Lynn students’ music video calls for tolerance

LYNN – Lynn-area film school teens with a big idea took to the streets this past month to film a music video with a message: It’s OK to be gay.About 11 teens ages 14 to 16 with the Raw Arts Reel to Real after-school film program put together the music video, which illustrates the pop song “Same Love” by Macklemore. It features a teen girl who is gay surrounded in a sea of anti-gay protesters. As the song progresses, teens from Reel to Real come out to support their friend despite the protests.The message is clear, said Lynn English High School freshman Ava Ludwig.”It’s OK to be who you are, whatever that means,” Ludwig said from the third floor of Raw Arts in downtown Lynn, which houses the film program.She and Justis McMahon, a sophomore at English, spent the last two weeks of the project editing hours of film into a cohesive five minutes.”It was a long process,” McMahon said.But their hard work paid off. Already the video has had more than 3,700 views on the video-sharing site Vimeo.Its popularity reflects a high-level of acceptance toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community within their generation, the two teens said.”People shouldn’t be all tied up about how someone views their sexuality,” Ludwig said. “It should be their decision and not someone else’s.”Desiree McMahon, the Reel to Real director and Justis McMahon’s older sister, said all the teens in Reel to Real’s intermediate class were on board with the project.Same Love By Macklemore & Ryan Lewis from Real To Reel on Vimeo.”It was pretty unanimous that all of them had no problem standing behind this message,” she said.One possible reason for increased acceptance of the LGBT community among today’s youth: the recognition that no one’s normal, Ludwig said.She pointed to her seven piercings and long locks dyed coral and bright yellow.”I feel like I’m so different, so I should be more open minded,” she said.And that’s exactly why Reel to Real has grown over the past decade from four young people to a film school that serves 50 youth in six different classes, said Desiree McMahon.Film, she said, is another form of artistic expression.”Our main message for the kids is to share their story,” she said.For more about Raw Arts Reel to Real, email [email protected] Parcher can be reached at [email protected].