ipl-logo

Homosexuals In Film

741 Words3 Pages

To begin with, the cinema and film industry has not always been so accepting of LGBTQ+ roles or actors/actresses. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, homosexuals within silent films were seen as flamboyant, humorous characters. As film transitioned from silent to talking in the late 1920’s early 1930’s, homosexuals became a figure on film that was easily taken advantage of. This was because of the characteristics oftentimes associated with homosexual characters such as a “flowery, effeminate soul with a high pitched voice and attitude” (Benshoff). This is an early example of stereotypes being formed about gay people. Because of this, these homosexual characters were also frequently referred to as a “pansy”. Among …show more content…

These extremely negative depictions were allowed by the censorship of the Code, which was allowing of homosexuality as long as it was classified as a mental illness. Films expressing homosexuality would more often than not show gay men and women being harassed by police (Morris). Although these acts may seem quite brutal towards the LGBTQ+ community, the perpetrators took no shame in committing these acts.
Advancing into the 1950’s, the censorship Code was loosening up due to the establishment of a newer film classification system. This being said, gay characters in American films were still depicted quite negatively. Gays were identified with being sex obsessed, miserable, suicidal misfits who would kill themselves or others …show more content…

Police raids were common amongst gay bars which would result in the arrest of many in the LGBTQ+ community.
Not many places were very accepting and friendly to gay Americans. The Stonewall Inn of New York City was widely known for catering to a wide variety of people, meaning it was very accepting. Stonewall Inn became popular for taking in the most marginalized in the LGBTQ+ community such as transgender people, drag queens, and homeless youth. On June 28, 1969 when a particular police raid at the Stonewall Inn took place, tensions grew and residents erupted into endless protests and riots day after day, week after week. This event is very significant within the history of LGBTQ+ culture within America. The gay community was tired of being mistreated and discriminated against. They figured non-confrontational practices wouldn’t help them and they needed to become confrontational. Gay activist organizations were formed within New York and then spread quickly across the US and the World to promote rights for all gay and lesbian citizens (Frizzell). These organizations and riots demonstrate how the LGBTQ+ community can unify and come together to support each other against the cruelness of this world even

Show More
Related
208 Words | 1 Pages

Making Disney Villains seem queer might sound very offensive towards homosexuals, in particular gay men, and it seems as if Disney is trying to create a metaphorical message that villains dress and act like stereotypical gay men. However, given the fact that the numbers of animators, creators and voice actors themselves are queer and take part in the creation of the film, such metaphors (e.g. “villain = queer”) might not be as what they seem, seeing how the homosexual audience’s reception of the films are, and how Disney influences their own lives. For example, every first Saturday in June, there is an event called the “Gay Days at Walt Disney World.” It started in 1991, and since then, every year, lesbians and gays gather in WDW to enjoy

Read More
173 Words | 1 Pages

In his article ‘Movements before Stonewall need to be remembered, too’, Adam Dupuis discusses the fact that while the Stonewall Uprising was an important event in LGBT history, the events before it should not be dismissed as lesser. The author emphasizes the Annual Reminders, seminal protests which took place in Philadelphia every Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969. Not only were the Annual Reminders the first sustained LGBT demonstrations, but they were the first gay rights protests to have members from multiple cities, with forty activists from Washington, D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania participating. However, these events were discontinued upon the occurrence of the Stonewall Riot in 1969, when the organizers of the Reminders made the decision

Read More
442 Words | 2 Pages

They raided the bar under the pretense that the Stonewall was serving alcohol without a liquor license. Raids on gay bars were common in the early 1900s. According to the Stonewall Inn’s website “During a typical raid... the customers were lined up and their identification checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag were arrested.” The raid on the Stonewall Inn happened in this fashion.

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

“A group of people decided they’d had enough. They took a stand and in doing so began the New York Gay Activist movement. Which eventually spread to other parts of the country…. I very much doubt they know the impact of their decision to stand firm that day in 1969, but it’s because of those people that gay rights exist in this country today,” Lynley Wayne, LGBT Writer. Everyday people are trying to stand up for themselves.

Read More
1262 Words | 6 Pages

When you think of Lgbtq+ do you think of what each letter means or do you think of the things that happened to get where we are today in the lgbtq community. Well diving more into the lgbtq community "in the 1960s it was illegal for lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender people to gather to drink or dance". (gale). So most of the bars would not serve people that were a part of the lgbtq community because they were afraid of the police raids, the fines and even the loss of there liquor license could all transpire if they were to serve to anybody that was a part of teh lgbtq community. The only bar that would serve the lgbtq people was the stone wall inn in Greenwich village, New york.

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

The Manhattan bar, accepted all types of people who were not revered highly in society at the time. The Government back then did not have legislation that supported the LGBT community. “Homosexual acts” were decriminalized in all states but one, and those convicted faced fines or jail time. In the 1950’s and 60’s

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

Some people spend their whole life's hiding from the people they love because they are either unsure or scare to not be accepted. Many men in the film fund themselves invisible and alone, because they had to stay silent about their sexual orientation. Even if families do not agree with homosexuality they should strive to make each other feel like they would accept each other either ways. Also, parents and children both should look further into educating themselves and each other on the reasons for different sexual orientations. Being educated that not everything is black and white, or concrete can open up a greater understanding of things likes sexual

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

If people become lax towards the idealism of equality and justice for the LGBT community, all progress will stop and it could even be reversed. The Stonewall riots were one event that triggered a massive movement that changed America forever, and it could take one more event to either further or dismantle all of the breakthroughs it has lead to. Even one act of protest or dissent can lead to big change, and the riots at the Stonewall Inn exemplify

Read More
1259 Words | 6 Pages

Repressed Homosexuality in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof In the play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, American play writer and author, Tennessee Williams, creates a piece that brings attention to a very dysfunctional, Southern family due to dishonesty, greed and concealed emotions. This story takes place around the 1950s and is centered on a broken, alcohol-loving man named Brick, his vivacious wife named Maggie, and their extremely… unusual family, but this isn’t the typical 1950s type of play. Most of the story and its conflict centers around one main topic: repressed homosexuality. This play was eventually cut down, altered and turned in to a film created by director, Richard Brooks.

Read More
533 Words | 3 Pages

Who is the first gay or lesbian character (TV, Film, Book, etc) you experienced? What was the portrayal like? (e.g., healthy, accurate, exaggerated, negative) When I was in high school there was a music teacher that behave very feminine and no one wanted to talk about his preferences, but he was very nice and very good teacher that I did not see him as different person as I just saw on him a good person and an excellent teacher that care about his students, he wanted us to learn and be successful. 4.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

If they did come out there would be harsh consequences such as job loss or jail time. Carter does a great job of showing how gay people had to live in the shadows during the 1960s. Gay people did not have a bar, club, nor restaurant that would be accepting of them. Instead, if gay people wanted to go out and have a drink they would have to go to mafia ran bars and clubs. Within these clubs, the managers and owners were cruel to homosexuals even though the establishment invited them to their businesses.

Read More
733 Words | 3 Pages

These raids were in search of any illicit behavior that would give police officials reason to detain and arrest gay and lesbians individuals. Police raids included “crack down[s] on prostitution and other organized-crime activities” but were also commonly known for the harassment of customers and arrests of crossdressers. Everyone knew the risks and continued to frequent such establishments as they were the only place of solace for the community. Life of the homosexual in mid 20th century America was rough. Much of the LGBT community was made up of teenagers.

Read More
1368 Words | 6 Pages

THE STONEWALL RIOTS The Stonewall riots are widely believed to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Considered by some to be the "Rosa Parks" moment of the gay rights movement in America, the riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York, in the early hours of June 28th, 1969. This single event has left a resounding impact on the fight for LGBT rights that can still be seen today. Throughout the 50s and 60s in the United States, the FBI along with local police departments kept close watch on what they believed to be "homosexual activity".

Read More
1226 Words | 5 Pages

Gus Van Sant, the director of the movie, chose to include every detail that he possibly could to relate this movie to American Democracy. He strategically included heterosexual and homosexual actors to spark a political debate. The director clearly wanted to make a point about the discrmination against the LGBTQ society. He emphasizes this by having homosexuals march down the streets of San Francisco, destroying city property.

Read More
1329 Words | 6 Pages

Though he could not be explicit in his representation of homosexuality or queerness, in the

Read More

More about Homosexuals In Film

Related Topics

Open Document