Be Kind, Rewind

For all fellow fossils out there who remember VHS and Beta, there’d be stranger things than grabbing a copy of writer Mark O’Connell’s queer ode to ‘80s movies, Watching Skies, for the shelf.

The tale of a young gay Star Wars fanatic with too many Princess Leia figurines, the retro page turner features close encounters with Mark’s childhood crush Christopher Reeve, a queer honeymoon on Jaws’ famed Amity Island and the first gay marriage to happen on the hallowed Pinewood Studios lot. As well as celebrating geek culture, Skies is also a love letter to the movie pulse and queer history of San Francisco, the home of George Lucas’ iconic trilogy. Any movie nuts worrying whether Spielberg will get a look in, fear not – E.T. and Indiana pop up in a discussion of the impact those blockbusters had and how they’ve influenced the cinematic landscape today.

So put down your Cabbage Patch Kid, turn off your Atari, fix yourself a Soda Stream and enjoy a trip down Nerd Lane.

‘Watching Skies’ is published by The History Press