I'm always struck by how there was so much diversity in filmmaking before the "codes." The Thomas Edison clip with the two men dancing was so bizarre to me. I think that if I hadn't been watching it in the context of this movie, I would have just assumed that there were only men in the room and Edison was so happy that he discovered how to play music that they just started dancing.
Unless I'm hit over the head with a gay relationship onscreen, I'm pretty oblivious. I mean Ben Hur?, I guess I know from history books that they had lots of orgies back then but I would never have thought that a gay relationship was was hinted at. And the way Tony Curtis acted in his interviews makes me question how straight he really is.
I'm straight but I grew up in San Francisco so gay people were just always part of my life. I was a little confused when I was 12 and I looked up at the woman who was washing my hair and saw stubble and an Adam's apple. My mother worked in the Tenderloin and I interviewed a young street kid who was taking estrogen when I was in college. When I moved to New York, I noticed that gay men were much more less flamboyant. A few women friends that I grew up with told me they were gay or bi when I was in my early 20's. I can't believe how oblivious I was. I went to a Cathiloc girl's high school.
I'm surprised the film didn't mention Midnight Cowboy. I think that the basic thesis is the same as is expressed by Reefer Madness, and it struck me that "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" also had a really bad outcome for a "loose" woman.
This movie was made in 1995 and I think there has been a lot of change since then. "Boys Don't Cry," "Brokeback Mountain," and "Milk," come immediately to mind as movies which deal with these issues in more honest ways.
I think a lot of progress has been made in making gay lifestyles more mainstream has been through television. Will & Grace for instance and Neil Patrick Harris. Access to information through social media has accelerated these developments. Now people can get information and meet people to discuss anything without even buying a magazine at the drugstore or getting a book out of the library.
There are lots of gay film festivals but I think that they mostly cater to a gay audience. I remember in the late 90's, Out Magazine, was huge although it may have 'jumped the shark' since it is now touting itself as "The World's Leading Gay Fashion and Style Magazine."
Here is an example of the "That's so Gay" campaign which is running on TV and online where gay and str
Thanks for this Angela - I like the visual of a "melting closet!" I'm trying to discern your main point about the impact of digital technologies and participatory media platforms on the impact of a film like Celluloid Closet - I'm thinking it's that over time there has been a mainstreaming of gay content, in theaters, online -- but I'm not sure that just access to the media is really the point. Can you go deeper with this? If Celluloid Closet was made today, how might it be released beyond traditional movie theaters? How would producers leverage new media tools to bring these stories to their core audiences? What platforms are available now that were not in the 70s? What is the relationship of the LGBT content to the platform??
ReplyDeleteWell it was released in the 90's first of all. Isn't it obvious that current platforms make film more accessible to all through itunes, amazon, and google as a few examples. It's also easier for people to make and distribute their own short films and trailers. There is also a diversity of content of people who write about specific types of movies, like, this site : http://www.gaycelluloid.com/ ....
ReplyDeleteBy spotlighting The Kids Are Alright, I think that's an example of a film showing mainstream gay life who had a vociferous audience looking for it (gay and straight). They have a Facebook page with almost 14,000 fans plus powerhouse stars, Julienne Moore and Annette Benning playing lesbians.
Off topic a bit:
ReplyDeleteSeriously how funny was the Ben Hur explanation?
Director: This movie is going to suck. We've got nothing but two guys beating each other up for three hours.
Writer: I have an idea! Let's make one of them gay!
Director: Forget it! We'll never get it past the censors.
Writer: I promise it won't be obvious! And it will work!
Director: Hmmmm... Ok. We've got nothing else. Just don't tell Charlie.
Four months go by....
Announcer: And winning it's 11th(!!!) Academy Award is Ben-Hur!
And really, I'm totally complimenting Gore Vidal. The man was bisexual, wrote one of the first post-WWII coming of age novel where the protagonist discovers his homosexuality (is athletic and doesn't get killed - tho does kill) and likely figured what the hell throw that into it the mix and let's get this movie done. And lo and behold the movie gets an UNHEARD of number of Academy Awards.