Greetings, all! Welcome back to another round of my warped mind and what it thinks! Ha!
So, lately I have been on the OCD track, which is really what my blog posts are designed for, actually. However, I wanted to change things up a bit.
Today, I’m talking about how my Alphabet Community, i.e. the LGBTQ+ community, has been portrayed and depicted in Hollywood films and TV. This will mostly be geared towards gay men, since that is MY experience. However, I will do my best to include other segments of the Alphabet Community. So, here goes.
Hollywood, at times, wanted to show the tragic side of gay life, the disease (AIDS/HIV) that is “supposed” to be associated with our “lifestyle,” which I find utterly repugnant and grotesquely out of touch. Every gay man does not have AIDS, neither is every gay man HIV+. And there is nothing wrong with anyone who happens to be either! But Hollywood seemed to only want to depict that in such films as An Early Frost with Aidan Quinn, Philadelphia with Tom Hanks, and Longtime Companion with an all-star cast.
Don’t get me wrong, these movies most certainly served a purpose in telling stories with regard to the AIDS epidemic. Education goes a long way. So, I applaud that aspect.
However, there is also a fun, light side – and even a romantic side – to gay life. This was brilliantly depicted in Big Eden for example, with a very nice romantic tale where even hets were behind the pairing of two gay men. Truthfully, it could have been written for a heterosexual couple, because it wasn’t just about homosexuality, imo. It was about two people in love. Now, there would be naysayers that would say that it was such an unrealistic portrayal. Well, I have seen MANY het romantic movies that to me were unrealistic. So, there.
Now, I am going to discuss two series, one that I feel got it right with regard to my community. And another that got it horribly wrong, at least towards the end.
Let’s start with the horribly wrong.
Soap
Way back in the day, in 1977 to be exact, there was this hot new show on ABC called Soap. I am sure a lot of you Gen Exers and Boomers remember it. The show featured notable stars such as the fabulous Katherine Helmond, Cathryn Damon, Robert Mandan, Richard Mulligan, Billy Crystal, Jennifer Salt, Ted Wass, Diana Canova, and of course Robert Guillaume as Benson. Heck, I could also do a blog post on how blacks have been portrayed in Hollywood. Hmph. Think I will. 🤔
But I digress.
Now, I am going to focus on Billy Crystal, a star that EVERYONE knows, who has gone on to do a plethora of wonderful movies. He is a heterosexual actor who portrayed a homosexual character named Jodie Dallas, on Soap. This was, of course, before Billy Crystal really took off.
I remember thinking then as a 10yo kid how bold, how cool, how exciting to see a homosexual character being displayed on national TV. During this time, I was the subject of bullying and being called sissy, faggot or punk by some of my classmates. But to see another homosexual male, and on TV, truly piqued my curiosity and interest.
As a matter of fact, Jodie Dallas was a HUGE first for national TV, a gay character!!! Big deal for the times.
They even gave Jodie a boyfriend, Dennis, played by former athlete Bob Seagren, who was another one of those actors from back in the day who was in EVERTHING, including Wonder Woman. And yes, Bob Seagren was also heterosexual. (Makes me wonder why heterosexual actors were always portraying gay characters and gay actors weren’t.) 🤔
Jodie was very much involved with Dennis. And at one point, Jodie was even considering a sex change, which was another bold move on the part of this very forward-thinking show.
They never took it that far, because then the show took a turn that I absolutely disliked with the Jodie character.
I could tolerate a little bit of the fruit jokes and intolerance from the other characters on the show. After all that is exactly how narrow-minded heterosexual people think. But the one thing that I could NOT tolerate was having Jodie sleep with a woman named Carol, portrayed by Rebecca Balding, and get her pregnant. I think it was the whole thing where women used to think they could change a gay man by sleeping with him. Or the curiousity angle and/or ‘try it. You might like it’ BS. And that is the stupid decision the show decided to go with.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, but the last season of the show, they had him fall in LOVE with a GASP – WOMAN!
It was Maggie Chandler played by the fabulous Barbara Rhoades, a detective who was helping Jodie find his kidnapped daughter Wendy, by Carol. Don’t ask. In the process, the two slept together and fell in love. And I must mention how freakish the whole thing was, I mean not just because Jodie was supposed to be gay, but the fact that Barbara Rhoades was a whole foot taller than Billy Crystal!! It was clownish, in my opinion, and a joke. I was PISSED!! Because they left the show on a cliffhanger where Jodie had regressed to a 90yo Jewish man (again don’t ask) with Maggie vowing to stand by him until he, hopefully, snapped out of it! DUMB!!
And to this day I am STILL pissed about that. And the fact that they ended the show on several high drama cliffhangers that never got resolved!
So, if they had written Jodie as bisexual, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it. But Soap acted as though being gay was just a fad, a phase that men may go through. And I realize there is fluidity. So, again, if they had gone in that direction, I and others, would not have had a problem.
Queer as Folk
Now for a show that got it right, as far as I am concerned. Queer as Folk. QAF came decades after Soap, and blew the doors off Soap with its portrayal of gay men, in my opinion. They basically said FUCK THAT Jodie Dallas nonsense. !! I am who I am, and there isn’t a damn thing you hets can do about it!!!!! 🤣😂🤣
By the way, QAF is the American version that aired on Showtime from 2000 to 2005, and usually during the summer. So, you had to wait an entire year for the next season! And baby, they had some helluva amazing cliffhangers!
The show was so damn good, we used to have viewing parties back in the day! And some were at my place! 😁🤣🍹
Queer as Folk starred Hal Sparks, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Peter Paige, Thea Gill, and Miss Sharon Gless! Yasssss! Sharon Gless was Hal Sparks’s character’s mom, but she was like a mom to all of them. Her character was soooooooo pro gay! The show featured gays and lesbians, in real-life situations.
At the time I was a gay in her 30s, so I could definitely relate to the relationships, the crushes, the unrequited love, the cruising, and of course the partying, especially at the bars. Also, the dancing and the “backroom” activities. 😂🤣😂🤣😎
And in Derek-style retrospect, I can see myself in ALL of the gay male characters:
Brian, the whore (Gale Harold).
Michael, wide-eyed and STILL in love with/carrying a torch for Brian, (Hal Sparks).
Emmett, the flaming queen/wide-eyed optimist (Peter Paige).
Justin (Randy Harrison), the young gay/twink determined to have his man, and in this case it was Brian.
Ted, the put-upon gay man who NEVER gets what he wants romantically and who ALWAYS gets his heart broken. LOL (Scott Lowell).
And believe it or not, I have been all levels of these gay men.
So, I could definitely relate.
Soap did NOT show any of this with Jodie. Only his on-again/off-again relationship with Dennis. But QAF took things to A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL!!!!
It was soooo realistic, including the sometimes VERY graphic sex, with the lesbians and with the gay men! STEAMY HOT!
There was bathroom sex, too. Not that that is typical gay stuff, mind you. 😉😉😁
I honestly thought it was so well done, and so timely. At the time. We are talking the early 00s. Times have certainly changed with the advent of the apps and all.
I would also like to add, that yes, QAF had a gay character who did have AIDS and SPOILER ALERT – who eventually did pass away, but from a complication due to his HIV medication. Jack Wetherall portrayed Vic Grassi, Michael’s uncle and Deb’s (Sharon Gless) brother.
And sadly, there was a gay bashing incident involving Justin’s character.
Oh and honorable mention to Noah’s Arc, the all gay black male TV show on Logo.
Other early TV shows depicting homosexuality that really stood out to me:
Starsky & Hutch – “Death in a Different Place.” A season 3 episode that focuses on the death of a childhood mentor and police colleague of Starsky’s who is found dead in a place known as a gay male hangout. I have not seen the episode in ages, but from what I recall it was handled with taste and sensitivity, without so much of the “shaming” as certain generations like to call it. And it also put in check, so to speak, Starsky & Hutch’s own homophobia. And the banter between the two at the end was cute. 😉
Charlie’s Angels even went there – TWICE!! Season 3 episode “Angels in Springtime” and “Caged Angel” in Season 4. Both episodes touched on lesbianism. In “Angels in Springtime,” it is quite evident that two of the women are lovers. Not to mention the fact that the angels go undercover at this spa that is for WOMEN ONLY! No men allowed at all! And the way the female doctor subtly comes onto Kelly is VERY obvious!
“Caged Angel” has Kris (Cheryl Ladd) going behind bars, just the way her sister Jill did with Kelly and Sabrina back in season 1’s “Angels in Chain.” However, this time in “Caged Angel,” the lesbianism is downright blatant, with Shirley Stoler’s character hinting that Kris will have to put out in order to get protection from the other female inmates. LOLOL
The Golden Girls gave us a good lesson in “tolerance” and acceptance. By the way, I truly HATE the word tolerance with regards to people and their sexual orientation. It makes it sound like you are eating your spouse’s horrible cooking because you have to. NO! The Alphabet Community does not need your tolerance. Your acceptance, yes. Your tolerance, no. You may agree to disagree with me on that.
Anyhoo, back to GG, I am referring to the episode where Blanche’s younger brother Clayton (Monte Markham) came out to Blanche. She could NOT accept it. Not at first, but at the end of the episode she did.
And she REALLY had to be taught a lesson when Clayton comes back in a later episode, but this time with a man he intends to marry. And this time it is Sophia, of all people, who teaches her a VERY brilliant lesson in acceptance by simply asking her why did she want to marry her late-husband George. Blanche’s response is “We loved each other. We wanted to make a lifetime commitment, wanted everyone to know.” Then Sophia responds with, “That’s what Doug and Clayton want too. Everyone wants someone to grow old with. And shouldn’t everyone have that chance.” MIC DROP!!
Next up, I am going to make a list of some notable “gay” and “lesbian” movies. And next to them whether I thought it TRULY captured the realism of the Alphabet Community with a simple yes or no. Again, feel free to disagree.
Here goes:
The Children’s Hour starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. NO! (really good movie, but no!)
SPOILER ALERT:
And I was appalled to see that Shirley MacLaine hanged herself at the end of The Children’s Hour because she realized she was a lesbian, who had sexual feelings for Audrey Hepburn. I really enjoyed the movie, but that ending was very tragic and albeit meant to shock us. But was it necessary? Couldn’t Shirley MacLaine’s character have simply left the school? What sort of message are you sending impressionable gays and lesbians? ‘Oh, I have homosexual feelings, therefore, I should die? I should kill myself? My feelings are NOT valid???’
I understand it was a different time and all, but when I look back upon it, I find the ending a little disturbing.
The same with Suddenly Last Summer starring Elizabeth Taylor. And no, I won’t give away the ending. But I will say that with gay men of today, you’ve got a bunch of men surrounding them, typically they want sex!! Not the ending to Suddenly Last Summer. Just sayin’. 🤣😂. And I guess Hollerwood isn’t ready to have that conversation. 🤔😉 Oh and by the way, I vote NO!!! 🤣😂😂
An Early Frost starring Aidan Quinn. Sad but YES!
Making Love starring Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean, and yes – KATE JACKSON as the wife! YES!
Brokeback Mountain starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. YES AND NO!!
Cruising starring Al Pacino. YES! Sorta. 😂
Longtime Companion starring Bruce Davison, Dermot Mulroney, Campbell Scott, etc. Sadly YES.
Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. YES, SORTA, BUT NOT REALLY. 🤣😂🤣
The Boys in The Band. HELL YES!! (I was fortunate enough to do the play back in 2008!! I had such a BLAST doing it!!)
Milk starring Sean Penn. YES, but it’s a true story, so then there’s that.
Angels in America. All star cast, including Meryl Streep. YES! But that angel sex scene, HELL NO!!
Bound starring Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, and yes, CHRISTOPHER MELONI!! Interesting concept. So, I’ll vote YES.
Boys Don’t Cry starring Hilary Swank. I’ll say, YES, but the tragedy of the TRUE story really got me. So sad.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring John Cameron. Good movie. Strange, but NO.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert, starring Terence Stamp. YES, BUT IN A CUTE WAY.
Love! Valour! Compassion! starring Jason Alexander, John Benjamin Hickey, Justin Kirk, et al. Honorable mention to Nathan Lane in the Broadway version. YES!
Big Eden. Arye Gross and Eric Schweig, and the fabulous Louise Fletcher and Nan Martin!! YES, BUT IN A CUTE WAY. ❤️❣️😂
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. Starring three hets as drag queens. Yeah. I said what I said. Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo and Patrick Swayze. I’ll still vote a reluctant YES, because I did enjoy the movie and the rallying of acceptance behind the three leads.
Then there’s the camp:
“Initially, most of these Hollywood depictions were in the context of campy, funny characters, often in drag on some sort of adventure or farce, while teaching a lesson in tolerance, if not equality.[3] Drag portrayals also made a comeback in many films of the 1990s, notably The Birdcage (1996), starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), also starring Robin Williams, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), starring Guy Pearce, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo.”
And I have already mentioned some of the “campy” gay movies above in the form of …Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Too Wong Foo. And don’t get me wrong, these movies do have a place in our lives and society. However, I am wondering if these types of movies are geared more towards a heterosexual audience for the laughs, and/or that’s how they see us. And perhaps the gay-man-has-AIDS is more for the gay audience, because a heterosexual producer/filmmaker thinks that is something we can relate to, that is our sole experience.
I must say at this point that it seems that Hollywood doesn’t want gay couples to live happily ever after or that it all must end tragically, as in Brokeback Mountain. 🤔
Or having our story end tragically or just flat out killed, as in Boys Don’t Cry, Milk, and Brokeback Mountain.
Personally, I think we embody all of the things, the good and the bad. There is no sure fire ‘oh this is a gay movie’ because it has the “gay things/elements” in it. Obviously, there are things the Alphabet Community doesn’t have to worry about that the het community does and vice versa. However, there are certainly universal elements that bonds BOTH groups, such as LOVE. And yes, death and dying that has NOTHING to do with AIDS or an immuno-compromised disease.
Also careers and making money. Buying a house, etc. Or simply SURVIVING in a world that doesn’t care and won’t hand you anything.
Again, I am all for education, i.e. educating audiences as to a side of life they may know nothing about. Soap operas do it all the time, whether it is shining a light on breast cancer, mental illness, rape, homelessness, etc. However, I just don’t want the het community to think the bars and cruising and disease and drag queens are the ONLY things we are about.
So, what am I doing to combat this nonsense? I am writing MY OWN GOTDARN GAY TV SERIES! 😁😱😉❤️
Mine is set in the 1970s, and it does depict gay men in the bars, but it also depicts their lives OUTSIDE of the bars and in real-life and sometimes surreal-life situations. In other words, I decided that whatever the hets can do in film/TV, so can the gays!!! ‘Cept I know nothing ’bout birthin’ no babies! Ha!
So, I cannot do this blog post without discussing str8 actors playing gay roles. For some reason, this has always bothered me a little bit. And why? Well, because str8 actors have, for the most part, always played str8 roles. However, it seems that actors in the Alphabet Community have had to always portray hetero roles, too.
And you have those patrons who utter the stupid phrase – “it’s called ACTING!” Well, what do you know about it? And furthermore, you are correct in the assertion that your sexual orientation shouldn’t matter when it comes to portraying a part, because that character is not you. You are stepping into the shoes of another person, so to speak.
However, it is almost as if gay male actors – and I shall use them as the example – shy away from parts that are homosexually oriented, for lack of a better term. And I wonder if it is because they don’t want to be “typecast.” It’s as if portraying gay says that you are “playing yourself,” (and I’ll get to that in a minute), but playing str8 shows your versatility as an actor.
And I suppose a str8 man portraying gay shows his versatility.
But when a str8 man portrays a character that is his own sexual orientation, no one says anything. But a gay man portraying his sexual orientation, he is playing himself. And yes, I have been told that a couple of times, which infuriates me. Can we say HOMOPHOBIA? And yes, this came from str8 male actors.
I don’t think that gay actors are given the same grace as str8 actors. I really don’t. It’s almost as if we as gay actors have something extra to prove, whereas str8 actors are automatically given the benefit of the doubt.
A Tom Hanks or a Heath Ledger or a Jake Gyllenhaall or a Sean Penn portrays a gay man, they are up for an Oscar. A Nathan Lane or a Billy Porter or a RuPaul does it, again they are playing themselves. And no one cares.
In summation, the Alphabet Community has certainly gotten its due. However, I still believe we have further to go in terms of how we are portrayed and the stories we can tell. There are new shows out there, thankfully. However, it seems they are only on cable or streaming platforms. We need to be more mainstream, in my opinion.
I have covered a lot of ground in this post, yet I feel like I have a great deal more to say. I know there are other TV shows and movies that I have missed. So, perhaps we will pick this topic up at a later time. Stay tuned… 😉
Thank you so much for following me on yet another rant. Please return next time when I haven’t a clue as to what the topic shall be. LOLOL Whatever it is, it’ll be good. 😉🤣
But until then, please be safe and, as always, mentally well! Take care!
DEREK’S DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals. These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance. Thanking you in advance!
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