QUEER CINEMA

[cron]

This is what happens when Mac leaves town

[NEON MERCURY]

This is one of the only threads that has a mention of Anne Hathaway, yet i feel I can't talk about how pretty she is here.  

there will be no such 'pro-heterosexual' talk in this thread....
instead you must talk about how beautiful ang lees testicles look pressed agianst your chin while a remix of roxettes 'it must have been love(but it s over now)' done by spiritualized playing in the background....

[Stefen]

Why did you have to bring up that song? Now I have to go listen to it.

[NEON MERCURY]

Why did you have to bring up that song? Now I have to go listen to it.

...

[Ghostboy]

This afternoon I read the E. Anne Proulx story upon which Brokeback Mountain will be based, and it's quite beautiful. It reads almost like a Terrence Malick film, if that makes any sense. It's also very sad. This will not be a happy film.

There's been talk of Lee's decision to not include any graphic sexual content in the film, and how he's 'chickening out,' so to speak. I think that's fairly ridiculous. Anyone making that sort of criticism is looking at the film with an agenda, and not with the hope that it's a strong and mature and relatable story, something I'd wager queer cinema could use more than explicit sex scenes. There's some sex in the book, but its by no means a purely sexual story.

Now that I know the narrative arc of the piece, I have utter confidence in Lee's ability to tell this kind of story (as opposed to the hope, not quite met, I reserved for his 'Hulk'), so its success will, I think, depend on the screenplay. I've dearly loved some of the movies made from McMurtry's novels, so I hope his screenwriting skills are up to par.

[Thrindle]

I have no relevant argument to post at the moment, all I can muster is an opinion.  

The people who would be offended by homosexual intimacy shown on screen, shouldn't watch the movie anyway.  It really pisses me off how frightened people are of sex - of any kind!  To tone down sex in a movie that features gay relationships, is to miss the point completely.  If you can't explore the subject matter honestly, why even bother making the film?  (I know that's harsh, but realism to me is the only art form)

It's sad that this message has to be so corny, but it is sooooo true: all we need is love.

[Ghostboy]

To tone down sex in a movie that features gay relationships, is to miss the point completely.

The point that's being missed, though, is that graphic sex does not necessarily an honest movie make.

[Thrindle]

The point that's being missed, though, is that graphic sex does not necessarily an honest movie make.

I don't necessarily agree with you on that.  If this movie were being made about two heterosexual people, there would be no question of implementing sex as a form of honesty.  Would Monster's Ball have been as effective without that incredibly honest sex scene?  It was very graphic.  It was necessary for the movie.

Having said that, sex is thrown around without shame in most movies.  So what if it's thrown around once again?  

I'm just saying that if this movie weren't about two guys, this would not be much of an issue.

[Ghostboy]

'Monster's Ball' was more effective because of the sex scene, but it was an appropriate creative decision on the part of the director (on the flip side, the graphic sex scene with the hooker in the same film was unnecessary to the cumulative effect of the film). But just because a film is explicit doesn't mean its more honest, or vice versa, and the same goes for eroticism; some of the most erotic films I've seen are not graphic at all.

I know exactly where you're coming from, and if the film in question was something along the lines of, say,  'The Object Of My Affection' ending with the gay guy getting the girl, I'd be calling foul all over the place.  There's certainly less enthusiasm from the public for graphic homosexual sex scenes, not to mention relationships in general. That unfortunate conundrum, however, is not an excuse in and of itself to include graphic sex.

This is not coming from a prude, by any means.  My point here is simply that, considering the people creatively involved with this film, the chances that any lack of graphic sex is anything but an artistic choice for the betterment of the film are pretty small.

[Ravi]

I remember watching the first episode of Six Feet Under with someone and he said something like "Is that necessary?" when the two men kissed, but I'm sure he wouldn't have said anything if it was a man and woman.

[modage]

Brendan Fraser to Play a Gay Secret Agent
Source: Variety Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Revolution Studios is coming out of the closet with the comedy Gay Secret Agent, says Variety. Brendan Fraser is in talks to play the title character, with Brad Hall and Andrew Gottlieb writing the script.

The film, whose tone will be equal parts Our Man Flint, 007 and "Austin Powers," will be produced by the Revolution-based team of Suzanne and Jennifer Todd, producers of the "Powers" films.

While agents like James Bond and Austin Powers have been recidivist romancers of femme fatales, Fraser's agent will be flamboyantly gay. It is a designation that proves helpful in secret agenting, as it turns out.

[ono]

So what, is this like, The Quiet American meets The Birdcage?

[Ravi]

http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=13498919

Vandalism against Girlfriend spreads


Tuesday, 15 June , 2004, 22:28

New Delhi: Vandalism against screening of controversial Hindi movie Girlfriend on lesbianism spread to more places across the country forcing suspension of its screening with Sangh Parivar demanding a ban on the movie terming it "an attack" on Indian culture.
Reports of saffron party activists indulging in ransacking of theatres screening the film were received from Bhopal, Indore and some other parts of Madhya Pradesh as also Nagpur and Bhubaneswar, taking on from protests witnessed on Monday in Mumbai and Varanasi.

In Varanasi, 12 Kranti Shiv Sena workers were arrested on charges of arson, damaging public property and indulging in brick-batting following an FIR lodged by the owners of a cinema hall.

A group of saffron workers allegedly ransacked the 'Man Mandir' cinema hall in Indore. The mob later rushed to two other cinema halls in the city but failed to cause any damage as police was present in strength there.

Police said it has identified workers of Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal, who allegedly indulged in violence at the cinema hall, and would be registering cases against them.

In Nagpur, activists of Sangh Parivar disrupted the screening of the film in a city theatre.

Two leading cinema halls in Bhopal also stopped screening the film following demonstrations by Bajrang-Sena activists, who raised slogans and burned posters of the movie.

Reports of similar protests against the screening of the movie were received from some other parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Condemning the film, VHP working president Ashok Singhal termed it as an "attack on Indian society and culture."

"It should be banned. I don't know what the Censor Board is doing. If it cannot prevent such films from reaching cinema halls, it should be closed down," he told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Singhal said there would be wide-spread protests against the movie.

The BJP asked the Censor Board to review the movie and delete portions which are "objectionable and against Indian culture."




http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=13499102

Now, gay activists frown on 'Girlfriend'


Wednesday, 16 June , 2004, 08:49

Mumbai: Gay activists in India are up in arms over what they call the negative portrayal of lesbianism in a new film, "Girlfriend", which has also drawn fire -- for different reasons -- from the Shiv Sena.

"'Girlfriend' reinforces all the negative stereotypes about lesbian and bisexual women," said Chatura, of the Organised Lesbian Alliance for Visibility and Action (OLAVA).

"Not only is it a cheap and titillation-oriented film masquerading as one that's liberal, but it portrays the minority community in a negative light," said Chatura.

"It has repercussions for people whose parents are trying to come to terms with their sexuality and gives bosses a tool with which to harass us," she said.

"Girlfriend", starring Isha Koppikar and Amrita Arora, is about two women who are close friends, sleep on the same bed and have once shared a sexual encounter. When one of them falls in love with a man, the other is consumed by jealousy and assumes the role of the jilted lover.

Critics say the film portrays lesbians as being unnatural and assumes that their sexual preferences are the result of psychological problems.

Leading homosexual activist Ashok Row Kavi said: "We have a major problem with director Karan Razdan for demonising lesbians. The film takes our sexual identities and makes a joke of them," he said.

An open letter to the director, published in Mid-Day, lamented that the film would dent decades of campaigns by gay rights activists.

"(The) film contains the worst possible misnomers about same sex attraction. More than two decades of work done by gay and lesbian activist groups will suffer thanks to this homophobic film," said the letter, written by Tejal Shah.

Sena activists, claiming homosexuality was an affront to Indian culture, disrupted shows of the film in Mumbai and the holy city of Varanasi, but gay rights campaigners made it clear they were not making common cause.

"We're not going to allow the Sena to do this to us. They didn't bother when the same director's previous film, 'Hawas' which was also all about lust and sex, was released, so why is it that this film is being targeted?" asked Row Kavi.

An analyst said Indian films lack sensitivity over issues such as homosexuality. "Subjects like lesbianism need sensitive and mature handling, for which the context should be sensible," said analyst Indu Mirani.

"Unfortunately, here there was nothing of the sort. It was just a whole heap of titillation. The message the film gave out was that a homosexual relationship is bad as compared to a heterosexual one, which is a skewed morality."

Bollywood has a long way to go before learning to tackle sensitive and risque themes with maturity, she suggested.

"Because currently writers and directors are only looking at these films as a way of being 'different' and making quick money," Mirani said.

"For a film industry that has barely moved away from the boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl formula, maturity is a long way off."

[03]

The work of Derek Jarman, Kenneth Anger, and Andy Warhol/Paul Morrisey hasn't really been discussed yet. What does everyone think of these films, within a 'queer cinema' context?

[Ravi]

Has anyone seen Touch of Pink?

A touch too pink?
Some members of Canada's Ismaili community are seeing red over the
gay-themed film Touch of Pink

By KAMAL AL-SOLAYLEE
The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040724/BACKLASH24/TPEntertainment/Film

The post-release picture that Touch of Pink is painting is not as rosy as
its title suggests or its romantic-comedy pedigree will have you think.
Despite strong reviews and respectable (if lower than expected) returns at
the box office in Toronto and Vancouver, where it opened last Friday, the
gay-themed South Asian comedy is proving too divisive for some and, for
others, downright offensive. Touch of Pink is a touch too much in some
quarters and not pink enough in others.

The gay community (ethnic and otherwise) is embracing it as a heartfelt,
albeit predictable, gay coming-out story that treads the same grounds as,
for example, The Wedding Banquet. Some members of filmmaker Ian Iqbal
Rashid's Ismaili community, on the other hand, are taking strong exceptions
to it - not so much for its gay content as for its portrayals of them as
crass nouveau riche and sexual hypocrites.

The film follows the coming-out journey of Alim, an Ismaili Muslim Canadian
who works as a film-set photographer in London where he shares his real life
with his white partner and his imaginary one with the ghost of Cary Grant, a
manifestation of Alim's lifelong fascination with Hollywood lore. His life
is turned upside down when his mother pays him a visit and, later, when he
returns to Toronto for the family wedding of his cousin (a dentist) complete
with status-obsessed mother and circle of friends.

In an open e-mail letter to "Ismaili friends, family members, relatives and
acquaintances," community member Naaznin Rajani has urged the Ismaili
Council to actively discourage other Ismailis from attending the movie.
Describing the experience of watching Touch of Pink with a friend, Rajani
writes that both were "thoroughly humiliated, very insulted, ashamed of
ourselves as to how our Ismailis are being portrayed." Rajani suggests the
film depicts Ismailis as "racist as well, not building bridges with dhorias
[white people]."

"For every letter that has been critical, I have received dozens thanking
and congratulating me for making this film," Rashid responded. "The story of
Touch of Pink is very much the story of my life. The events and characters
are based on my personal history. I love my family and my community and what
I wanted to portray was an honest, affectionate and entertaining story which
doesn't shy away from the hypocrisies and debates that exist in every
community."

Critical response from within the South Asian cultural community has fallen
more within Rashid's line of thinking than Rajani's. Reviewing the film for
mybindi.com, an on-line resource for "cool" South Asian culture, Mohit
Rajhans praised Rashid on his sensitive handling of the community. "I was
really proud of the way Ian treated this angle of the South Asian community,
as he did it with dignity and without a lot of stereotypes," Rajhans writes.
"For Canadians, finally a film can be shown in the world market that depicts
South Asians as just another minority group living in Canada, which suffers
from modern-day issues and not the back-dated conflicts that have been
prominent on screen."

The polarized responses to the film indicate more than artistic differences.
While the South Asian and Muslim community in general has made tentative
steps toward tolerating, if not accepting, homosexuality, the fact remains
that Touch of Pink is more in-your-face than the community is comfortable
with at this stage. This is still a community, as Rashid points out in an
e-mail, where there's no word for homosexual in Kutchi, his native tongue.

In her letter, Rajani doesn't take issue with Alim's sexuality - "I know for
a fact that there are Ismailis out there who . . . belong in that society" -
but instead with his lack of discretion, especially in a scene where he
kisses his boyfriend during a traditional Muslim wedding. "I haven't seen
that happening in real life in our community," she writes. Another scene
that depicts a kiss between Alim and his soon-to-be-married male cousin is
also hitting a nerve in the community.

For its Canadian co-producer Jennifer Kawaja of Sienna Films, the questions
that Touch of Pink deals with, and by extension its difficulty attaining the
instant box-office glory of similar movies such as Mambo Italiano, go beyond
the comfort level of one community. "The question is, can an explicitly gay
film [one that has kissing] . . . cross over and break out?" ponders Kawaja,
pointing out that Mambo doesn't feature any on-screen kissing between its
gay characters.

"Can a film which suggests that even some straight people are gay break out?
Add to that, will the communities it's about - the Muslim community for
example - come out within the context that immigrant communities tend to be
more conservative while they are struggling to make it into Canadian
society?"

In artistic terms, a hard-to-categorize film, or one where a target audience
can't be clearly identified, may be a sign of its creative complexities.
Touch of Pink is at once a romantic comedy, a gay coming-out story, an
ethnic identity quest, and a whimsical homage to Hollywood's Golden Age -
but that may also be its cross to bear at the box office.

"My sense is that for most people in Canada, the idea of seeing a loving,
gay relationship on a big screen is a first," says the film's Canadian
distributor Hussain Amarshi of Mongrel Media. "Straight people don't seem to
be seeking out gay romantic comedies, unless they are watered down like
Mambo Italiano. Touch of Pink, by being brave and forthright about gay
relationships, is stretching the boundaries in significant ways. Suddenly a
kiss is not just a kiss."

How the movie fares domestically at the box office in the weeks to come
(assuming it holds over and expands nationwide) will depend on whether
Canadian audiences of various cultural and sexual identities can be
persuaded to think otherwise.