Meet Manuel Betancourt

We had the good fortune of connecting with Manuel Betancourt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Manuel, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Baking. It’s such a simple pleasure yet it always makes me giddy. I think it’s because it stands in just stark contrast to my every day work as a writer—work which can sometimes feel rather abstract. Yet to bake a cake or a pie or some cookies is satisfying for the way it depends on using my hands and achieving something quite tangible in the fraction of a time it can take me to write an article, a feature, a book. Plus, I have such a sweet tooth that knowing I can, at any given point in my day, stop to make myself a nice treat is just an added bonus.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a film critic and a culture writer—I mostly focus on the queer male experience, particularly the way desire is construed and constructed for and by us. My writing career, if I’m to call it that, began in graduate school when I started merely blogging about film and TV. Soon after I earned my doctorate degree I decided to do that kind of writing full time. A rather foolish decision but one which has pushed me to find ever more diverse ways to make a living doing what I love doing. The challenge has always been to find a way to financially support myself. That’s what eventually led me to nurture a wide variety of projects. That’s why, over the years, I’ve done research for documentaries and co-written a graphic novel series for middle grade readers; have covered film festivals all over the U.S. and contributed to various anthologies; and why, eventually, I landed on wanting to break into publishing more properly with my books, Judy at Carnegie Hall (2020), The Male Gazed (2023) and my upcoming Hello Stranger (2025). All of it has been in the hopes that the more plates I have spinning at any given time, the less likely I’ll be to suffer if one (or two or three) come crashing down. The lesson has always been: just keep swimming, just keep at it. It’s worked. So far, at least!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of the things I love about LA is how you can truly find so many different ways of enjoying it. But one of the things I will always insist folks enjoy while they’re here is the vast array of movie theaters the city has to offer. Few things beat a fun screening at the Aero (then go visit the beach!), a double feature at the New Beverly (treat yourself to Milk Bar after!), a Q&A at the Academy Museum (check out LACMA next door!)–heck even an IMAX showing at the TCL Chinese Theatre (be touristy and see the Hollywood Walk of Fame) or at CityWalk (Universal Studios is right there!) or a quaint brunch at the Alamo Drafthouse DTLA (then hop over to Grand Central Market for good food). Bonus: you end up seeing a lot of the city that way: you can go from catching a glimpse of Hollywood while visiting the Egyptian, a bit of the east side while seeing a film at Los Feliz 3, and you could even make a longer trek to check out Vidiots in Eagle Rock! After all, what better way to see the city than through the very industry that helps keep it afloat?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout all of my professors and my fellow grad students at the English department at Rutgers University. I couldn’t have known it at that time while I was pursuing my degree but the collegiate atmosphere that I found there and the many curious, brilliant folks I came in contact with during my eight-year run there were invaluable. They made me a more engaged reader, a keener thinker, and a better writer. For too long I tried to downplay my academic background but over the past few years I’ve realized I wouldn’t be where I’m at without the work I did there all those years ago.

Website: www.mbetancourt.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmanuel/

Twitter: https://x.com/bmanuel