Queer Cinema Lost Its Soul
Graphic by Claire Arveson
Last night, I had my first ever gay film festival featuring But I’m a Cheerleader and The Birdcage, two gay cinema classics from the late nineties. Throughout both of these movies, everyone watching was laughing and having a good time while watching movies that they felt actually represented who they were. But that got me thinking about the queer movies that I’ve watched recently. That thought was very short. Zero seconds. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a modern gay movie that was as memorable as either of those movies ever. This isn’t to say that they’re not coming out (woah accidental pun), but I am saying that the ones that are coming out (I did it again) aren’t really being advertised in the same way that other movies are, and it’s a damn shame.
For those who haven’t watched The Birdcage, first of all, what are you doing? Go watch it and witness one of the greatest and funniest stories of gay love and acceptance ever written. That’s an order. Now that you’re back, I would love to praise this movie until I’m out of breath. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane do such a wonderful job portraying a gay couple that is simply just trying to do something that all couples should be able to do: meet their son’s girlfriend. The Birdcage explores their acceptance of each other’s flaws and how their son’s girlfriend’s conservative family can find common ground with them, despite the political climate toward gay people in the nineties. It shows that love really is a conscious decision and that those that love you will always choose to love you.
But I’m a Cheerleader had a similar theme of love and acceptance, but it was done in a much different way. The only way to describe this difference is camp. The overexaggerated props, colors, acting and scenarios add to the feel that some love and care from gay people went into this masterpiece. In fact, we know that the main actors in both movies were gay, namely Nathan Lane and Clea DuVall. Now, I’m not here to start an argument over whether or not actors have to be gay to play a gay character. I will, however, argue that having queer people be heavily involved in your queer productions will elevate them to new heights.
When I look at queer movies and T.V. shows being produced today, I don’t see stories that represent who I am. In fact, most modern queer cinema is being aimed at gay men, almost completely ignoring lesbians and trans people. And when we do get a movie about a trans person, it’s Emilia Pérez. No seriously. Can you even think of another mainstream movie featuring a trans character? So not only are there almost zero movies about actual queer stories, but the ones that do get media attention are constantly getting shit on.
“But Lee,” you might be thinking, “what about Heated Rivalry? Wasn’t that a super popular show about gay men that was well-liked by all?” Oh, it wasn’t liked by all, including me. I’m going to say something that a lot of people aren’t going to agree with and if you enjoyed the series, this might be the point where you scroll away. Or don’t, it’s not my feelings that’ll be hurt. I truly think that Heated Rivalry is just porn for straight women with unsatisfying sex lives. There, I said what we’ve all been thinking. I’m so sick and tired of every single depiction of gay people in contemporary media just being two younger (normally white) gay men that have a lot of sex and struggle to tell each other that they love each other for a season and a half. It’s boring, it’s overdone, and I frankly don’t care anymore. Unfortunately for me and every other lesbian out there, that’s the formula that Hollywood has decided sells the most, so that’s what we’re stuck with.
But how can we break free from this repetitive cycle that excludes the majority of the queer community? Unfortunately, the rise of conservatism in the United States makes that quest pretty difficult. The only way to combat this is a call to arms of all queer independent filmmakers to make more movies featuring queer characters. Preferably, queer characters that are actually relatable. Queer characters that have a life outside of being gay and actually have conflicts that make for an interesting story rather than just having a sex scene every six minutes to give horny straight women something to oogle at. Hopefully, once the tide turns and being weird and gay is seen as acceptable again by Hollywood, I’ll finally see a movie featuring someone that’s just like me: a nerdy nonbinary bisexual whose life doesn’t revolve around those labels.