Pride: Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Is there anyone reading the internet in general and my blog in particular who hasn't heard of the movie BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN? I'm thinking no. Even if you haven't seen it (btw, I am constantly surprised by the people who have and have not seen this film) you certainly *know* of it. It's "The Gay Cowboy Picture", right?

Except that it's not. It was directed by Academy Award winning director Ang Lee. It was based on a short story by Annie Proulx. The screenplay (which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay) was by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry. McMurtry is not some Gay Agenda Liberal Pinko; he's the author of LONESOME DOVE as well as TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

The story is about one man and his absolute inability to connect to anyone in his life emotionally. After he has burned all of his bridges he finally makes baby steps to have an emotional connection with his daughter.

My opinion is that it was called "The Gay Cowboy Picture" by people who never actually saw it.

Heath Ledger is awesome as Ennis, the man who doesn't know how to make or keep emotional commitments. He takes a job herding a flock of sheep in the mountains with one other guy, Jack (portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal). After too much time together they gradually become friends and then begin an affair. This scares the hell out of Ennis. Eventually he steps back violently from Jack and retreats to a new wife and new life away from the mountains.

The rest of the story is about how these two broken men come to the realization that they were at their best when they were together. It takes Ennis the entire film to realize this. Although it breaks our hearts for him to push everyone away, when he finally does allow someone in, it's an emotional victory.

It's a bittersweet, positive motion picture and deserved all of the praise it won.

If you have not seen it, you should. It is not a "gay love story." It is simply a love story with two guys.

My brother-in-law said he saw it and liked it, except for one particular scene when the men actually begin to have sex. It only lasts a moment, and is not graphic at all, so don't let that one scene scare you away from a wonderful love story.

Pride: DC'S Gay Super-Heroes

DC came late to the "inclusion table;" MARVEL made history when they "outed" the first  mainstream gay super-hero in 1992. Of course, Northstar, the Canadian super-hero/mutant who made that announcement, made his debut in 1979. So he was a relatively new character. DC, when they finally got on the Pride Parade float, took one new character and two classic characters and "outed" them.

 Obsidian was introduced in 1983 as a twin. His sister had Green Lantern-like abilities, but he had the ability to merge with his shadow and move around in darkness. (Odd that Northstar, too, was a twin, also with a super-powered sister). He hung out with a group of young heroes called Infinity, Inc for several years. While there he became close friends with another member named Nuklon. When Infinity, Inc broke up (and the book was cancelled) he and Nuklon joined the Justice League.

At about the same time that Northstar was making his historical announcement,  Obsidian made a comment of his own. In the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA he told his best friend, Nuklon, to the effect, "the only people I love are you and my sister." Nuklon then asked him point-blank if he (Obsidian) was gay, and he responded, "Why do we have to have labels?" This started a sub-plot about how Nuklon dealt with labels and what he would do if his friend really did turn out to be gay. At that time, Obsidian never admitted anything. It was kind of implied that he *was* gay and that his buddy wasn't reacting well, so he wasn't about to clearly "out" himself under the circumstances.

Eventually both of them took a leave of absence from the JLA and moved back into comic book limbo. Both re-appeared in the pages of JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, but Obsidian's private life never came up until he was possessed by an evil magician. When he was freed from this power, Obsidian joked, "I'm cured! I'm not gay any more!" Then he laughed and made a point of admitting that he was just kidding and that he was, in fact, gay. This was in 2003.

Then in 2006 Obsidian joined the cast of MANHUNTER. Here he was shown to not only have a boyfriend, but they are shown kissing several times and to be very much living together: sleeping and showering together. (see panel above) This is the first time I can recall a DC comic-book ever being this open about a character's homosexuality. And it was light years ahead of the stuff MARVEL was doing at the time. (See last week's article.) 

Of course, MANHUNTER was cancelled and Obsidian faded away again, as supporting characters do. He has turned up in JSA from time to time but was never given the same amount of spotlight he had enjoyed in MANHUNTER.

Meanwhile, also in 2006, a new character was created with an old name. Batwoman made her debut in the new order in the maxi-series 52. Originally the character of Bat-Woman was Kathy Kane, a millionaire circus performer who wanted to have adventures with Batman and Robin. DC added her to the mix in 1956 to help fight the rumors that Batman and Robin were gay. She appeared semi-regularly. Later her niece Bette arrived as well and called herself  Bat-Girl. Then in 1964 they disappeared when the "New Look Batman" made its debut.

It's a bit ironic, then, that the new Batwoman is a lesbian. She was announced as such when she made her debut, so there was no "outing" to be done. Her back-story includes having dated Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya. Montoya had been a supporting character in the BAT books for several years and had even appeared on the BATMAN Animated Series. (She was the police officer who always worked with Harvey Bullock.)  In 2012 BATWOMAN made its debut as an on-going series. As of this writing, it is the only mainstream comic-book title featuring a gay character as the lead.

Her costume was designed by comics great Alex Ross, but is basically a re-tread of the original Bat-Woman costume, substituting yellow for black.

The latest gay character in the DC Line of Super-Stars is Green Lantern. You might have heard some of the announcements from last month. It was big news when DC announced that in the course of their re-vamping of their universe, a "classic" super-hero would be re-imagined as gay.

Now if you are not a comic-book fan, you probably have no idea what the hell this means.
I will try to explain it. DC and MARVEL have a perpetual problem with their characters, some of whom have been around for 30, 40, 50, or even 60 years. Superman and Batman made their debuts in 1938 and 1939, respectively. Spider-Man made his debut in 1962. So to keep their characters young and the stories fresh, both companies "re-invent" or "ret-con" their "worlds" every few decades. The current Batman, for example, is probably the third or fourth version. They are all known as Bruce Wayne; the main story doesn't change. But the villains and the tone and the characterizations do. A few paragraphs back I said how Bat-Woman and Bat-Girl hung out until "the New Look Batman" was created. Well, that was one of the times when DC started again, cleaning house and getting rid of story-lines and events that were no longer wanted. So Bat-Woman and Bat-Girl, for all intents and purposes, simply ceased to exist.
Got it?

As for our newest star, Green Lantern as a character was introduced by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger in 1940. He was Alan Scott, blond and handsome railroad engineer, who wore a red, green, and purple  costume. (see picture) He was popular until the early '50s, when the initial WWII-backed comic book popularity died out.  Eventually he was replaced by Hal Jordan, brunette in green, black, and white. This is the character most people now associate with this name. Hal Jordan, cosmic policeman, is the guy Ryan Reynolds made the movie about last year.

HOWEVER, this time it was established that the Alan Scott version was "really" alive, too. He and his World War II era buddies were on a different dimensional plane than the Hal Jordan version. On "our" Earth we had the Justice League and Super Friends; they had the Justice Society and Infinity, Inc. They had the "straight" Bat-Woman and her neice Bat-Girl; we had the lesbian and a totally different Batgirl.

Because Alan Scott Green Lantern started his career in 1940, he was older, married, and actually had children. One child was a daughter, Jade, with Green Lantern-style powers. The other was a son, with darkness powers named......Obsidian.

So we've come full circle. In original continuity Green Lantern Alan Scott had a gay son, Obsidian. In the newest "re-invent" or "retcon" at DC, they have decided that the Justice Society did NOT start back in 1940 after all. They are making all of those "Golden Age" characters "Modern." Alan Scott is no longer old in this current world. Therefore he has no grown children ie no grown gay son. That's him, the hunky blond in (you guessed it)green, kissing his boy-friend, Sam.

DC, in a move that seems logical if not a tad misguided, has taken the characteristics of "the son" and given them to "the father."

Now DC not only has conservative (?) groups angry at them for showcasing "alternative lifestyles" (like being a super-hero itself isn't alternative!) but they also have traditional comics fans like me mad that they are making a heretofore "straight" character "gay."

(Not to go all comic nerd on you, but there are plenty of Golden Age characters who never had wives or girl friends or children who could have been "outed" better than this. Dr. Mid-Nite is the first one to come to mind. Kudos to you if you even know who that is.)

I'm not saying that DC can't do whatever the hell they want with their characters. However, like the time they made Aquaman a bearded, one-armed a$$-hole, I'm not sure this is what they *should* have done. I don't think making A Green Lantern gay was a problem (hell, there are 3,800 of them out there in space on "our" world) but taking THIS Green Lantern and *making* him gay.....hmmm. Not a big fan of this. There seems to be an utter lack of affection and care for the original character! Sure, it's just a name but on the other hand....tossing away 62 years of history? Really? Why? I guess I question the whole idea of having to re-imagine these characters. They were unique in being "the first guard." They were the "older brothers" and "mentors" to "new" characters like Batman and Hal Jordan-Green Lantern. For them to now be young and virile and modern....what's the point?

By the way, the "new" old Green Lantern doesn't have the same traditional red, green, and purple uniform shown above. All we have so far is him "flaming" here but it looks a little bit like Hal Jordan's uniform. THAT won't confuse even more people.

On a final note, I am saddened by all the hullabaloo about any gay characters. As I mentioned in the MARVEL column, this controversy about gay characters is all "much ado about nothing." The average comic-book reader's age is probably closer to 30 than 13, so the "corrupting the youth of our country" argument is probably wrong. I can't imagine a whole lot of nerdy straight white guys (I'm picturing THE SIMPSONS' Comic Book Shop Guy) *wanting* to read about a gay guy. Maybe that's why BATWOMAN is about a lesbian? We do love our women in spandex. Still, the average comic-book readers (and their kids or little brothers & sisters) are more likely to happen upon manga, filled with much more vivid hetereo-sex or ultra violence, then you can find in your average DC or MARVEL book. Yet, violence has always been more "okay" than sex. Now THAT is a crazy concept.

Pride: Stonewall Riots on TV?

On the early morning of June 28, 1969 the New York City Police raided an obscure and establishment called Stonewall Inn. The police made random "hits" of places like this where sodomites and other "degenerates" were known to frequent.

However, on this night the people in the bar, mostly young gay men and drag queens, had had enough. Enough of the hypocricy. Enough of the bullying. Enough of the threats and intimidation. So they fought back, and for nearly five days there was a steady stream of people on the streets demonstrating. The Gay Rights Movement had begun.

What a great story, right?

Yet in my search to try to find something worthwhile on television to celebrate during Pride Month, I realized that the behind-the-story story of Stonewall has yet to be made into a TV-movie. If it exists, I couldn't find it!

Is this because TV executives don't think enough people (i.e. "straight people") want to see this TV-movie? Is this because not enough gay actors want to be associated with the project for fear of being "outed?" Is it because straight actors are afraid to be associated with the project for fear of being labelled gay?

Those are all bs reasons. The fact remains that the Powers-That-Be in Hollywood are still very much White Straight Male. "John" doesn't want to see movies starring women, or movies with Black Americans in the lead, or about gay guys. "John" wants to see things blow up real good.

And that is why we still don't have a Martin Luther King Jr biography picture. That is why we get one HUNGER GAMES for every six PERCY JACKSONS. And that is why the best Black actresses in Hollywood are  STILL stuck playing maids.

I hope by this time next year there is a good STONEWALL drama out there. We'll see.

In the meantime, there is an awesome documentary called STONEWALL UPRISING. Borrow it from your local library. It's fascinating.

Pride: Gays In Uniform "You Belong To Me"

I went to the Columbus Gay Pride Parade and Festival last weekend. One of the loudest cheers any float got in the parade was the one dedicated to Gays in the Military. Each branch of the services had their flag on parade, and there was also an elderly gentleman seated on the float. He was in uniform and was decorated with several medals. I don't know military customs very well but it looked like he would have been a Korean War Army veteran.

The point I am making with this is that I honestly believe the fabric of our society has begun to change. Only a few years ago it was unheard of to think of gays in the US military. And before that it was unheard of to think of women. And before that it was unheard of to think of blacks. And now all of them serve, with just as much honor as straight white males. Sometimes with more.

To honor our gay service members, both past and present, here is The Duprees from 1962 singing, "You Belong To Me." It was written as from the point of view of a woman in the US waiting for her service-man to come home after World War II. It was recorded first by Patty Page and then by Jo Stafford, who had a huge international hit with it. Listen to the lyrics and tell me you don't think the images suggested by them says "military guy." Sure, it does sound a little bit odd for a group of men to be singing these words. But it's also a little bit romantic, don't you think? His loverboy must be an Air Force guy! ;-)

"You Belong To Me"

The Duprees

written by Chilton Price,

PeeWee King, and Redd Stewart

 

Pride: Philadelphia (1993)

When the movie PHILADELPHIA came out I was still living in Japan. US (and other foreign) films usually come to Japan later than they do in their native countries. There are two main reasons for this: foreign film distributors want to send out bonafide hits, so they want to wait and see if a film has "legs" before booking it. And secondly, they need time to translate the English into sub-titles or dubbed native language.

So most "mainstream" Hollywood films that are not "summer blockbusters" like THE AVENGERS or INDEPENDANCE DAY tend to get to Japan maybe six months or even a year after their initial domestic distribution.

This is just a long way to tell you that by the time PHILADELPHIA came to Japan, Tom Hanks had already won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the lead, lawyer Andy Beckett.

So the film was packed when we went to see it. Instead of a "gay drama" it was sold as an "Academy Award Winning Classic."

I had always been a Denzel Washington fan (he had been wonderful in GLORY) and I didn't mind Tom Hanks. At the time this was a huge risk for Tom Hanks. He had been a TV actor and had been in minor hits such as BIG. With PHILADELPHIA he showed his true talent, brilliantly portraying the dying lawyer.  If he hadn't won over the fans he would have been roasted as "playing queer." If he did win over the fans and the critics,  he ran the risk of being typecast in "gay" roles.

However, he scored both professionally and in the popular press.

PHILADELPHIA was the first main-stream movie about AIDS discrimination. (LONG TIME COMPANION was made in 1989, but it was a minor hit compared to PHILADELPHIA. I didn't get to see it until it came out on video in the later 90s.) As such, there was a lot riding on its shoulders. The story goes that many producers and accountants in Hollywood were afraid to look at the AIDS health crisis head-on because they didn't think Straight America wanted to see those stories. It turned out those nay-sayers were wrong. (Side note: a great documentary-like movie about these times is AND THE BAND PLAYED ON. See it if you haven't already.)

It turns out that PHILADELPHIA falls straight (ahem) in the "dying hero" genre of movies. In this case it is AIDS, but it could be cancer or leukemia or any other fatal illness. As such there is no "guilt" given to Andy's character for his lifestyle. He is dying and he is being discriminated against; period. My one criticism was that the law firm was made out to be a bit too radically anti-gay; a more nuanced "villain" would have been better, I think. However, that is a minor complaint. I have read that many gay critics were not happy, thouh, with the way the story was told through/around the eyes of Denzel Washington's straight lawyer's point of view. Really, though, isn't that the only way it could have been done? He is the point of view that brings the audience into Andy's world. He is against Andy at the beginning, calling him a fag and being disgusted by him. Then he slowly realizes that people are people, and what was happening to Andy was, indeed, discrimination The Academy Award went to Hanks, but it is Washington's character who does the most growing. Truly, both actors are stupendous.

To sum up: if you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. Courtroom Drama. Friends Under Fire. Family Torn Apart. Love Story. Tragedy. Classic.

The song "Streets of Philadelphia" was written by Bruce Springsteen especially for the movie. Director Jonathan Demme, asked Bruce specfiically to write some music for the film. Bruce was on tour at the time, but when he finished he came up with this.

"Streets of Philadelphia" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also won four Grammy Awards including Song of the Year.

Even now, after hearing it a hundred times, if I am feeling especially melancholy or sentimental it can bring a tear to my eye.

Thank you, Bruce, for writing and performing this wonderful tune.

Pride: Batman & Robin Aren't Gay

We all know Batman and Robin aren't really gay.

Even though they go by the names "Bruce" and "Dick."

Just because they sleep in the same room and change and shower together.

That doesn't mean anything!!!

Batman has the hots for Catwoman and for Silver St. Cloud.

Robin has slept with Starfire (to much controversy in the 80s) and has been in love with Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon for years.

Still, the rumors persist.

So in honor of Pride Month, here for your enjoyment are some of the most (in)famous "gay" Batman and Robin scenes.

They are all actually published in DC comics. I promise. Nothing has been photo-edited.

Next week: DC's actually honest-to-goodness gay characters, including Batwoman and the new Green Lantern!! 

"Rainbow Batman." I can't MAKE this
stuff up!!!



Darn, ttanning time is over!

I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why
Batman would consider a leather thong a trophy.
Really.

 

Am I the only one to see the blue and pink symbolism here?



Of course they've touched! I mean....in the course of their
crime fighting capacities....! Just weird how the other men think of their
girl-friend/wives and Bruce thinks of his Dick.

Pride: Will & Grace

WILL & GRACE made its debut on NBC on September 21, 1998. However, I was in Japan at the time and I didn't actually begin watching the show until nearly three years later. By the time I did see it it was a huge hit and something of an "event." I wasn't able to come across it accidentally or when it was just starting out.

The show revolves around best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack) and Grace Adler (Debra Messing). They are frequently at odds or in partnership with millionaire crazy woman Karen Walker (played by Megan Mullally) and self-promoted superstar Jack McFarland (played by Sean Hayes). Over the course of the show each of these actors received Emmy Awards for their work. When the show as at its best they were very, very funny.

The show was imminently important for showcasing gay characters as "normal." In fact, gay man Will was probably the most NORMAL character on the show! He was a straight-laced lawyer, the axis around which his designer and entertainer friends would revolve. Karen was one of his clients and then his friend.

I started watching it because it was part of the "Must See TV" night on NBC, set within shows I actually really enjoyed, such as FRIENDS and SCRUBS. But I have to admit, this show was never really one of my favorites. Jack and Karen especially were totally "out there" characters and when the episodes were centered around them I found them more annoying than anything else (similar to Kramer on SEINFELD).

I do remember a few episodes fondly, however. I remember where Jack and Will storm to THE TODAY SHOW to try to kiss on live TV to show then men kissing was not a big deal. In the course of this episode I think all of the characters kissed each other and it was pretty funny. I also remember the episode where Jack actually meets his idol, Cher. He thinks she is a drag queen dressed up AS Cher, and tells "him" how to improve his look. It was pretty funny. I also remember the episode where adorable Matt Damon poses as gay and auditions to join the Gay Mens' Chorus for a free trip to Europe. He has to out-gay Jack, who also wants the free trip.

In the long run, I wonder if this show does more harm than good? People who only see homosexuals as "girly men" or "fairies" recognize that stereotype in Jack. And because Will hangs out with Grace and was not given a legitimate boyfriend for most of the series, you could possibly watch the show without realizing that they weren't a couple...or that he wasn't gay!! Plus it didn't help that the character of Will was portrayed by a straight actor who went several years without pushing the writers/producers to give him a boyfriend.

So the show boasts sterotypical representations of gays as funny, "queer" comedians. This is fine, but not if it's the only side we get to see. The show was not so good at showing homosexual characters in normal relationships just like Grace and her boyfriend/husband (portrayed by Harry Connick, Jr). Yes, there were a few episodes where Jack had to deal with the fact that he had a long-lost son, but the comedy there was that the teenager was more mature than Jack was. Not a great role model, ya know?

Of course, it's "only television." Still.....as I've written about before, shows I watched as a kid had a huge influence on me. I can't help but think this show affected millions of kids and young adults, too.

In closing, here's that scene with Cher I was talking about. See if you don't laugh. :-)

Pride: I Think We're Alone Now



"rainbow" label....coincidence? ;-)

Back in 1967, Tommy James & the Chondells recorded a song written by Ritchie Cordell. It went to number four on Billboard's Hot 100. More than twenty years later, a 16-year old girl named Tiffany Darwisch re-recorded this song and took it all the way to Number One.

Of course, the song is about Puppy Love. However, there is no gender mentioned anywhere in the song (which is how both a boy and a girl could sing the lead). It's about kids "playing" together. And who do you play with when you're a kid? Kids of the same sex, right?
Check out the lyrics yourself:

Children behave, that's what they say when we're together.
And watch how you play!
They don't understand
And so we're running just as fast as we can
Holding on to one another's hands
Trying to get away into the night
Then you put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground
And then you say I think we're alone now
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we're alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound
Look at the way we have to hide what w'ere doing
Cuz what would they say if they ever knew? 

I'm not saying this is a gay love song. But it sure could be.

To help celebrate Pride, and the idea that these types of "secret love" songs are things of the past, here are both versions.

So, please tell me which you like better?

 

Pride: Marvel's Gay Super-Heroes

MARVEL COMICS made history in 1992 when they were the first mainstream comic-book company to have an openly gay character. Northstar, a Canadian super-hero member of the group Alpha Flight,  made his debut in UNCANNY X-MEN #106 in 1979. However, he did not announce to the world that he was gay until ALPHA FLIGHT #106, thirteen years later.

After that, he didn't do much of anything. I was in Japan at this time, but still had access to ordering comics. So I had heard about his "coming out" and when it was announced that he would have his own mini-series in 1994, I ordered it.

It was terrible, and had nothing to do with his sexuality. Maybe I should reverse that; either way, it was awful. MARVEL openly marketed the book as his first solo appearance, hoping to take advantage of customers like me who were intrigued by the "controversy." Then they didn't have him do anything at all romantic or prevocative or even exciting! I seriously don't remember anything about the book at all.

The exact same thing happened nearly ten years later when MARVEL announced that one of its leading characters was going to be outed in his own limited series; it turned out to be cowboy hero RAWHIDE KID, who pranced (almost literally) through a comedic romp through the Old West. He made off-hand comments about camping with Texas Rangers and not wanting any women along; that was the extent of his "homosexuality."

Then in 2005 YOUNG AVENGERS appeared with four characters that appeared to have some connection to founding Avengers Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and the Hulk. Actually, they were related to different characters, but the hook was there. Two of the members, Hulkling and Wiccan (originally called Asgardian) were boy-friends. However, even with their obvious openness in being gay, it took MARVEL seven years before the kids were allowed to be shown kissing. This scenes is from CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #9, from March 2012. Seven years, people.

And now MARVEL is selling comics' first gay wedding in the pages of ASTONISHING X-MEN #51, on sale this month. Guess who is back!? Northstar proposed to his civilian boy-friend last year, and now with New York allowing gay marriages, they are going to have a ceremony in Central Park, with all their X-Men friends present. I hope they are going to kiss....

Doing research for this article, I found a few mentions of other gay characters, but the only one I have ever heard of was Mystique. You know her; she was the blue mutant (Rebecca Romjin)who walked around nearly naked in three of the XMEN movies. I couldn't find that she was anything in particular label-wise, other than the fact that she is over 100 years old. You would guess she had experienced much in that time.

Part of this is all "much ado about nothing." The average comic-book reader's age is probably closer to 30 than 13, so the "corrupting the youth of our country" argument is probably wrong. Actual comic-book readers are more likely to happen upon manga, filled with much more vivid hetereo-sex or ultra violence. And for some reason, violence has always been more "okay" than sex. Now THAT is a crazy concept.

Some boys like other boys. Some girls like other girls. Love is love.

Pride: "Secretly" by Jimmie Rodgers

I first heard the song "Secretly" by Jimmie Rodgers on the Oldies stations I listened to while growing up in St. Louis. Jimmie Rodgers is well-known for the Number One hit "Honeycomb" and for the top-ten hit "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." This is is his third big hit, from 1958.

The problem is, if you listen to the words, you never figure out why the lovers are keeping their affair a secret! There was a whole slew of songs from about this time about doomed relationships....In "Down In The Boondocks" by Billy Joe Royal it's a class thing (I love her, she loves me, but I don't fit into her society); in "Dawn (Go Away)" by The Four Seasons it's a class thing (think what a big man he'll be...think what the future will be with a poor boy like me); in "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las it was class (one day my dad said find someone new).



Here, however, the closest you get to a reason is the lyric, "why should we have to wait....?" I guess that means they are too young, but listening to all the other similar songs in this genre, it *sounds* like a gay love song.

Disagree?

Listen to it and tell me I'm wrong.

I certainly CAN be construed that way. "Until we have the right to meet openly...."

SECRETLY

written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning,

and "Mark Markwell"

Pride: Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

The first movie I remember seeing that showed me gay characters that seemed "real" was TORCH SONG TRILOGY, from 1988. There had been gay movies before that....I remember seeing I think it was called THE BOYS IN THE BAND which was about gay men in pre-Stonewall New York. They hated each other and themselves. It was a very depressing movie, and as a college student I had yet to meet anybody resembling any of those men! I also remember a movie called MAKING LOVE which starred two of my favorite TV actors, Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson. But it was a soap opera with a gay twist, and I remember when I finally saw it thinking, "this is stupid." 

However, I was in Japan by the time I saw TORCH SONG TRILOGY. It was one of the rental videos at my local shop in my little country town. I had never heard of it, but I *had* heard of Mattew Broderick and Anne Bancroft. So I gave it a try.

I am very glad that I did.

There is one make-out session (and by that I mean a kiss or two). Other than that it is sex-free. It is just about a guy looking and sounding like Harvey Fierstein trying to find love in New York City.

It's a comedy, but it was based on a Tony-award winning play, so there are moments of drama, too.

Basically, Arnold (Fierstein) comes to grips with his own homosexuality while fighting his mother (Bancroft), falling in love with male model Alan (Broderick) and trying to be friends (or more) with a man who can NOT come to grips with his homosexuality (Brian Kerwin). It actually sounds totally *gay* when I write it up that way, so let's try it this way:

Basically, Arnold tries to find happiness in New York while fighting with his mother, who has her own dreams for him. He falls in and out of love with various characters before finding acceptance with himself.

Sounds pretty normal, right?

Harvey Fierstein is now a celebrity, but this was his first major movie, based on the play that he also wrote and peformed on Broadway. He won a Tony for Best Play in 1983. He then won a Tony for Best Actor for his role in HAIRSPRAY. And if you've never heard his voice on cartoons (such as on The Simpsons) you aren't a student of pop culture.

This is a wonderful movie. If you have not seen it, I totally recommend it. Some of the scenes hopefully are dated....others, like not loving yourself for who you are, or gay people being victims of hate, are unfortunately, NOT.

Screenplay by Harvey Fierstein.
Directed by Paul Bogart.

Here's the trailer to help whet your appetite more.

 

Pride: Kevin Keller

Currently the comic book that is making The One Million Moms organization frantic is KEVIN KELLER, published by Archie Comics. Not only is he in your face about being gay, he is shown to be a good friend to the Archie Gang! AND his father was in the US Army and lovingly supports his son. In his first issue, he is shown getting ready to go on a date with a guy named Brian. How "gay" can you get, right? But that's not the worst part of it from the conservative group's point of view. What really bothers them is that because it's Archie Comics, they are sold at Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, and other mainstream locations that don't sell less gay-friendly comics like DC and Marvel, meaning MORE unsuspecting kids who haven't learned to hate fags could possibly pick up this issue and like Kevin just like Jughead does! Who would have thought Archie Comics would be so revolutionary?! Of course, this is the same company that insisted on integating their secondary title, JOSIE & THE PUSSY-CATS, when it made its debut in the early 1970s. So maybe the company is being run by Godless Liberals after all? ;-)

As a character Kevin Keller is a little bit too perfect. He's only just moved to Riverdale recently but already he has been voted class president. (I would have thought Reggie would have gotten that locked up!) He is a teen reporter who works part-time for the Riverdale Times. He has a great fashion sense and is kind, loveable, and adorable. He's blonde, blue-eyed, and built. So yeah, he's a bit dull, haha.

He has been shown to be Veronica's new best friend, a development that I think could easily be made permanent. In Keven you have a character that can hang out with Veronica without her having to worry about being her rival. Betty was always Veronica's friend, but there was also always that rivalry/jealousy over Archie that shouldn't be there with Kevin. Or maybe he *will* try to take Archie away from her, haha! (I'm kidding....although I would SO read that comic!)

Archie Comics got in trouble recently when they sold a KEVIN KELLER SPECIAL featuring his possible future marriage at Toys-R-Us (cover shown here). Evidently the Million Mommies when faced with this comic cover couldn't tell their million off-spring, "Some boys like other boys, and some girls like other girls. Don't you go doing that!!" Instead they started a petition, caused a ruckus, and the issue in question sold out. So I guess it's true what they say: there's no such thing as bad publicity. :-)

I don't pick up too many new comics any more, but I try to purchase these when I come across them,  just to check in with him. Hopefully he'll become more of a well-rounded character, and perhaps he'll have a "two dates on one night" or "car stalled on the way to the beach" storyline that will really cause the conservatives to go gorilla-crazy. In the meantime Kevin seems cool, and because they *are* ARCHIE comics, they are not ultra violent or ultra sexy. They are just revolutionary in treating gay people as real characters. Imagine that.

Pride: Billy Crystal on SOAP

The first mainstream gay character I remember seeing on TV was Billy Crystal on the ABC-TV sit-com SOAP (1977-1981). I think there were supporting characters around (I remember a couple of elderly men who appeared semi-regularly on BARNEY MILLER as crime victims) but "Jodie Dallas" was the first recurring character that I can remember.

He was introduced as a film director wanting a sex change operation so he could marry his football player lover. When he decided he could never come out as a professional athlete he left Jodie. On the rebound, Jodie slept with a woman lawyer for his Aunt Jessica's murder trial. She got pregnant and they planned to marry. He was hoping he could go straight for/with her. However, she left him at the alter and with a baby. Jodie grew up in a hurry and took on a lot of responsibility, becoming less of a caricature and more of a "leading man." When  the mother came back and demanded custody, the custody battle against him was heart-breaking. I'll never forget his daughter's grand-mother saying to the judge, in a tone as nice as can be, "Your Honor, he's a faaag. You can't leave my little grand-daughter with a faaag."

Because Jodie was portrayed by the hugely talented Billy Crystal, even when the situation was contrived or silly the acting was never less than wonderful.

Here's a scene that represents well the silliness and drama of SOAP....the drama of Jodie's impending wedding to Carol against the drama of the return of his boyfriend Dennis, juxta-positioned against a ridiculous cereal commercial. It boasts terrific comedy writing and timing. It's long, but stick with it. You'll laugh, I promise.


Along the way, you'll see that Jodie, while gay, is just another character. At the time, this was ground breaking.

Pride: "Secret Love" by Doris Day

I first heard the song "Secret Love" by Doris Day on one of my parents' Columbia Records' albums back when I was a teenager. I didn't know that it was from CALAMITY JANE from 1953. I just heard it for what I thought it was: a lesbian love song.

Obviously (?) that isn't what it is. I have since seen CALAMITY JANE and realized that it was her pining for Howard Keel. However, if you listen to it without knowing what it is actually about, it sounds a lot like a gay woman admitting that she has feelings for another woman.

Atleast, that's the way I always hear it. ;-)

SECRET LOVE

Music by Sammy Fain

Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster 

June is Gay Pride Month

Anecdotally, I think February as Black History Month and June as Gay Pride Month are the two best known cultural (?) celebrations in the US. Is this because they are the source of so many jokes and opinions by comedians and commentators? Probably. Or maybe it's because there does seem to be a huge dis-connect between recognizing Black or Gay American accomplishments and those of White and/or Straight Americans. So both are more "in your face" than, say, Women's History Month or Asian American Pride Month.

Irregardless, June IS Gay Pride Month, so here at Friends of Justice I will be commenting on some famous gay music, comics, films, and television in the next month and how they have affected me.

The reason June was chosen as Gay Pride Month, and why it is called "Pride," is because on June 27, 1969 a hole in the wall bar in New York City called "Stonewall" was the scene of the first demonstration-riot by openly gay people in the US. Police evidently went to the bar expecting a run-of-the-mill crackdown by the Vice Squad. What they got was a weekend riot and international incident when the customers suddenly refused to be intimidated and arrested. Basically, it was the first instance of  "We're here and we're queer, so let us be!" This created a whole new mind-set in the world-wide gay "community." It was the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement.

Up until very recently there were laws in the US against homosexual acts. There were laws saying that if you are gay you could be evicted from your apartment. There are still laws saying that if you are gay you can be fired from your job. Until very recently, you could not be openly gay and serve in the US military.

There are always going to be people who say that being gay is a sin, according to the Bible. To that I say: the Bible says a lot of things we ignore today (touching the skin of pigs, eating lobster, stoning adulterers, etc etc). If you believe that the Bible tells you that being gay is a sin, then try not to be gay. But obviously being gay is not a "choice," just like straight people can't control being attracted to blonde girls or tall guys. D'uh. I don't understand how Conservative Christians can "hate the sin, love the sinner" but get divorced OR embrace people who have been divorced (another sin, according to the Bible). Why is that the gays attract so much contempt?

In this environment, being openly gay is a strong statement to make. For all the attitude that gay people have to endure, "pride" definitely is the right word. I support my gay friends and their efforts to be treated equally under the law.