Reviews

After hearing rave reviews of Loving Annabelle, I rented the film without realizing the plot involved a teacher and an under-aged teenage girl. I thought the story was between a teacher and a college student, in other words between two consenting adults. True, this film is fiction. Yes, these situations happen. It is not enjoyable watching an adult take sexual advantage over a child. I watched the film hoping for redemptive quality; instead, I stopped the film when they kissed passionately because it was evident that the plot progressed beyond the point of no return. That was not a scene between two consenting adults, rather between a teenage girl and an adult woman. Am I the only one who was deeply disturbed by the lack of responsibility of the teacher in the film?

Like most young teenage lesbians, I had huge crushes on teachers, camp counselors and Girl Scout leaders. To their credit, they never crossed that boundary between teacher and student. Over the past 20 years, working as teachers at various camps, I have experienced crushes from blossoming baby dykes. As the adult in the situation, I have tremendous obligation as a teacher, role model and a sister to these young women, not to take advantage of the situation. Yes, egos are stroked with adoration, but it's never appropriate to reciprocate the feelings. Mentors are looked up to and entrusted with inmost secrets, feelings and thoughts. It is not an opportunity to exploit, but to lead and guide. It is never acceptable simply because the student makes the first move.

If the teacher in the film were instead a man, would perceptions and opinions of the film be different? I draw the line with entertainment that includes adult and under-aged sex even when it's packaged as a lesbian love story. In this world of perceived animosity toward gays and lesbians as pedophiles and promiscuous, films such as this perpetuate the myth that gays and lesbians cannot control their passions, and as such do a great disservice to us all.

Two thumbs down for me.