Hollywood's 'year of the queer'
2006-01-19 12:41
Los Angeles - With the cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain leading a posse of gay-themed movies in the Oscars race, Hollywood is ushering in the "year of the queer", activists and film experts say.
Six awards went to movies with gay or transgender characters at Monday's Golden Globe Awards with Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain roping in four, making it the firm favourite for Tinseltown's top honours, the Oscars, nominations for which will be unveiled in less than two weeks.
"Its emerging as the year of the queer in Hollywood," said Larry Gross, a professor at the Annenberg School of Communications at University of Southern California and an author on gay issues.
Brokeback won four Globes, including best drama, best director and best screenplay, Felicity Huffman won the best dramatic actress award for playing a man about to undergo a sex change in Transamerica, and Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best dramatic award for his portrayal of gay US author Truman Capote in the biopic Capote, making him an Oscars favourite.
Taboo slowly fading
Awards pundits said Brokeback is now in poll position to pull in awards that could include best picture, best director and best actor for star Heath Ledger, while gay groups and academics say they hope the homosexual content this awards season could mean that gay is in Hollywood to stay.
Gay groups applauded the recognition and the spotlight it through on the homosexual community, which has long complained of being sorely under-represented in Hollywood, which has always been skittish about depicting gay sexuality, although the taboo is slowly fading.
"I think what is finally happening is that we are seeing films being made that more accurately portray our diverse society. Hollywood is finally catching up," said Jim Key, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Centre.
The influential Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) also hailed the commercial and awards success of movies driven by gay or gender conflicted characters, saying they could help change society's views too.
Changing people's perspectives
"These are the kinds of films that can really open hearts and minds," said Glaad president Neil Giuliano, adding that the movies - all relatively low budget independent-type films - help raise the visibility of gays and gay issues in America.
"By telling our stories, these films give audiences a broad understanding of who we are - and these are films that have an emotional authenticity that connects with both gay and straight audiences alike."
The rash of gay-themed films comes 12 years after Tom Hanks' turn as a gay HIV/Aids victim in Philadelphia and after television broke the age-old taboo of depicting gay characters with the advent of shows such as Will and Grace, and Ellen.
But awards expert Marty Grove, columnist for the Hollywood Reporter.com, said this year's gay motif was coincidental.
"I think it's not so much that Hollywood is suddenly wanting to exploit gay themes," Grove said.
"It's just that a couple of pictures happen to be in the market this season that have gay characters and are being judged as good pictures," he said.
Few openly gay actors
But USC's Gross stressed that while the gay taboo was slowly lifting in society as well as in film, this year's pack of homosexual or transgender lead characters did not mean Hollywood was ready to come out of the closet.
"It's interesting that not a single one of the actors who played these characters is actually gay and all have very clearly established heterosexual credentials out in the public domain," he said.
There are few, if any, A-list US movie stars who are openly gay for fear of comprising their careers as leading men and ladies and there was a little too much praise of straight stars who "dare" to take on gay roles, even though gay actors do it all the time, Gross said.
"Gay actors are still largely locked in Hollywood's closet by their inclination, especially if they are good-looking and credible as romantic leads or action heroes.
"I don't think Hollywood's ready for that much gay content in films yet," he added.