Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The Relatable: Catfish
First things first: the documentary Catfish doesn’t deal with any over queer content. It does, however, confront the perils of modern web and app based-dating, something which LGBTQ people know a good deal about. The film follows Nev Schulman, a New York photographer who begins receiving fan mail from a young girl in Michigan. He eventually falls for the girl’s beautiful older sister, and the two begin a long-distance affair of sorts. As it progresses, however, certain elements don’t add up, and when Nev goes to Michigan to meet his lover, all hell breaks loose.
We don’t want to say more than that here. The first half of Catfish plays like a Hitchcock thriller, taut with mounting suspense. The second, which features a mix of revelations and plot twists, doesn’t get crazy so much as sad and unexpectedly moving. Why do people create false identities on dating apps and social media? Do they have nefarious reasons, or is something more disturbing going on? The answers in Catfish raise more questions, and will give pause to anyone who has ever wondered if that dream lover seems a bit too good to be true.
How about we take this to the next level?
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ShiningSex
I don’t get how most are catfished.
If you can see them, meet up with them, talk via skype or something like that or if they ask for money, then you’re being catfished. DUH!!!!
Stop being so stupid.
JakeConnor
You’re right. If someone gets catfished today, their stupid.
winemaker
This story reminds me of an episode of Dr. Phil some years ago and the theme of the show was ‘catfishing’. Long story short he had as a guest a 40 something nice looking woman, divorced with a high school aged son soon to graduate. She was lonely and looking for love, went online and joined a dating site She ended up getting involved with a scammer and losing over $187,000 dollars over a 4 year period. She got hooked in and started having feelings for this guy who said he was an international architect from England doing consulting jobs all over the world. The guy was smooth, requesting money over time due to bad luck and she fell for his BS, hook,line and sinker. She’d never met the guy in person yet had a 3 year online ‘relationship’ with the slug and ended up almost broke. She ended up mortgaging her, house, cashed out her IRA, savings account and kept sending this guy money on the promise they’d be together. Dr. Phil on his wisdom and with the help of his connections and staff was able to get the guy on the phone on national television, embarrass him and make him look like the thief, that he was. Her 18 year old son was on the show with his mother as well. I said to the television, “gee sonny, you’d better study real hard in school, get a really good education and go to college and get a good paying job ’cause mommy has nothing to leave you”. Love makes people do strange things but first rule: never , ever send money or reveal financial information to anyone you meet on line. Common sense tells you this, but some people always fall victim. Rule of thumb, the request for money’s time to dump them and block them from contacting you. Don’t waste time, emotion and energy on these people. Be wise!
IanHunter
This is so old. After the series, I would have thought everyone would have known about this by now. I always thought the series was scripted.
Wheelerman
Catfish the series on MTV deals with gay catfishing in many episodes. I thought Nev was gay for awhile until he married a woman, and had a child. Still, he and Max are very gay friendly in their series.
LilMesican
I’m just here for Nev’s chest hair and volunteering for the coming out party.
eeebee333
LOL! The chest hair is the only reason I even clicked on the story.
succubus
chest hair on a skinny queen….please
Cam
What a shock, the right wing troll account that always defends Republican anti-LGBT bigots, attacks someone with a negative stereotype.
Sweetie, at least TRY to be more subtle.