ipl-logo

The Representation Of Queer Teens In 'The Lost Boys'

1097 Words5 Pages

Breaking Boundaries: The Representation of Queer Teens in “The Lost Boys” (1987)

By: Sophia Roome

Abstract: This review explores the representation of queer identity in the 1987 horror film "The Lost Boys" directed by Joel Schumacher, by examining the portrayal of queer vampires and their relationships with the main characters.

Annotation:

When someone thinks of "The Lost Boys," they might initially think of Peter Pan and fairy tales. However, Joel Schumacher's 1987 film has very little to do with fairies and pirates, and much more to do with queer vampires. The film has become considered a cult classic in the horror genre since its release. The story follows a mother and …show more content…

David uses his androgynous, charismatic, and mysterious aura to seduce his victims and Michael is his most recent prey. Michael's younger brother, Sam, resists the vampires and teams up with a group of young vampire hunters friends to try and rid the town and his family of the vampire threat. As Michael becomes more entangled with the vampire gang, he slowly realizes that he must make a choice between embracing his new life as a vampire and joining the group or fighting against them to try and save his …show more content…

(2022, July 28). "The Lost Boys" Through a Dracula lens highlights the film's queer subtext on its 35th anniversary. Black Girl Nerds. https://blackgirlnerds.com/the-lost- boys-through-a-dracula-lens-highlights-the-films-queer-subtext-on-its-35th-anniversary/

Holub, C. (2017, July 31). 7 things in 'The Lost Boys' you notice only as an adult. The List. https://www.thelist.com/94950/things-lost-boys-notice-adult/

Lockett, D. (2017, August 11). Blood lust: Adolescent sexuality and personal conflict in “The Lost Boys” (1987). Talk Film Society. https://talkfilmsociety.com/columns/blood-lust- adolescent-sexuality-and-personal-conflict-in-the-lost-boys-1987

Henderson, E. (2022, November 4). "Lost Boys" star calls movie "freaking obvious" gay metaphor & homoerotic scenes prove it. Queerty. https://www.queerty.com/lost-boys- star-calls-movie-freaking-obvious-gay-metaphor-homoerotic-scenes-prove-20221104

Kaiser, V. (2019, July 13). Boys beware of vampire punks: Queerness in “The Lost Boys”. The Cutprice Guignol. https://vraikaiser.com/2019/07/13/boys-beware-of-vampire-punks- queerness-in-the-lost-boys/

Academic Articles tying into Vampires and Queer

Show More
Related
1630 Words | 7 Pages

In the introduction to Kendall Phillips’ book, “Projected Fears,” he discusses “horror films that made such an impression on American culture that they became instantly recognizable and, indeed, redefined the notion of what a horror film is.” (Phillips 3). This list of movies includes many favorites, such as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scream. Phillips later states his thesis, “...my argument in this book is that these [movies] are the most ‘successful’ and ‘influential’ in American history and that their level of success and influence can be correlated to broader cultural anxieties into which they somehow tapped” (Phillips 3).

Read More
2127 Words | 9 Pages

Such dynamic is strictly heteronormative due to the disdain for homosexuality in the scheme of Dominican hypermasculinity. When discussing Oscar’s characteristics Yunior compared him to “that fat homo Oscar Wilde,” as a method of demeaning homosexuality (180). The rejection of homosexuals is a mechanism by which the Dominican males work to assert their heteronormative sexuality, reinforcing their masculine traits. Males actively ridicule homosexuality with contempt evident when Oscar’s uncle shares a box of condoms with him and advises him to “use them all, he said, and then added: On girls” (51). This homophobia encourages a detrimental heteronormative discourse that asserts a clear-cut sexual orientation for Dominican

Read More
787 Words | 4 Pages

“The Outsiders” is a novel with numerous notable themes that are relatable and narrates a despairing story about two divided groups of teens and how they need to put aside their contrasting ways of living before it's too late. Adolescents today can associate with “The Outsiders” topics of empathy, stereotypes and preserving childhood innocence the most. First of all, teens today can identify

Read More
903 Words | 4 Pages

The viewers understand the significant meaning of social criticism issues in the stereotypes society of Suburbia through someone who is considered ‘different’ and ‘odd’. When Edward is first introduced to Suburbia, his ‘scissorhands’ are favoured by the women because of his hairdressing skills and creative artworks of the topiaries in their yards. But as events pass, the neighbours and the antagonist Jim continues to discriminate against Edward, finally banishing him from Suburbia. A variety of soundtracks and symbolic use of colours are dispersed around the movie to emphasise how it means to be different in a world that cannot accept difference. The main soundtrack “Edward Scissorhands” gives an indication of mystery and thrill, whilst another soundtrack “Ice Dance” features more of a romantic and innocent side of the movie.

Read More
385 Words | 2 Pages

You might expect Frankenstein, Dracula or Wolfman as the earliest horror movies, but the truth is nothing that creepy as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was ever made before. Dating back to 1922, this movie reflects the bleak and frightening interwar years in Germany. Featuring a vampire called Count Orlok with the unforgettable Max Schreck, who was so tall, that in one scene he barely fits through a doorway. In order to maximize the rhetorical effect of mystery or uncanny – Murnau, in particular, is focusing at the lifeless becoming alive or the dead claiming life, as in the sequence of the vampire coming out of the shadow and slowly filling the screen with its horrific glance. (Lucchese, 2014).

Read More
503 Words | 3 Pages

Part 1 There is a particular point of view found in certain recent Hollywood films that explores the varying spectrum of sexuality and the role representation plays in an individual’s life. In the traditional view of sexuality in society, sexuality has an established separation, homosexual or heterosexual. In The Monster and the Homosexual Benshoff mentions “how homosexuality is thought and felt by heterosexuals is part and parcel of the way the culture teaches them (and us) to think and feel about their heterosexuality,” (Benshoff 95). In this context the heterosexual view of a homosexual is based on preconceived notions that the audience have obtained from society.

Read More
817 Words | 4 Pages

There is also a specific focus on British or English homosexuality and their proclivity for it. “Englishmen came to love one another decently, without shame, or make-believe, under the easy likelihoods of their sudden deaths... While Europe died meanly in its own wastes, men loved”¹. Despite the prejudice and dubious morality of homosexuality at the time, men ended up loving each other in the face of death and imminent destruction. Along these lines, there is a distinct tenderness found in the language and exchanges between men. No one, “can fail to notice there the unique physical tenderness, the readiness to admire openly the bodily beauty of young men, the unapologetic recognition that men may be in love with each other”¹, this again subverts the idea that there was no open homosexuality at the front lines.

Read More
1259 Words | 6 Pages

Wolfenden found that in 1955 30% of those prosecuted were imprisoned. The irony of imprisoning homosexual men in institutions which were all-male seemed lost on the system. (‘Gay’ in the 1950s) With knowing the severity of homosexuality during the 50’s , it brings clarity as to why problems came about when creating the film version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. When deciding to make the play into a film, one main change had to be made due to restrictions of homosexual references in films.

Read More
2603 Words | 11 Pages

Four adolescent boys have the adventure of their lives encountering a death in the 1986 movie “Stand by Me” (Reiner & Ramis,1986), based on a novel by noted horror author Stephen King. The four are all outcasts in one way or another, but have united into a special friendship of reinforcement combined with teasing, such as jokes about each other’s mothers. Their journey into darkness began when one of the boys, Vern, heard his older brother and a friend discussing that they had accidentally discovered the body of a dead boy, missing for several days from a nearby community. Vern, chubby, clumsy and full of insecurities, cannot wait to tell his friends of the discovery, so that they can locate the dead boy’s body and become “heroes.” He is

Read More
2332 Words | 10 Pages

Adolescence: A Look at Adolescence in the Movie The Breakfast Club The 1985 movie written and directed by John Hughes, called The Breakfast Club looks at five very different students who are coming into adolescence and becoming their own people.

Read More
1580 Words | 7 Pages

Through the use of a younger cast and romantic relationships, the target audience was definitely reached and moved by this film. By effectively using the rhetorical appeals, the audience was able to relate to some of the ideas shown and look at their community through an entire new lenses. The Breakfast Club can be classified as a coming to age film. According to “As Film Studies: The Essential Introduction”, the coming of age films tend to rely on dialogue and emotion and often involves an important decision made in a short period of time (271).

Read More
1178 Words | 5 Pages

This demonstrates that the gay life was deeply hidden underground in the early twentieth century. Owing to this hidden status, the past gay history was surely thought to have never existed in the modern history without a scrutinized

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

The young boys all have a trouble in life which contributes to the most important theme of the film; the coming of age moments that shape

Read More
1156 Words | 5 Pages

Within the scope of this discussion, different dimensions of “queer” are presented as emulated by villains. “Queer” can be described as an umbrella term used for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual nor cisgender. Correspondingly, Disney cinema villains obliterate all established notions of gender and sexuality, especially heterosexual norms. Through this frame, Disney cinema villains such as Ursula, Maleficent, and Elsa may be read as queer-coded in contrast with the relatively more heteronormative heroes. Queer-coding is essentially understood as fictional characters, who have not been revealed as queer, but are given traits or are being read as non-heteronormative, because of the style, behavior, gestures or overall appearance.

Read More
1494 Words | 6 Pages

The movie does not exactly enlighten all the issues that adolescents are going through, but it provides a story of a boy who overcame the things that were holding him back. This movie can be used as a motivation for others who are dealing with similar situations. Conclusion Adolescents experience a large amount of change including puberty, high school, and romantic relationships.

Read More

More about The Representation Of Queer Teens In 'The Lost Boys'

Related Topics

Open Document