Something Trendy in Film - Research Paper Example

Portraying Homosexuality Outside of the Stereotypes in the Film Arts Homosexuality has been portrayed on film for decades, but just like any other social group that might be perceived as controversial, gay and lesbian characters in the past were portrayed with characteristics that were stereotypical. When Brokeback Mountain came out in 2005, certain stereotypes were broken, the two main characters not portrayed as flamboyant or feminine, their jobs of a physical nature and their passions for one another explored through realistic portrayals of working class people. Since that film, other films have worked towards breaking stereotypes and have sought to portray people who happen to be attracted to the same sex, rather than caricatures of a type of human that must fit into a category. The first decade of the century has seen a rise in realistic portrayals of people who happen to be attracted to the same sex rather than conceptualized as gays and lesbians. Stereotyping in film is not a new concept and has in no way been limited to members of the gay and lesbian communities. The way in which film frames many different social groups has created stereotypes that time has had to wash away in order to fully explore the experiences of these groups in American society. One of the most horrific ways in which stereotypes have been created in American cinema was through the ‘blackface’ where African Americans were portrayed with black makeup and white lips, their social position reduced to a comic portrayal and the nature of their character having to fight through the physical manifestations of stereotypical concepts that worked to hide the humanity within them (Benshoff and Griffin 76). Once the ‘blackface’ was wiped away, the social stereotypes varied and struggles were made in order to create realistic portrayals of the members of social groups whose lives had been reduced to specifications made through categorizations. The problem with stereotypes is that while they have a tendency to diminish humanity, they serve a purpose in creating ways in which members of a society can identify themselves and brace themselves against those who are different then themselves. The stereotypes create a standard through which an individual can identify with a group. As an example, a woman who drives a mini-van and wears jeans that are uncommonly high on her hips with a sweater denoting the most current holiday might be termed as a ’soccer-mom’, specifically identifying herself in contrast with a woman who wears six inch platform heels, a mini-skirt, and a halter top. While no one may actually know anyone who fits into either of these stereotypes, most Americans can identify them with social groups. According to McArthur and Mulvihill, “If one has proper concern for the other as a real person and shares knowledge for the benefit of relationship, stereotypes and biases will begin to dissolve” (80). While American film has a deep history of stereotyping people who represent African Americans, Native Americans, women, gay and lesbian social groups, the films of the past six years have increasingly begun to show signs of the dissolving of stereotypes associated with people who are attracted to the same sex. A wonderful phenomenon has emerged in which the character of people who are attracted to others of the same sex no longer must affect mannerisms, gestures, and associated tendencies that signal their sexual orientation. The characters that are being developed in modern films are now beginning to be indistinguishable from heterosexual characters, stereotypical effects no longer relevant to the emergence of their portrayals of lives rather than only lifestyles. One of the first portrayals of the social position of gay men in the United States that was made from the point of view of a man who happened to be gay, rather than a portrayal of a ‘gay’ was in Philadelphia (1993) starring Tom Hanks as a man who was a lawyer with a large law firm who contracts AIDS, which acted as a catalyst to reveal his sexual orientation to his firm. The firm fires him and this instigates a discrimination law suit. In 2004 Pomerance wrote about the ‘new’ Hollywood gay film which was represented by Philadelphia (1993), In and Out (1997), The Object of my Affection (1998), and Bound (1996) which began to cross the lines between the caricature and the concept of the average person within society who happens to be gay (224). In 2005 the film Brokeback Mountain shattered stereotypes and created two notable characters from which the struggle for identity in regard to the passions that they held for one another was framed within a social structure that was notably unremarkable and average. The two characters were cowboys, their association developing from their isolation and contact on the mountain. The relationship could never be public because of the homophobia that framed the average nature of their world, examining the situation that has been a part of some of the lives of men and women who had to hide their true desires. The basic humanity of the story created an attachment to a universality that made the film about two people who tragically loved one another rather than two gay men in love. According to Needham, when the film was being made it was consistently referred to as the ‘gay cowboy film’, creating problems with many who didn’t feel that the terms ‘gay’ and ’cowboy’ should be in a sentence together when talking about American made entertainment. In addition, the film was attached to the universal love story, equated to such stories as Romeo and Juliet and Titanic. The humanity of the story seemed to confuse some of those who had to lend support in order to get it made and distributed, the film not fitting neatly into any category from which former films had been associated. Ang Lee, the director discouraged the idea that it was a Western and was “in favor of the more universalized and depoliticized adoption of humanism” (33). Lee wanted his film seen as a great romantic tragedy with no qualifiers and no distinction between the great loves of heterosexual stories and that of his own film. The reception of the film was a difficult obstacle in that homophobia is rampant within the United States and the intimate scenes within the film made many people very uncomfortable. According to Brewer, Michael Medved, a noted film critic, is quoted as suggesting that the pup tent scene created such an uncomfortable situation that many reports were being made about people leaving the theaters. He suggests that this was because it was two guys going it at it and the public was still not ready to see explicitly sexual behaviors (45). However, it is more likely that they were not prepared to see two men who seemed to have similar backgrounds to most of middle America that made the concept an uncomfortable voyeuristic event. The scenes opened the door for truthfulness in the exploration of the lives of men and women who love the same sex, however, and has been seen in the last half of the decade in more and more film opportunities. The evidence of the power of the film can be seen through the worldwide reception that can be observed. According to Rifkin, Brokeback Mountain is the eighth highest grossing romantic drama of all time, released worldwide with some limitations for content in some nations, but still reaching an unprecedented number of people in the world (79). The film helped to open the door to a new look at the nature of homosexuality in film, naturalizing the characterizations and opening the door for explorations that would not have been as well received in early time periods. A very interesting comparison can be made between the character that Stanley Tucci played in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and the similar character he recently played in Burlesque (2010). As Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), he plays a man who deals with the closet and the wardrobe for a magazine, overseeing the clothing that the models wear and how they are accessorized. In the portrayal of this character, he has affects that suggest his sexual orientation. Stereotypical gestures suggest a feminine quality and a subdued flamboyancy that is assigned to the stereotypical gay man. His job is reflected in his mannerisms, his sexual orientation colliding with what he does for a living and being an integral part of his characterization. However, as the wardrobe handler backstage at the Burlesque cabaret in the film Burlesque, his character is natural without any stereotypical mannerisms or flamboyancies. His sexual orientation is a part of his life, but not nearly the entirety of his character. In The Devil Wears Prada (2006), his character must push past the stereotypical nature of his mannerisms while in Burlesque (2010), his sexual orientation is revealed rather than worn. In Transamerica (2006), the topic of transsexuality, while not the same as homosexuality, was given the same release from stereotypical characterizations. Salzman and Matathia discuss how this film allows for the discussion of the blurred lines between male and female, and gay and straight and how emotional connections between people are not dependent upon specified role adaptation (97). In looking at this film, the main character who is an actress who plays a woman who was once a man, the development of the character has her portrayed as the average woman without the flamboyancy that is often associated with transsexual and transvestite topics. In comparing this film to films such as The Bird Cage (1996) and To Wong Fu Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995), the portrayal of the woman is done in such a way as to reveal the ‘normalcy’ of her character, ‘normalcy’ suggesting that she could be any one in any job and without a controversial personality conflicting with society. In the 2010 film The Kids are All Right, a discussion is undertaken about children in a family with same sex parents. The two children are each a biological offspring of each one of the mothers sharing the same father who had been a sperm donor for both children. Annette Benning and Juliann Moore play two women in a long term relationship who are parents to these two children. While not a perfect departure from stereotypes, the film primarily shows the interaction of a family that is typical in all of its lovely dysfunctional realities. The film received several Academy Award nominations and has been given accolades for its portrayal of a non-traditional family in a natural and realistic way from which the characters have been developed. In the ensemble film Valentine’s Day (2010) the story revolves around a group of people with various connections as they celebrate love through exploring their individual situations. Eric Dane and Bradley Cooper play a couple who have had to deny their relationship, Dane plays a professional football player whose career depends on endorsements and his popularity among football enthusiasts who are not always supportive of homosexual relationships. He has kept his sexual orientation a secret. Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper sits next to Julia Roberts on an airplane and strikes up a conversation which seems mildly flirtatious. It is not until the end that the Dane/Cooper connection is revealed, neither of their characters reflecting any of the stereotypical characteristics that most often suggest sexual orientation. The beauty of the portrayals is that they specifically allow for the understanding of how characters who happen to be gay or lesbian are no longer tied to mannerisms through which the characters must push past in order to develop depth. The beauty of what is happening in current film in regard to the sexual orientation of characters is that the actors, the storylines, and the development of the different aspects of the story are not dependent on belief systems that suggest that someone who is attracted to members of the same sex must wear his or her sexual orientation as a lifestyle that affects the way in which they behave. According to Schneider, “Stereotypes are complex sets of beliefs, sometimes held together by cultural glue or prejudice, but more often through theories that reflect some combination of experience and culture” (566). It is unfortunate, but stereotypes are important in finding ways to explain the behavior of others who are not similar to one’s own social group. In defining oneself, stereotypes can help to define characteristics that are and are not associated with one’s own identity. However when stereotypes are used to create a character, to caricature a person so that they fit into a type, their humanity is lost and the full development of the character can be hampered as the actors work to reveal other aspects of the individual beyond the caricature. The stereotypes that have signaled the sexual orientation of characters are becoming obsolete, revealing that the lives of those who are gay or lesbian in sexual orientation is not a defining characteristic that overwhelms their connections to humanity . In revealing the naturalized manner of characters who happen to be homosexual, the stereotypes are shattered revealing representations of real people rather than portraits of what is assumed to be characteristics. As shown by the success of Brokeback Mountain, society is getting ready to understand the humanistic value of the lives of their characters who happen to be gay or lesbian, rather than defining their character solely by that aspect. Through the example provided by the comparison of the roles that Stanley Tucci created that were similar in nature, it is seen that in the later film he could drop the mannerisms that defined him as gay and reveal a new depth to his characterization. The success is exampled in Valentine’s Day where the two males who were sharing a life as portrayed by Eric Dane and Bradley Cooper. The trend in film for the last part of the first decade of the millinea has been to free gay and lesbian characters from the burden of stereotypical behaviors that blocked the true development of their characters. Works Cited Benshoff, Harry M, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004. Print. Brewer, Paul R. Value War: Public Opinion and the Politics of Gay Rights. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008. Print. McArthur, Daniel, and Corey Mulvihill. Humanity and the Cosmos: Proceedings of the Brock Philosophical Society Conference on Humanity and the Cosmos. Lanham, Md: University Press of America, 2002. Print. Needham, Gary. Brokeback Mountain. Edinburg, Edinburg University Press, 2008. Print. Pomerance, Murray. Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls: Gender in Film at the End of the Twentieth Century. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. Print. Rifkin, Jeremy. The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis. New York: J.P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009. Print. Salzman, Marian L, and Ira Matathia. Next Now: Trends for the Future. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Schneider, David J. The Psychology of Stereotyping. New York: Guilford Press, 2004. Print. Read More