What do you do when your same-sex Valentine lives across the ocean in a country that doesn’t accept gays? Make a video statement on Vimeo that’s equal parts saccharine and heart-wrenching, if you’re Seattle vlogger Matty Brown.
Accompanying the video is a note explaining its origins:
It wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes, but I thought the message was sincere and good enough to be seen by others…This is the Valentine’s Day video by me for my partner, XXXXXXX XXXXX. My partner lives somewhere across the Atlantic. He lives a very hidden life because of the way his society will treat him if it found out about him being gay. I’ve made this video for him to show the support and passion toward my Love and human rights. It was supposed to be a private video, solely for my boyfriend’s eyes, but it turned into a statement of fighting for the one you love when I realized I wouldn’t be able to say his name or show his face in the video. XXXXXXX, Happy Valentine’s Day! Someday society will let us feel fully accepted!
While the first part of the video is adorably silly (“I love you more than cherry Chapstick”), the second half gets more serious, with Matty’s partner pixelated in every photo of them together so that you can’t tell what his face looks like. The juxtaposition works, and underscores how serious a matter it is to not be able to tell the world the identity of the person you love.
Matty makes a vow at the end of the video: “And with all my might, I will rip those pixels off, one by one, until their souls are raw.”
We’re taking a similar vow this Valentine’s Day—not just to love the special people in our charmed New York City life, but to help make sure that, in less fortunate nations, our type of love will stop being forbidden.
Quentin
Of course, no one is interested in this topic.
William
That really got to me
Tom
Must suck being with someone who can’t come out.
The Real Mike in Asheville
My hubby of 26 years is in LA today, been there for 2 weeks, off to Oregon, and then finally back home on Friday. So, this bittersweet melancholy brought a few tears.
From the video collage of photos, though, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud: look at all the amazing and wonderful places the two of them have spent together, sharing eachother’s being.
Fight on Matty, love is so worth it!
xoxo
This message is beatful and should be able to relate to any and all folk who have a relationship that they have to hide <3
Love makes the world go round!!!
Prof Sancho Panza
Sweet video, but I’m very confused by the bit about pixels having souls.
cynthia howell
This is so incredibly moving… no ONE can be free until we are ALL free.
Sol Invictus
Oh god, this video hits home ]:
TASTEY GOODIES
SO BEAUTIFUL AND POIGNANT. I WISH I COULD HAVE A LOVE LIKE THAT WITH A SWEET GIRL.
will
@Prof Sancho Panza:
The pixels represent each bigot that force him to want to hide his face. Not actual pixels, lol. It’s metaphor.
will
And he isn’t in a country that doesn’t accept gays. He is in a society that frowns upon them even though they are free to walk around. The main thing is that he will lose his career if found out, which would topple everything he has going for him right now.
twiterosG
well… I guess we can look at the facebook of the one who made the vid. maybe he posted the same pictures he used in making the video.
The Real Mike in Asheville
@will: Well, certainly NOT topple everything, as there is the adorable Matty with welcoming arms in Seattle. And whatever profession or career he works in, there will be a comparable one in Seattle.
gurlanboi
sweet saw this on fb.. but dont forget lots people even in the bigger american cities ar closeted.. and he may be great at his job but not have the education credentals for the us.. world not as simple as peopl think..
n900mixalot
Yeah yeah. At least he is overseas and not in your own home and unable to come out.
I want to tell this guy: Get over yourself. Why dont you go overseas and take a bleedin risk? He clearly loves his career more than he loves you, BooBoo, so suck it up.
will
@n900mixalot:
Without his career they wouldn’t be able to see each other. It isn’t free to fly, and in a long distance relationship can you imagine how much money a year they spend on airfare along to see one another? And I am sure they use up all of their vacation time and more to spend with each other. It really isn’t as simple as you think. The work they have is what is making it to where they can see each other…without work, there is no money, and without money there is no physical presence…I wonder how long the relationship would last if they didn’t have the means to go see each other. I’m betting it wouldn’t last long being only pen pals.
will
@The Real Mike in Asheville:
With the career Mr. Pixel has there is nothing comparable for him in the USA. He cannot get the same career in the states without having to go back through 7 years or more of college.
eNeHache
Too bad the video was closed and marked as private… was worth sharing with much more peopls
TONY
are you kidding me …this has to be one of the stupidest videos ever…I saw it on another site…Long distance relationship do not last…if anything they are just FB and have an open relationship…so is this how gay couples want to be shown as…They are young and they are so stupid
will
@TONY:
LOL…that is the most ridiculous answer I have ever seen. They are in love with each other. They see each other all the time. And YES, long distance relationships can work if you truly love the person. They have been together for years. You must be a very jaded, naive, and bitter person to think such stupid things. Just because you could never be involved in a relationship like that doesn’t mean others cannot. Your eye must twitch a lot, and you probably watch a lot of TV alone in your living room while you fall asleep on the couch at night. Take your sad, lonely, bitter self somewhere else, heh.