The greatest movie in the world, But I’m a Cheerleader, is a hot commodity at the moment and rightly so. Last month, Elliot Page shared that the cult camp classic had transformed his life, playing a pivotal role in helping him overcome his shame and self-hatred. Now, MUNA have paid their own tribute with a new music video inspired by the seminal lesbian film.
Released today (September 8), MUNA’s latest single “Silk Chiffon” sees the band team up with Phoebe Bridgers for a bubblegum indie-pop anthem about queer love and developing feelings for another woman. Described by guitarist Naomi McPherson as “a song for kids to have their first gay kiss to”, it’s the first new material from the band since they signed to Bridgers’s Saddest Factory Records.
To go alongside the single, the band released a music video paying homage to the 1999 queer classic But I’m a Cheerleader. Closely following the plot and kitsch retro-pop aesthetic of the film, lead singer Katie Gavin arrives at a conversion therapy camp where she participates in stereotypically gendered activities and then promptly falls for a girl. The camp attendees then escape to a gay bar, where the band perform surrounded by queer couples.
Bridgers stars in the role of camp leader Mary while Caleb Hearon takes on RuPaul’s “reformed” ex-gay counsellor complete with his trademark “straight is great” t-shirt. Ally Pankiw, who directed the first season of Mae Martin’s Feel Good, directs.
Watch the full video in all its glory below, and read our celebration of But I’m a Cheerleader’s queer femme power on its 20th anniversary here.
