"Fagbug"

Fagbug, 2009

Dir.: Erin Davies

Prod.: Susan Coscione, Erin Davies, Jennifer K. Persons

In the mid-1990's, Eve Ensler wrote a monologue about the word "cunt" for her play, "The Vagina Monologues". The goal, she explains, was to reclaim a lovely word, despite its negative connotations. Following an unfortunate incident in 2007, Albany college student Erin Davies aimed to do the same thing with the word "fag".

In April of 2007, as she was leaving for work, Erin discovered that someone had spray painted the word "fag" on the driver's side window of her gray Volkswagen Beetle, and "U R GAY" on the hood, with red spray paint. Erin, an out lesbian, is visibly upset, shocked and embarrassed at the vandalism. The police refuse to recognize it as a hate crime, and her insurance company will not pay to have the graffiti removed. So, despite the warnings from her girlfriend, her mother and her brother, Erin decides to leave the graffiti on the car.

When she arrives to work on her college campus later that day, she is asked to move her car away from the general population, in case other people are offended by it, and to prevent any more vandalism. Erin refuses to move her car.

At first, everyone is supportive of Erin's decision to leave the graffiti. She recieves positive messages on her blog, on her MySpace page, and on her voicemail. After gaining media attention for driving the graffitied car around Albany and marching in Albany Pride, Erin decides to take a cross-country road trip in her "Fagbug", to promote awareness and speak out against hate crimes and homophobia. After raising over $800 for her trip, several of her friends turn their backs on her, insisting that the money Erin has raised should go to a charitable organization, not to pay for a "summer vacation". They tell her that by keeping the money, she doesn't help anyone but herself.

This I did not understand. Erin raised money so that she could promote awareness. It's not like she was doing this for fun. She

Shortly before her trip, someone removes the word "fag" from her window using what she suspects is a razorbade while she is in a bar with friends. After some contemplation, Erin puts it back on. Without the word on the car, her mission falls flat. She cannot reclaim the word if it's gone.

Erin's road trip commences. She stops in Florida, where she speaks to the friends and family of Ryan Skipper, a young man who was murdered for being gay 35 days before Erin's car was vandalized. She also stops in South Carolina, where she is in time to attend a memorial service for Sean Kennedy, another young man who was beaten to death for being gay only 28 days after Erin's car was vandalized. She learns from those attending Sean Kennedy's memorial service that South Carolina is one of three states that do not have hate crime laws.

Everywhere Erin goes, she obviously recieves attention - some good, some bad. People leave notes on her car, calling her an inspiration. Some even leave money. One woman even pays for her hotel room one night. Strangers share their own stories of discrimination, hatr crimes and homophobia, and thank Erin for her bravery. At one point, a note appears that reads: "It's a shame you made this up", and then a phone number at the bottom. Naturally, Erin calls the letter writer and asks to meet him. The man who left the note agrees to be shown on camera, and accuses Erin of doing the graffiti herself just to gain media recognition and make money.

Obviously that is maddening. Erin makes it very clear that her intention was never to make money and why, as a gay woman, would she ever vandalize her own car just for attention? That would be like me painting giant swastikas on the hood of my car.

Erin's trip has its ups and downs. Among the highlights: she has a rock thrown at her window in New Mexico, cracking her windshield. She recieved donations at San Diego Pride, and was asked to drive the Fagbug in the parade. Erin was informed that there was a group online called "Boycott the Fagbug", a group that was determined to shut down Erin's mission, claiming she was doing nothing to promote gay pride and that she was only a gimmick. Erin is also awarded Most Outstanding Individual at Vancouver Pride. 

One amazing turnaround happens when Erin recieves a call from someone at Volkswagen of America. They tell her that they want to sponor her, and reimburse her for gas and any car repairs. This just about floored me. You would think that a big corporation like Volkswagen would be dead set against a young lesbian driving all over the country with a pejorative word spray painted on her window and hood of one their models. Instead, Volkswagen embraced it! I wanted to cheer!

Erin meets another road tripper in Wyoming, a young man, and they happen to meet up again in another state. She asks him to participate in an experiment, and has him drive the Fagbug for a few hours. His experience was terrible, and the reactions were violently negative. He was pulled over by a policeman for having "profanities" on the car, and yelled at by passing cars.

Towards the end of her journey, in North Carolina, Erin pulls into a hotel and sees another car with the word "FAG" written on it. As she walks around the corner of the hotel, she spies a group of young men, all of whom are drinking. One of them recognizes Erin and calls her by name. How terrifying is that? When I heard this, I was terrified. I didn't want anything bad to happen to Erin - as my parents always used to tell me: cars are replaceable; people are not. At this point, I felt connected to Erin. I almost felt like she was my friend. I feared for her safety. Thankfully, Erin and the Fagbug survive the night, though she quickly leaves. Erin realizes that whether she likes it or not, her face has been in the media, and she very well may be a target.

Her prediction proves to be true. In Tampa, Florida, where Erin relocated, all four of the Fagbug's windows are smashed with a rock. Her neighbors suggest covering the car, but Erin decides against it.

After driving the Fagbug for a year, Erin decides to remove the graffiti. Courtesy of Volkswagen, she paints the bug in rainbow stripes (exactly like the Beetle that's on the poster).

Over the course of Erin Davies' crusade, she drove 55,00 miles across the country, htrough 41 states. She made headlines in 5 countries, interviewed 500 people, shot 110 hours of footage and documented 50 other hate crimes. Erin spoke at 25 schools, recieved 18 notes on her car, participated in 11 gay prides, had 7 people try to remove the graffiti and replaced 4 broken windows.

Fag is definitely one of those words that carries a heavy connotation. Much like the "N" word or the "C" word, fag is a slur that has also been used so very casually, without much thought as to the actual weight.

I absolutely adored Fagbug and Erin Davies. I admired her for her bravery and her determination to make others aware of the power of words. It made me want to go out and do something. It has been so long since I was active in the LGBTQ community, and this film has inspired me to become more involved. I was excited to discover that Erin is working on a sequel to Fagbug, which has yet to be given a title. I cannot wait to see it, and will review it as soon as I do! The sequel, exactly like the original, will be dedicated to "whoever vandalized my car". 

For more information on Erin Davies, her travels and the Fagbug, you can check out her website!