Oh, goodness. I hadn't thought about it in that context before. That thought is rather frightening, if indeed still doubtful. I mostly believe it to be more of a "bandwagon" thing-- people wanting to be seen as open-minded and accepting, even if the film itself is clichéd as all hell. Though you are bringing to mind, what I've been thinking... that films with homosexuality involved in the story line ('Philadelphia' and, forgive me, 'Rent' spring to mind) are tragic stories, totally excluding the "love conquers all, happily ever after" mentality. And yeah, my flawed argument in a nutshell. ;P
Where is my slash-as-a-film!? I want the pretty gay boys to be togezzur!
Constrained, implied emotion is what seems acceptable to certain folks, I think. I consider Pai's emotion during the school speech during her grandfather's absence in Whale Rider, and I think so many films settle for so much less realistic and uncomfortable takes on what real despair is. The biggest shortcoming of Brokeback Mountain is that all the deep emotion is implied - this is a very hands off, "keep my hands clean" approach, which smacks of phobia.
Often, so-called extreme emotions are only believable, in Hollywood terms, if they are violent or insulting or out of control. Despair is not something that Hollywood does well, and gay it does even worse, in my estimation. Do The Right Thing was the great american movie as far as race is concerned. I don't think the great america gay movie has been made yet.
The whole discussion about Brokeback is tainted with moralism that is itself anathema to the whole gay rights movement. THAT'S the primary contradiction. A moral defense of something that is amoral. Brokeback Mountain suffers from not being queer, basically. It's Little Gay House on the Prairie, not Do the Gay Thing.
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I hadn't thought about it in that context before. That thought is rather frightening, if indeed still doubtful. I mostly believe it to be more of a "bandwagon" thing-- people wanting to be seen as open-minded and accepting, even if the film itself is clichéd as all hell.
Though you are bringing to mind, what I've been thinking... that films with homosexuality involved in the story line ('Philadelphia' and, forgive me, 'Rent' spring to mind) are tragic stories, totally excluding the "love conquers all, happily ever after" mentality. And yeah, my flawed argument in a nutshell. ;P
Where is my slash-as-a-film!? I want the pretty gay boys to be togezzur!
From:
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Often, so-called extreme emotions are only believable, in Hollywood terms, if they are violent or insulting or out of control. Despair is not something that Hollywood does well, and gay it does even worse, in my estimation. Do The Right Thing was the great american movie as far as race is concerned. I don't think the great america gay movie has been made yet.
The whole discussion about Brokeback is tainted with moralism that is itself anathema to the whole gay rights movement. THAT'S the primary contradiction. A moral defense of something that is amoral. Brokeback Mountain suffers from not being queer, basically. It's Little Gay House on the Prairie, not Do the Gay Thing.