kbb@linus.UUCP (Kenneth B. Bass) (04/13/84)
[Was this line blank?] As has been noted in previous articles, discrimination, or to be more general 'non-acceptance', towards homosexuals has not been alleviated by all these civil rights movements; in fact what has happened is that it has only become hidden. (The effect of Mayor Flynn's bill has yet to be seen) Most people are now not only afraid of homosexuality (probably because it's so foreign to them), but also of being labeled prejudiced. Like the Joe Jackson song: You don't want to sound dumb, You don't want to offend, ... It seems to me that generally people would rather just avoid the whole issue, as opposed to making an honest effort of equality. A good indicaton of this is the media's (specifically TV shows and films) use of homosexuality. There are few series or films that deal directly with the subject. Most of those that do are then simply ignored by the viewing public, which in turn force the producers (greed- stricken as they are) to simply not use the subject again. One good counter-example of this you might argue, would be the (canceled but now syndicated) series "SOAP". And I agree. For awhile a gay theme was quite prominent and accepted - over caricatured as it was (I mean, really. How many of you really dated a pro football quarterback? Can we talk?). But Jody fell victim to society's homophobic nuerosis: after a few well timed drinks he eventually started to straighten up. First he got Carol pregnant, then he fell in love with a female private investigator. And after that - for the few remaining episodes - very little was mentioned about him being gay. The same thing seemed to have happened on "Dynasty". I hadn't seen the series for about a year and a half, until a few weeks ago. I was rather surprised to see Steve (I think that is who it was) was now passionately straight. Again, I never heard any mention to his former lifestyle, so I'm left to assume that sometime during those episodes that I missed he had found some (rather expensive probably) "miracle cure". The point that these two series seem to show is that generally people would rather just avoid the whole issue. And producers sense this; and they are not driven by any principles or moral obligations - only greed. One major film that almost made it by the public's homphobic traps was "Victor/Victoria". If it weren't for the off-the-wall story, by Blake Edwards, and the great performances of the stars - Robert Preston, James Garner, Alex Carras, and Mary Poppins (oops, I mean Julie Andrews) - I think that this film might have bit the dust like "Making Love" did. Although much of the story dealt with some form of sexuality, that issue for the most part was treated on the surface very cavalier and non-chalantly. The setting first of all, was in Gay Paris. This gave the film a quaint, if not cute, ambiance. Like with Robert Preston and Alex Carras sitting in bed together, elegantly sipping coffee (or whatever), and of course both of their pinkies' were extended to the proper angle. This caricaturing actually made the film more bearable; people weren't turned off so much by the gay theme, and were able to enjoy the story. Actually, the story was nothing more than a Shakespearean comedy. All the characters fumbled around, finding themselves in bizarre, tangled situations. When at the final moment, when all seems lost, in flies Puck, that mischevious faerie, who magically unravels their dilemma and everyone lives happily ever after at the end. Well, anyways, I just thought I'd drivel for awhile. By the way, any views, opinions, spelling, style, etc. expressed here may not accurately portray the author's views, opinions, spelling, style, etc. They were the by-product of many hours of filling in many tax forms. "Toto, I don't think this is Kansas" kbb ps. Please don't turn up the flames too much. But then again, if that is all you have to say...
jmsellens@watrose.UUCP (John M Sellens) (04/13/84)
There was a recent article/column in a magazine (Esquire?) dealing with the portrayal of gays on TV (or that was part of it at least). I'd be glad to re-read and summarize/cite, if anyone would like me to. John M Sellens - U of Waterloo - watmath!watrose!jmsellens
hxe@rayssd.UUCP (04/17/84)
One TV show that started out with a lot of promise but got a little
boring (and then canceled) was "Love, Sidney." In the pilot movie
Sidney was undeniably gay; it was a crucial part of the plot. In
the TV series, he was more-or-less asexual. Howevr, there was one
beautifully-executed, touching two-parter that had a younger woman
fall in love with him. He liked her back but couldn't sort out his
feelings. In the end, he finally had to reject her without telling
her why. As she left she said something like, "I hate the woman who
did this to you" (implying that he had loved so deeply that he would
never love again). Sidney then whispered, "I'm sorry, Martin" and
the camera came in for a closeup of a photo of a man (presumably
Martin) on his table. It was well done and actually admitted, right
there on Network Television, that he had loved a man. That episode
and the one with Itszack (sp?) Perlman playing the violin made the
whole series worthwhile.
Heather Emanuel {allegra, decvax!brunix, ccieng5, linus} rayssd!hxe