The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Queer Film Classics)

Middlemost, Renee

McGill-Queen's University Press（2026/05発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 152 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780228027805

Full Description

Written in less than ten days in 1994, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert became a cultural phenomenon that fundamentally altered mainstream ideas about queer identity worldwide.

The iconic imagery of Priscilla still resonates as a symbol of global queer pride and liberation in spite of a critical reception that has varied since its release. Renée Middlemost provides valuable insight into the key debates surrounding the film through an overview of its production, initial reception, and legacy - adaptation into a stage musical, theme for an Olympic float, and inspiration for reality television programs. The evolution of Priscilla's reputation also offers insight into ever-changing cultural attitudes: wild praise upon release, academic and critical backlash, and finally a nuanced but warm welcome into the history of Australian cinema. Equal parts road movie, musical, and comedy, Priscilla moved between genres, pulling off a radical centring of queer lives for mainstream consumption in the mid-1990s.

Passing its thirtieth anniversary, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert endures as cult object and cultural touchstone, adored by devoted audiences while serving as a reminder of progress made and the work still needed for acceptance. As Middlemost says of her first viewing in a suburban Sydney multiplex in 1994: "It was rude, it was sparkly, it shocked the family members who had begrudgingly taken me; I loved it."