Make Love, Not War

In my previous blog, I discussed the impact of women’s rights movements over the past century with the goal of gaining equality to men. Along parallel lines are the struggles of queer people to gain equal rights and acceptance in a heterosexually dominant world. We have come a long way in the past few decades, as used to be considered a crime or illness to be homosexual. In fact, up until 1974 homosexuality was on the American Psychiatric Associations list of mental disorders! (America on Film, p. 331). Nowadays, queer Americans are slowly gaining the rights they deserve, which is reflected in roles of queers in film and television.

In the past, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Queer characters were rarely included in films, and if they were, their character was usually “punished” with a horrible ending of death, violence, or shame. However, as homosexuality is gaining social acceptance, Hollywood is slowly starting to cast homosexual characters in a better light, and are even winning awards for the films and television shows featuring these characters. For example, my favorite show, Modern Family, is about three families living in California- one of these families is a homosexual couple, Mitchell and his partner Cameron, who have adopted a Vietnamese baby named Lily. Not only is this a hilarious show, but it represents the queer community in a healthy and positive light. One critique that the show did receive was the lack of affection between Cameron and Mitchell. The producers of the show responded to this by airing an episode that directly addresses the issue, called “The Kiss”. Despite this small hiccup, the show has been extremely successful. It has won multiple awards, including five Television Critics Association Awards. The show even received a GLSEN Respect Award for its portrayal of "positive images and storylines that reflect a diverse America, including the depiction of a family headed by a gay couple (Wikipedia.com). This just goes to show that Hollywood is moving in the right direction with its portrayal of homosexual life.

Another example of successful films featuring queers is the infamous Brokeback Mountain. This film sparked much controversy with its story about two homosexual American cowboys. Despite this controversy, it won endless awards for its bold display of queer relationships. It won numerous Academy Awards, and also won a GLAAD Media Award, which is an award ceremony “which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives,” (Wikipedia.com).

Although most films and television shows feature heterosexual couples, Hollywood is slowly starting to expand its horizons and include queer characters in its casts. “Hollywood is slowly becoming more inclusive of Americas diverse sexual cultures, however, it still upholds the hegemonic dominance of white patriarchal heterosexuality” (America on Film, pt 329). Just like the role of women in film, queers are slowly being portrayed in a more realistic and fair view, but we still have a ways to go!