Let’s talk about the gays.
In 1934, LGBTQ+ characters were banned from being portrayed in film, as per the “Hays Code”. Despite not outwardly saying that homosexuality was not allowed, they implied it, stopping all appearances. The ban was lifted in 1968, however, queer characters were only ever shown as queer-coded villians and it was never outright told these characters sexualities. After the ban was lifted, as well as after the Stonewall riots of 1969 (a series of riots at various gay bars that forever changed the fight for gay rights),
The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released, including a cast of LGBTQ+ characters portrayed in a revolutionary positive light. Unfortunately, during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the stigma surrounding homosexuals increased and representation decreased from an already low amount.
In the 90s, TV was really the only place where people could learn about this community, however the portray of them was always minuscule or in extremely stereotyped manners. When people would try to portray them in a more positive light, they most commonly were attacked with homophobic backlash.
In more recent years, many pieces of cinema have included queer representation. In 2017,
Moonlight became the first queer film to win an Oscar for Best Picture.
Love, Simon was considered the first film to include a gay man as the main character. Even in the superhero world, a gay superhero was introduced in
Eternals by Marvel, which was revolutionary. Many queer actors also have gotten many roles in Hollywood, such as Todd Chavez from
Bojack Horeman, who recently came out as asexual.
Even children’s cartoons have taken the tide in this type of representation. Dreamwork’s
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is focused around a lesbian romance between two main characters in the series (if you want to read more about this one I actually wrote a whole
blog post about it). Even Disney, notorious for their continued distaste towards this community, had their own cartoon,
The Owl House, that featured many queer characters. Despite their cancelation of this show due to disagreements, the representation shown in this show was revolutionary as it portrayed a younger lesbian couple in a refreshing and normal way (yes they’re witches, but their story just feels so normal). This kind of representation, especially the fact that it’s being shown to children, is incredibly important. To young queer kids, it shows them that their feelings are normal and okay, and to non-queer children, it familiarizes them with this concept and normalizes it, making it easier for them to be accepting of all kinds of people.
I really think it’s important to showcase queer individuals in a positive light, and through representation in the media, especially through film, society can see what this community goes through, normalizing their existence, especially after the intense backlash that they have gotten, and still get to this day. It is especially important for queer children to be able to see that people like themselves do exist, and that even if they are currently surrounded by homophobic people, they can understand that it does get better.
Here are some more amazing queer films and cartoons that you should definitely check out:
REFERENCES
Cragg, Dan. “LGBT History Month – a History of LGBT Representation in TV/Film.” Your Bristol Story, 16 Feb. 2022, student.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2022/02/17/lgbt-history-month-a-history-of-lgbt-representation-in-tv-film/comment-page-1/.
“1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots. Accessed 14 Mar. 2024.
No comments:
Post a Comment