That's right, he always gets the girl because our Hollywood Hero usually a man, mostly he's white - but he's always heterosexual. All well and good - and there are various films which have put this under the microscope and deconstructed the arbitrary nature of the hero. But where does this leave homosexuality?
Homosexuality has been represented in a similar way to ethnicity throughout the history of cinema. Either as a deviance from the norm or as comic relief. Gay characters are often bit parts in the plot of a film - rarely main characters, and as such they are often reduced to flimsy stereotypes. Being gay often means that a character is funny or evil.
Whilst more liberal film-makers and indeed gay film-makers have striven to include more gay central characters a film can often be about the oppression and difficulties of being gay in a dominantly straight world - these films rarely have a happy ending.
But we live in more liberal times, gay marriage is becoming legal across the world, and countries that object are often seen as out of touch or worse, in violation of human rights. Only film seems to have a problem with homosexuality - so what next for gay characters in film?
RESEARCH INVESTIGATION
This essay is about the theories of representation as much as it is about film analysis. The good news is that there is quite a lot of research in this field already; books, journals and essays have all covered this very topic. The bad news is that this means you are going to have write something original.
The choice of films as case studies are going to be vital here to ensure that you avoid cliches as well as avoid writing what has already been written!
Perhaps contrasting negative and positive representations would be a good idea, maybe even exploring the different types of stereotype that exists in films.
Some of this essay will be building on the knowledge you already have of Representations from the AS course, but a lot of it will be reading about films that you may never have heard of and applying it to the texts you have chosen. Also, a decent knowledge of the cultural context of the times and an understanding of dominant ideologies of society surrounding homosexuality will be vital.
Film journals will be your ally here. Start with this excellent site: Jump Cut
Please always label any research completed with your name and: Homosexuality in Film
MEDIA PRODUCT
You have two choices or you may wish to do a combination of the two. Either:
- Write, direct and edit a trailer or opening sequence for a film with a gay protagonist or other gay characters.
- Create a DVD cover for a new film and a review of it for a film magazine - the movie must have a central protagonist that is gay.
Option 1.
You will need to plan meticulously to direct, film and edit your own trailer or opening of a film that gay characters or a gay central protagonist. Your idea must be original but at the same time you must show that there are links between your Research Investigation and the product.
Your film should also hold up to an academic analysis based on the theories of those you studied and researched when writing your essay.
Overall this needs to be of an excellent quality - the end result may well be a film challenges representations that you've found in your research or they may reflect the representations you have discovered, even if they are incredibly stereotypical - these things are all fine so long as that was the intention.
To create an interesting and engaging film will require excellent planning, and this should be clear from the quality of your film, the following advice should be heeded at your own peril:
- Outline ideas
- Write a step treatment (scene by scene)
- Write a script
- Storyboard key action sequences
- Write a shooting script (the order you will do film things)
- Have read throughs with your actors and let them know exactly what your vision of this film is
- Watch the footage carefully and write put together a 'paper edit'
- Re-shoot anything that doesn't work
- Give yourself lots of time for editing.
Casting is going to be vital - begin speaking to friends and colleagues now about taking part in a film whereby they may have to play a challenging role and keep them informed at every part of the process.
Option 2
You will need to decide on the narrative, themes, actors, director, visual style and setting of a film that will never get made!
Once you have decided on all of these factors and you know your (non)film inside, you will create the DVD cover for it - the fron should be images and copy relevant to the movie and the back cover should have screen shots and a blurb about the plot.
You must also create a two page magazine review or interview with the director of this fake film which must explore the ideas that you have found in your essay which relate to representations of gay characters in films but also looks and reads exactly like a film magazine such as Empire.
This is a slightly complex project which requires you to know exactly what the characters and themes of the film would be so that you can prove to the examiner that you have learned from your essay. But also show that you have the technical and creative skills to reproduce the style and content of a film magazine.
