A new web TV series takes a deeper look into Australian gay men and our use of the phone app Grindr.
‘The Grindr Guide’, follows the lives of five different Sydneysiders as they navigate their way through issues of race, body image and ageism while using the geo-based application.
OIP had a quick chat with the filmmaker Damian Dunstan about creating the series.
What was the goal in making this series? I wanted to really unpack the Grindr phenomenon. I find it always gets simplified to being ‘just a hookup app’ – but I knew from my own experiences that Grindr was a lot more diverse and complicated than that. Through the series we talked about the possibilities of the app – whether it was possible to date on it – as well as probing into the prevalence of racism and ageism on Grindr.
What was the biggest surprise in making the series? Probably how hungry people were to talk about their Grindr usage and how open they were on camera. I think when Grindr first came out there was a taboo about using it, so people didn’t really talk about using it. But now it’s so accepted and widespread that I think people really wanted to reflect upon and discuss their Grindr usage.
‘The Grindr Guide’ has eight episodes which are being released every couple of days during March. Check out Episode One below.
