International Day Against Homophobia (at the Movies)
May 17th, 2009 by BarakToday is International Day Against Homophobia. We at Jinni want to take the chance to promote acceptance and diversity in cinema.
We believe you shouldn’t hate someone based on race, religion or sexual preference. If you hate someone, do it for the right reasons: Because he has a tattoo, thinks wearing a leather jacket is cool, or nurtures his hair too much…
Here is a roundup of 10 movies about gay identity, homophobia and gay rights, showcasing the variety of ways to handle these topics. They’re perfect picks for today - or any day, as there’s something on this list to fit most moods and tastes.
Before we begin, here’s the couch potato’s guide to spotting a closet homophobe: 1. “I’m not gay - not that there’s anything wrong with that.” (Seinfeld said this quite a lot in the show.) 2. “Some of my best friends are gay…” (Several movie titles are variations on this quote.) 3. “Rupert Everett is gay, and he’s a nice guy.”
10. Flawless (1999)
Walt Koontz (Robert De Niro) is a bitter, homophobic security guard who suffers a stroke that leaves him partially paralyzed. Depressed and suicidal over his slurred speech and awkward limp, he eventually breaks down and asks his neighbor for singing lessons. Unglamorous drag artist named Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is as uncomfortable and disgusted by Koontz’s bitter demeanor as Koontz is with Rusty’s lifestyle…
9. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
A movie with Adam Sandler and Kevin James that has a message? Yes! Widower Larry (Kevin James) asks Chuck (Adam Sandler) to act as his domestic partner so that his children will be provided for if tragedy strikes. But these two buddies soon find themselves the subject of an investigation by the city. Enter Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel), their highly attractive attorney who leaves Chuck desperately wishing he wasn’t pretending to be gay.
Initially, Chuck and Larry are as guilty of stereotyping as anyone. In fact, pretty much any and every gay joke turns up in this film. But their attitudes change when the shoe is on the other foot and they find themselves and their new gay friends the subject of discrimination, mocking and name-calling.
8. Milk (2008)
Shot on location in San Francisco, this tragic biopic from director Gus Van Sant explores the life of Harvey Milk. Oscar winner Sean Penn stars as the gay activist who broke barriers by becoming the first openly gay man to win an election for public office in America. This isn’t the first movie made about Harvey Milk; in1984 The Times of Harvey Milk won an Oscar for best documentary.
7. The Sopranos (1999)
The Sopranos are always a good example of how not to behave. In season five, Vito Spatafore is revealed to be gay. In the world of “The Sopranos,” it was a sure bet that he wouldn’t last much longer - and he didn’t. Torciano and Gamiello, two of Phil Leotardo’s soldiers, duct-taped Vito’s mouth shut and beat him to death while Phil Leotardo watched. All this because he brought shame to the family’s name (he was married to Phil’s sister). Speaking of homophobia…
6. RocknRolla (2008)
Imagine that one day you discover that your best friend is gay - and he has a crush on you (you are not gay). Imagine that on the same day, you also discover that your best friend is going to prison for a very long time. His last wish before going behind bars is that you give him a “good time” on his last night as a free man. This is the situation One Two (Gerard Butler) finds himself in…
5. Yossi and Jagger (2002)
The Israelis did it first… You thought a movie about two gay cowboys is daring? Yossi and Jagger is about two gay Israeli combat soldiers. An Israeli military outpost serves as the staging ground for this theatrical, tragic love story between Yossi (Ohad Knoller) and Jagger (Yehuda Levi), young soldiers in the Israeli army. Yossi, the stolid captain of the outpost, and Jagger, nicknamed after the Rolling Stones front man, are lovers, but they struggle to hide their relationship from the rest of the troop. Private excursions through snowy trails serve to camouflage their trysts, but Jagger becomes dissatisfied with their secrecy…
4. Six Feet Under (2001)
This HBO television series about the dysfunctional Los Angeles-based family that operates the Fisher and Sons Funeral Home was definitely groundbreaking in its representation of a gay relationship between a black policeman and a white funeral home manager. Unlike the stereotypically flamboyant gay man, these were two “regular” guys who happen to be gay.
3. Will and Grace (1998)
Will and Grace made a controversial splash when it first aired in 1998 with the presence of openly gay characters – then relatively foreign to prime-time family-oriented programming. The show went on to become an overwhelming success, due to the chemistry between Grace (Debra Messing) and Will (Eric McCormack), as well as its unique brand of physical, almost slapstick comedy blended with sly, sarcastic sociopolitical commentary. The series follows the exploits of two unusually close best friends. Grace is a goofy, sexy interior designer and Will is a suave, elegant gay man. The two have a relationship that borders on co-dependence, resembling a marriage without sex.
2. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
With the amazing critical and box office success (and numerous spoofs) this movie got, it can be considered as the one that put homosexual themed screen stories in the heart of the mainstream.
It’s the tragic and moving story of two cowboys who unexpectedly fall in love while working together one summer in 1963. Seeing each other a few times a year at best, they spend the rest of their time halfheartedly living up to society’s expectations by marrying and having kids. When the lovers do meet, there is a sense of love so palpable and frustrating it often manifests itself in physical violence. Jake Gyllenhaal shines as the film’s hopeful light, and Heath Ledger gives a powerful performance as the emotionally blocked Ennis.
1. Bruno (2009)
The alternate name says everything there is to know about the movie: Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt.
A few more words anyway. After how far gay characters and themes have come in cinema and television, and after Brokeback’s records, but before the first American homosexual President (who might finally achieve warmer relations with Ahmadinejad and Putin…), it is time for the next big step. Get ready for Sacha Baron Cohen’s heroic (and initially NC-17 rated) mission, to expose all you homophobes out there, and send you into the closet!
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May 17th, 2009 at 8:15 am
What, no Philadelphia or the Wire? Otherwise, nice list. We need more good films (I’m looking at you, Chuck and Larry) that deal with these difficult issues in a mature way.
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May 17th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
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May 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
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May 18th, 2009 at 8:19 am
What about the film Latter Days??
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May 18th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Gays are all about lust. They practiced multiple sexual gay partners and anal-penile sex in bathouses. After AIDS came they were forced to become monogamous or be exterminated. We gave them civil unions and the became greedy and wanted gay marriage just for the money and lust.They have become arrogant,agressive,violent,vile and thinks they are powerful and superior. It is time to silence them. We require gays to respect the majority who decided against gay marriage. Gays have no special rights and are actually a burden to society since they will be permanent parasites to the heterosexuals because they can’t propagate on their own in isolation. Gay pride parade should be cancelled because their sexual practice actually facilitated the transmission of AIDS but I bet because of their lusts they still practice multiple sexual gay partners. The heterosexual equivalent of lust is heterosexual promiscuity. Gays are not allowed to attack or criticize heterosexuals because they are the normal natural survival of the fittest evolutionary result. The homos are the perverted evolution of humans.
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May 18th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
sebas, you are an ignorant idiot.
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May 18th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
You sir are an idiot, a bigot, and a waste of good quality air to breath.
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May 18th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
There are many documentary films being produced dealing with homosexuals as real people that are uplifting, touching and very human. For instance, CHRIS & DON chronicles the life long relationship between writer, Christopher Isherwood (whose book ‘The Berlin Stories’ inspired the musical and film Cabaret) and his young lover Don Bachardy. IN DREAMS AWAKE beautifully witnesses the impact of the life and art of Kentucky artist, farmer and gay activist William Joseph Petrie. Academy Award winner Frieda Lee Mock’s WRESTLING WITH ANGELS explores playwright Tony Kushner’s commitment to social justice. These and many more docs help to shine a brilliant light of truth on the ugliness of homophobia.
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May 18th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Who is this person called ‘ sebas ‘. I do not know where you got your education my friend. It seems to me that you are envious of the Gay Lifestyle. You should think about what you are saying in your little diatribe, your comments froth with envy, jealousy and the need for an experience not necessarily physical but a little exposure to people from our ilk. Your small minded thinking in your piece shows to the outmost that you really are wearing horse blinders. Look around, see for yourself, you think that heterosexual are any better off. Oh, my friend you have a big surprise coming your way. Remember you are the pot calling the kettle black. On this, Adieu, see you in hell.
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May 24th, 2009 at 1:52 am
why isnt narnia in the list
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June 12th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Your the main reason ignorance and idiotic stereotypes like the ones you’ve listed, exist. Get the facts before you spew your racially hateful message about a lifestyle you obviously know nothing about.
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June 12th, 2009 at 9:29 am
that was directed to Sebas, btw. Well said Rowbare. =]
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July 18th, 2009 at 4:07 am
I got one movie you missed and are sorry you did: Adam and Steve. It’s a comedy but it highlights all the highs and lows of homosexual life with two very unstereotypically-gay men. It ends in gay marriage - how can you not include a movie that ends in gay marriage??? It’s got to be one of my favorite movies.
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