Written by DCist Contributor Christopher Durocher

In commemoration of National Coming Out Day it’s time to set the record, er, straight. It’s time to admit what every gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered person already knows – mainstream, gay-themed cinema is, at best, a mixed bag. But don’t despair. Beginning October 12, the Reel Affirmations International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is going to show D.C. that there is more to queer cinema than gay caricatures.

The fact is, as far as mainstream movies go, if you’re gay, you’re either destined for a life of rejection, pain, and tragic death (and likely an Oscar nomination) or you’re a powder-puff, a fairy and, too often, the butt of the joke.

Take some of the more mainstream, gay-themed movies of the past decade. Brokeback Mountain is a beautifully filmed, Oscar nominated love story that centers on the tragedy of the closet and ends with one of the main characters beaten to death because he is gay. Philadelphia and Monster are films about an HIV positive gay man (played by Tom Hanks) and a serial killer lesbian (played by Charlize Theron), respectively, who – you guessed it – both end up dead and with Oscars statues.

For the more lighthearted viewer, we have the “gay-as-clown” genre. To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar is a head-scratcher of a movie with Patrick Swayze in drag, and the touching message that as long as you’re gay and fabulous, middle America will welcome you with open hearts and open arms (as long as you don’t kiss, or hold hands or any of that other gross stuff that would hint at your sexuality).

Reel Affirmations provides an opportunity for gay and straight audiences to see that queer cinema and gay and lesbian characters can be more than award winning tragedy or sterotyped farce.