Homosexual Doom in the Movies

[bobover3 (imported)]

I've been thinking about movies with homosexual characters. Even if the movie is seemingly sympathetic, like Brokeback Mountain or Milk, the gay characters always seem to come to a bad end. They die, or they're miserable. I've yet to see any mainstream movie where a gay couple walks together into the sunset, accompanied by violins. None of the standard formulas of movie romance seem to apply to gays. The movie gays may be admirable, but they're always punished. This seems to satisfy the mass audience, who're willing to stand for gay characters so long as they suffer or are marginalized.

There is, of course, a sub-genre of gay films, but these are only distributed through limited channels specific to the gay community. Chad and Missy won't get to see these films at the Multiplex. Meanwhile, the producers of films like Brokeback Mountain or Milk are congratulated for their supposed courage and moral rectitude, and get awards for spreading the word that it hurts to be gay.

Now you might say this is all to be expected, but Hollywood prides itself on being in the political avant-garde. Might it be possible to make a film that succeeds as art and commerce while showing happy gay people?

A few great films with wretched homosexuals: Advise and Consent, The Boys in the Band, Boys Don't Cry, Miller's Crossing, American Beauty, and La Cage aux Folles. There have been several outstanding foreign films (Happy Together, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Wild Reeds), but I'm talking about Hollywood films.

[Taylor (imported)]

A lighthearted comedy I HIGHLY recommend is Imagine Me & You. Also, check out Better Than Chocolate.

Both are wonderful.

[Taylor (imported)]

Thinking about it, it occurs to me that there are more positive movies geared toward gay/bi women than gay/bi men.

The only positive one about gay men that comes to mind is the comedy Friends of the Family.

Does anyone have recommendations?

[Eunuken (imported)]

I've seen and purchased a wonderful a Gay Youth Movie Called Beautiful Thing. About Two coming of Age Gay Teens in the Projects in England.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115640/

Great Feel Good movie.

Rent it if you can

Ken

[Taylor (imported)]

Ken SD - Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I can find a copy at Barnes & Noble or e-bay.

T.

[raymar2020 (imported)]

Truth be told, two guys who are happy and content in their lives, (like my partner and I) do not make for very good film.

I have seen more than a few films mostly from overseas that have really positive story lines, and in truth , I see some positive in even Brokeback Mountain.

To me in Brokeback , the moral of the story is that you must be true to yourself, and live as you are, otherwise you damn both yourself , and those that love you to sadness, and lonliness. Had those two just gone ahead and settled down together instead of thinking about what "everyone" would say, then they might have had the life both had always dreamed of.

I too have seen the English film " Beautiful thing" , and it also leaves one feeling that there is hope of acceptance and integration of gays into society.

I have always founf the portrayal of gay men by Hollywood to be a bit stuff shirted, especially if you consider that if you took the gays out of the film industry, we'd be stuck with a much less talented industry.

This like all other things will change with time, we see improvements every day, and they will continue.

Ray

[bobover3 (imported)]

Imagine You & Me and Better Than Chocolate are about lesbians, Friends of the Family is an animated short made by a Palestinian, and Beautiful Thing is British. I'm still looking for a mainstream American film with happy gay men.

I started thinking about this after watching Clint Eastwood's brilliant Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In it, one "rough trade" man is murdered, a rich aesthete drops dead after surviving a murder trial, and a black drag queen is so harmless and vulnerable and obvious that he can be patronized. These gay men are all stereotypes, and they all die or are marginalized.

In one outstanding film after another, we see this. Maybe things will change. So long as the public sees these negative depictions of gay men, change will be delayed.

[Solaris (imported)]

Another British film which, this time, is about two gay women, is called "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit". It is about a girl who grows up as the daughter of an overbearing Christian fundamentalist mother. The daughter is attracted to another girl, and they get together in an intimate way. They are all set to express themselves honestly, until word about their relationship, gets out to members of their church, who see it as their duty to interfere, and mess it all up. Both girls end up in a service where they are embarrassed and humiliated in front of the whole congregation, as they have the "demons" cast out of them. There is another scene where the daughter comes home to find members of the church in one of the rooms. They clearly mean business, as they are led by Pastor Spratt, in a bizarre ritual which involves tying her up with the "Cords Of Love".

This film is worth seeing, as it is more about appreciating the silliness of the bigotry and ignorance that is often a part of such environments. It is sometimes frustrating to watch the characters as they blunder through the story, but it is more often just plain funny. The film is brilliantly acted, and everyone plays their roles seriously, which makes it even funnier.

I know that this thread was supposed to be about DOOM, but if anyone wants a change, they might do worse than to see this film.

[bobover3 (imported)]

Sounds fine. I'll rent it from Netflix. Still, you describe British lesbians meeting their doom, unless the two girls escape the clutches of their congregation.

I'd still like to see an American mainstream film about gay men that has a happy ending.

Looking at IMDB, I just found that a movie version of E.M. Forster's Maurice was made with a stellar cast. I'm amazed that I've never heard of it. It's British, of course, but Forster's masterpiece was met with venom by American critics when it was finally published in the 1970s because the story ends with a gay couple finding happiness. This looks like a must-see.

[The Lurker (imported)]

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