're trying to impose on us. It is an experiment." (republished June 27, 2015)

Filming

The film was shot on location across Canada and the United States, and features scenes at sites that have since been demolished, such as the Metro Theatre; Riverdale Hospital by architects Howard Chapman and Len Hurst;

Adventure playground An adventure playground is a specific type of playground for children. Adventure playgrounds can take many forms, ranging from "natural playgrounds" to "junk playgrounds", and are typically defined by an ethos of unrestricted play, the presence o ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

; and

Retail Slut Retail Slut was a clothing store in Los Angeles, California that specialized in punk, goth, and underground fashions. Founded in 1983 by Helen O'Neill, the store heavily supported the underground scenes such as the S&M, drag and rave communi ...

in Los Angeles, California.

Reception

''The Lollipop Generation'' was described by the

Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema The Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI, ) is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. History The festival had its first edition in April 1999 and i ...

as, "...a trip through epileptic shots of documentary ugliness that go right to the origins and essence of sexually anarchic cinema...". However, Peter Keough of ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...

'' insists, "There's a fine line between the trash of early John Waters and just plain garbage. G.B. Jones, perhaps to her credit, ignores it completely." Using Canadian pop culture reference points, Toronto's ''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The followin ...

'' called it, "Scrappy as hell, yet often charming, it's a lost ''

Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. It is the third entry in the '' Degrassi'' franchise and the direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', and was broadcast on the CBC fro ...

'' episode remade as an amateur porn flick and sometimes as sweet as all that candy." '' Time Out'' described the film as serving "a diaristic function, documenting the people the director has met and the cities she travelled to, capturing an entire generation of underground performers." The 23rd Annual London L & G Film Festival catalogue says, "Shot on

Super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction f ...

and

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

, ''The Lollipop Generation'' harnesses these tools of the traditional home movie and uses them to make a fucked up family film."

References

External links

*
The Lollipop Generation
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

''The Lollipop Generation''
trailer {{DEFAULTSORT:Lollipop Generation, The 2008 films 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2008 LGBTQ-related films Canadian avant-garde and experimental films Canadian LGBTQ-related films English-language Canadian films Punk films Films about runaways 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films