Queer Cinema

Hopes & Thoughts in '08

With every new week more and more films are flooding our local cinemas and suprisingly some of those films are queer in nature. Since the rollarcoaster of debates that erupted (and occasionally continue today) with the release and overwhelming acclaim of Brokeback Mountain it seems that the idea of a mainstream queer film being marketed to all walks of life (in that I mean more than just queer audiences) has noticeably reached some weird standstill. Is the subject slowly being assimilated into the American psyche or is it surreptitiously being cast aside and viewed as nothing more than a blase trend that is past its expiration date? What are your perceptions of the common thought about queer cinema and what do you all believe (if anything) could / would / should happen in 2008?

Re:Hopes & Thoughts in '08

unemployedwaif:

With every new week more and more films are flooding our local cinemas and suprisingly some of those films are queer in nature. Since the rollarcoaster of debates that erupted (and occasionally continue today) with the release and overwhelming acclaim of Brokeback Mountain it seems that the idea of a mainstream queer film being marketed to all walks of life (in that I mean more than just queer audiences) has noticeably reached some weird standstill. Is the subject slowly being assimilated into the American psyche or is it surreptitiously being cast aside and viewed as nothing more than a blase trend that is past its expiration date? What are your perceptions of the common thought about queer cinema and what do you all believe (if anything) could / would / should happen in 2008?

I was just browsing around and saw no one had responded to this discussion, which is surprising since it's such a compelling question. 

hmmmmm. I guess my thoughts on the subject lean toward the assimilation in american or western psyche. I went to a religiously affiliated college and had came up against a lot of resistance from people on the subject of queer cinema. Lucky for me, Brokeback Mountain had come out and was causing all kinds of hot button discussions on campus so it was interesting to hear the dialogue. It's safe to say that there are still a large group of people who can't seem to get past the old way of thinking about the subject, even if they want to be "accepting". They just get hung up on their own framework of right versus wrong etc. On the other hand, I happen to spend most of my time around people who are not only trying to be open to queer cinema, but actually be positive about it. I am not sure if they do this out of a desire to not offend anyone or if they actually feel like queer cinema is a good thing. Regardless, it seems like things are starting to lean towards open-ness, if not actual acceptance of this subject as a viable and marketable form of cinema. Even if some people still don't like it, there seems to be a decreased possibility of protest. Or even if there is protest it's mostly over looked as antiquated thinking. 

Re:Hopes & Thoughts in '08

unemployedwaif:

With every new week more and more films are flooding our local cinemas and suprisingly some of those films are queer in nature. Since the rollarcoaster of debates that erupted (and occasionally continue today) with the release and overwhelming acclaim of Brokeback Mountain it seems that the idea of a mainstream queer film being marketed to all walks of life (in that I mean more than just queer audiences) has noticeably reached some weird standstill. Is the subject slowly being assimilated into the American psyche or is it surreptitiously being cast aside and viewed as nothing more than a blase trend that is past its expiration date? What are your perceptions of the common thought about queer cinema and what do you all believe (if anything) could / would / should happen in 2008?

Regarding trends - back in the late 90's there was this whole "lesbian chic" trend where women did their damnedest to look like a high class (top hat and tails) lesbian on a variety of magazine covers. This eventually petered out. (Ha!) It got replaced with REAL lesbians on billboards and magazine covers.   Then we had Queer as Folk and the L Word and that, I think, more than anything is what is making it assimilated.  But we're still having trouble in the sitcom market.  When you can have a happy gay couple (as main/central characters) in a sit com then I think we will have reached assimilation.  But then you hardly see mixed race couples in sit coms... so it may take a while.

Location is also relevant ... considering the bible belt can refuse to screen movies like BROKEBACK and demand that local affiliates not air certain shows. So we still have a way to go.