Gay thoughts and opinions - please correct me if I'm wrong

[mrsl]

Due to the John Wayne tribute last week, I failed to see TCM (the channel) for quite a while, happily watching and re-watching some of the best and worst westerns ever made for 5 days straight on the Western Channel.

So when I checked in at the TCM site, I couldn't understand all the brou-ha-ha that was going on in thread after thread about gays. I don't pay much attention to promos anymore, because I swear, literally EVERY time I go to TCM in between movies, I see another promo for TCM Underground! Morning, afternoon, and night, and all night long, a TCMU promo is played (but that's beside the point).

As to gay PEOPLE, like black people, Italian people, and mentally challenged people - they are PEOPLE. Who cares what they do at home? and why is it anyone elses' business? A male friend in Vegas, who at one time worked behind the scenes in H'wood, told me that about 70% of the males there were gay. He contended that being forced into their secret, and dual lifestyles was the main contributor to the emotional nuances they were able to call upon in the acting world, because they HAD to ACT all the time in private life, e.g. it was a way of life for them. When I became acquainted with, then friendly with (there is a difference), several gay men and women, I told them his estimation, and they all heartily agreed.

I've looked over the list of movies being shown, and some of them are really stretching the point. Often a gay character is used for comic relief, often as the butt of jokes or violence, and almost always a discardable person. I remember how angry I was at the ending of the Madonna movie The Next Best Thing. What a stinking deal Rupert got in that one! After 5 years of being a great husband and dad, he gets screwed royally, and the audience accepts it! That's what I mean by discardable.

TCM may be bringing some fine actors to light, but I don't like their method in doing so. I think it was BRAVO that ran a series of a straight guy living with and associating with gay guys for a two week span, and although he couldn't accept some of the actions and attitudes, he did realize they are nice people who only want to live their lives. Therefore, I don't think TCMs' exploitation is the way to go.

I don't mean to get 'fixed' on this subject, but I feel the same about the blaxploitation. Different factions are finally making their way, and making strides in acceptance, and I'm curious about how others feel about this. My entire family, both older and younger have all lived their entire lives in this little protected area of Chicago and suburbs, so I have nobody to ask about this. My one son and I are the only two who have ventured out to the West, and South to experience first hand how the 'other guy' lives, and he's still in California, so there isn't a whole lot of area for discussion.

Comments?

Anne

[traceyk]

Anne, I think the point of showing these films with gay characters who are not treated well, is the same as when TCM showed "Birth of a Nation,"--to show how images of gays have evolved over time. For a long time, gays or gay-ish characters were used as comic relief or villains, just like blacks were usually maids and train porters and shoe-shine boys.

There's been contraversy on the TCM boards (ever since I joined anyway) about whether this or that actor or actress was gay or bisexual. Probably, a lot of them were (many of the theatre types I've known over the years swung both ways.) And like you and your acquaintance, I think it probably gave extra depth to their performances. And extra appeal, especially in the case of women--they appeal to both sexes.

[benwhowell]

I believe it is TCM's intention (from the promo premise and the selection of movies and host Richard Barrios) to explore the "negative" depiction of gays in movies-from silents to the early '70's. This was, ironically, always the case. I commend them for this, because it is a significant history lesson about an oppressed group of people.
Mrsl, I do appreciate your comment about TCM going about this history lesson the wrong way, but they are doing what they do best-exposing all of us to "classic" movies.
I don't know if you've ever seen "Longtime Companion?" It is about a group of friends in the early '80's...and how they are all affected by the AIDS epidemic. Anyway, one of the guys is a TV soap opera actor who's character "comes out." Another one of the guys is a writer for this soap opera and writes a kissing scene between two men (which, as you know, was unheard of on TV in the early '80's.) There is this memorable scene with the friends gathered around the TV to watch the two men kiss. Their is much anticipation as the two men get closer...when they kiss, the friends hoop and holler with the excitement of seeing this innocent display of affection between two people.
I know this may seem insignificant (and even disgusting) to a lot of people, but to a gay man (such as myself) I felt the excitement of this "historic" moment. I long for gay visibility in movies-even the negative and subliminal. I was excited watching last night's Screened Out and looking forward to mondays and wednesdays in June. I think TCM has turned a negative into a positive.

[Moraldo Rubini]

You're correct, Anne, that gays were inappropriately portrayed on the screen over the years (and still are). The import of this series is found as much in Robert Osborne's interviews as in the movies themselves. Hopefully these commentaries will put issues in the perspective of their time. I think it will be a fascinating series. It was swell to see Billy Haines last night (I only wish they'd also shown the wonderful documentary Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines).