Updated for 2020: Conceived for Dr. Sally O'Driscoll's Gender & Sexuality in Film & Literature Spring 2018 at Fairfield University, LGBT Film and Television: A Brief History has been extensively updated and presented on June 3, 2020 for Triangle Community Center's (Norwalk, CT) Virtual Pride Week. Philip Bahr is Head of Adult Services for Fairfield Public Library and blogs at Reel Charlie (reelcharlie.com).
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4. JUNE 3, 2020
Philip Bahr
Head of Adult Services: FAIRFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY
Film & Television Review Blogger: REEL CHARLIE
Who am I?
(credentials, passion, identity, and privilege)
5. WHY DO WE NEED THIS?
Aren’t we post-LGBT?
Janet Mock on Ellen (2019)
6. WE ARE ALL CONNECTED
Why care about LGBT film and television?
Why care about trans actors playing trans roles?
Why care about women directors?
Why care about female actors’ paychecks?
Why care about African-American filmmakers?
Why care about the Asian glass ceiling?
Why care about Latinx representation on television?
Why care about rural stories in film?
It’s why I love Monsoon Wedding (2001).
7. What does LGBTQAIP2+ mean?
LESBIAN
GAY
BISEXUAL
TRANS/TRANSGENDER
QUEER/QUESTIONING
ALLY/ASEXUAL/ANDROGYNOUS
INTERSEX
PANSEXUAL
2 SPIRIT
+ (PLUS) ALL OTHERS
An inclusive acronym meant to describe the non-heterosexual and non-cisgender experience.
For today’s program, we will use LGBT
https://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/educated/glossary
9. What Makes a Film or Television Show
Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual or Transgender?
Creator?
producer, writer, director, filmmaker
Characters?
main, secondary (supporting)
Plot?
about being LGBT, coming out, just happen to be LGBT
Overall feel of the show?
queer sensibility (outsiders, other, relating to non-majority),
iconic (referencing other larger, stronger cultural symbols),
camp (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, John Waters, Drag Race)
14. Whether 1920 or 2020…
Hollywood usually follows a strict code
for gender and sexuality.
Many big budget films continue to reinforce
gender and sexuality stereotypes.
15. In the Movies: a woman… a man…
Gal Gadot Chris Hemsworth
17. FOREIGN AND INDEPENDENT FILMS STILL HAVE
A PLACE AT THE TABLE
BUT Hollywood and in particular the big streamers (Netflix, Amazon
Prime, Hulu) are listening.
23. “Because I just went gay, all of a sudden.”
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
https://youtu.be/aCymsoQL49c
24. Hays Code
The Motion Picture Production Code popularly known as the Hays Code,
after Will H. Hays, who was the president of
the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945.
Under Hays' leadership, the MPPDA, later known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA),
adopted the Production Code in 1930, began strictly enforcing it in 1934 through the late 1960’s
when the modern MPAA Rating Code (G, PG, R, NC17, X) began.
“4. Restricted: Any inference of sexual perversion”
Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur (1959)
25. VISIBILITY IS CRUCIAL
If you are cisgender and/or heterosexual,
imagine never seeing yourself represented in film,
television, or on the Internet.
Lesbian visibility
Gay Male visibility
Bisexual visibility
Trans visibility
… ally, asexual, drag, fluid, gender neutral, gender non conforming,
intersex, men loving men, non binary, pansexual, queer, and questioning.
26. VISIBILITY THROUGH THE
DECADES
For better, for worse…
The LGBT community’s relationship
with Hollywood has been
a long, dysfunctional marriage.
27. 1940 - PRESENT
Using broad strokes
to get us through 80 years
of LGBT representation in film and television.
The detail and complexity come from delving into larger swaths of
content from each decade.
40. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
New TV series based
on this film currently
in development with
Kumail Nanjiani
(The Big Sick).
41. Maurice (1987)
30th Anniversary buzz in 2017:
Kino Lorber remastered many
Merchant Ivory films. James
Ivory appeared at the Quad
Cinema in NYC Summer 2017
for a screening of Maurice.
Ivory won his first Oscar at 89 in
2018 for Call Me By Your Name.
42. The 1970s & 1980s: LGBT Images on TV
Matt Baume – Sewers of Paris podcast
7 minutes on 70’s/80’s LGBT TV
43. AIDS Films
● AIDS helped straight America finally feel empathy towards LGBT folk.
● Urban LGBT folk helped create a new health system focusing on
collaboration between doctor and patient.
● LGBT people found deep and profound connection to community
during the worst of the AIDS crisis from the early 1980’s through the
1990’s.
● These films happened simultaneously with the New Queer Cinema
movement of the 1990’s.
46. 2017:
BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE)
French film based on early 1990’s ACT-UP Paris.
Is BPM the best feature film ever made
about the AIDS crisis?
47. REEL CHARLIE’S FAVORITE
HIV/AIDS FILMS
Best HIV AIDS Films
An ever-expanding list of Reel Charlie’s favorite films focusing on HIV and AIDS. Some are
feature films, some documentaries, two are musicals:
The Adventures of Felix – celebratory French film about a young HIV+ man embracing life
on the new medication in the mid-90’s.
Angels in America – based on the award-winning play from Tony Kushner.
All About My Mother – one of the (still) few films using AIDS themes from a female
perspective – an Almodovar classic.
Before I Forget – French film about an aging HIV+ male hustler.
Blue – Derek Jarman’s meditation on his AIDS diagnosis and imminent death.
BPM (Beat Per Minute) – contemporary look at Paris ACT-UP during the 1990’s.
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt – Academy Award winning documentary on the
AIDS Quilt.
Dallas Buyers Club – a straight-identified man starts one of the first buyers clubs in the U.S.
bringing experimental drugs into the United States from other countries.
Days – Italian film about a sero-discordant couple (one HIV+, one HIV-).
Holding the Man – based on the true story. Two guys fall in love in 1970’s Australia.
How to Survive a Plague – outstanding documentary on the history of ACT-UP.
Jeffrey – explores the tension around gay men and sex during the AIDS crisis.
Longtime Companion – Hollywood film about NYC gay men dealing with the worst of the
AIDS crisis.
The Normal Heart – HBO adaptation from Ryan Murphy of Larry Kramer’s award-winning
play.
Parting Glances – Steve Bucemi’s break-out performance as a punk rock HIV+ gay man in
NYC.
Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer’s End (only released on VHS) – amazing documentary
on the final days of writer Paul Monette.
Poison – Todd Haynes Queer Cinema classic. Very experimental. Included on the disk and
in the review is the short Last Address, an 8 minute film focusing on NYC buildings by
director Ira Sachs.
Postcards from America – based on artist David Wojnarowicz’s life and writing.
Rent – the film based on the hit Broadway musical.
Sex in an Epidemic – documentary about the AIDS crisis in the United States.
Sex Positive – documentary of the evolution of “safer sex”.
Test – beautiful indie film about a young dancer in San Francisco deciding whether to take
the new HIV test in the early 1980’s.
Vito – biopic on Vito Russo who wrote the seminal work on queer film, The Celluloid Closet
and left us way to early from AIDS.
We Were Here – intimate documentary focusing on several people who witnessed the early
plague years in San Francisco.
Zero Patience – John Greyson’s musical about AIDS. still so out there and revolutionary.
https://reelcharlie.wordpress.com/2019/08/17/best-hiv-aids-films/
48. The 1990s - New Queer Cinema
● New Queer Cinema is a term first coined by
the academic B. Ruby Rich in Sight & Sound
magazine in 1992 to define and describe a
movement in queer-themed independent
filmmaking in the early 1990s.
● Films of the New Queer Cinema movement
typically share certain themes, such as the
rejection of heteronormativity and the lives of
LGBT protagonists living on the fringe of
society.[
● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Queer_Cinema
59. Angels in America (2003)
Manuel Betancourt’s HBO’s LGBT History
Starting with a look at Harvey Fierstein’s Tidy Endings (1988), this weekly series at The Film Experience
studies the way the cable network has tackled gay storylines in its award-winning films, miniseries and
TV shows.
HTTPS://MBETANCOURT.COM/PROJECTS/
60. The L Word (2004 - 2009)
The L Word: Generation Q (2019 - )
61. The Networks Take Their Queue
● Will & Grace (TV Series 1998–2006; 2018 - 2020)
● Modern Family (TV Series 2009–2020)
● The Fosters (TV Series 2013– 2018)
62. The 2000s in Film
3 themes:
● International acclaim - finding films in countries
around the world
● Indie films thrive
● Working inside the Hollywood system – proving that
LGBT films can make money
66. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Hollywood hits one out of the park.
Like Philadephia for people with AIDS, this film was made for straight audiences to
better understand gay and bisexual male lives.
Oscar disagreed. (Brokeback lost to Traffic)
Are these characters repressed gay men or bisexuals? Bi erasure?
67. 2010-2019
Trans stories finally get a voice and find
funding with trans actors and filmmakers
Gender takes center stage (#MeToo,
#TimesUp)
Television binging usurps going to the
movie theater
69. 30+ Years After the Discovery of
HIV
A series of historical documentaries on HIV and AIDS
○ Sex Positive (2008) – documentary of the evolution of
“safer sex”.
○ We Were Here (2010) – intimate documentary focusing
on several people who witnessed the early plague years
in San Francisco.
○ Sex in an Epidemic (2009) – documentary about the
AIDS crisis in the United States
○ How to Survive a Plague (2012) – Oscar nominated
documentary on the history of direct action advocacy
group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power).
○ United in Anger (2012)- an alternative look at ACT UP.
72. 2014: REAL SEX, LESBIAN LOVE,
AND LOTS OF TELEVISION
2014:
L’inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake) – sexy French gay
male indie film focusing on a murder at a cruise lake.
Reaching for the Moon –great lesbian indie based on a
true story - Poet Elizabeth Bishop has a love affair with
architect Lota de Macedo Soares
The Fosters S1 – Peter Paige‘s beautiful family drama
featuring two Moms.
Looking S1 – finally a new gay television series.
Transparent S1 – started out great, ended up mess.
73. 2015: HISTORY, FILMMAKERS, AND BIG
QUEER TELEVISION
2015:
The Imitation Game– Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan
Turing.
Still Alice – an Oscar for Julianne Moore, Richard
Glatzer’s final film, adapted from the novel.
Tangerine – the best indie of the year.
Sense8: S1 – I want to live in this world. Excuse me while
I go watch this again. Creators Wachowski siblings.
74. 2016: GREAT YEAR FOR INTIMATE FILM
2016:
Carol – Todd Haynes’ gorgeous 50’s drama about two
women falling in love.
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins incredible indie about a
young gay black male coming of age. Go Oscars!
75. 2017: DOCS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE
2017:
I Am Not Your Negro – documentary on James
Baldwin, an immediate classic.
Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo – sexy, real, Paris, men in
lust and maybe love.
76. 2018: A VERY GOOD YEAR
2018:
BPM (Beats Per Minute) – no words for this perfect film about the
historical AIDS crisis in France.
God’s Own Country – keep thinking about this one. The gay male
love story of the year. From rural Yorkshire, England
Hannah Gadsby: Nanette – lesbian, gender, stand-up… out of the
park this is must-see.
Rafiki – crazy for this Kenyan film about the power of lesbian love.
Women Who Kill – what indies should be. Creator Ingrid
Jungermann
Man in an Orange Shirt – two stories, two different times, two gay
men. Brilliant.
77. 2019: MORE FOCUS ON TELEVISION
2019:
Pose: Season 1 – my favorite series of 2019. (it premiered
on Netflix this year).
Special: Season 1 – tied with Pose (and Russian Doll for
favorite TV show) – creator Ryan O’Connell’s experience
of being gay living with cerebral palsy.
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (Netflix 2019) –
they took so many liberties, but it was still wonderful
seeing this come to life on Netflix. Not as perfect as the
previous incarnations, but still Madrigal magic.
78. GLAAD ON TELEVISION: 2019 - 2020
GLAAD’s annual report on the state of LGBT representation on television
80. Oscar’s Best Picture
Carol gets 6 noms but not Best Picture 2016
Moonlight wins Best Picture 2017
Call Me By Your Name
Best Picture nominee 2018
Greenbook wins Best Picture 2019
The Favourite and Bohemian Rhapsody also nominated
No queer noms in 2020. Almodovar snubbed
81. ONE STEP FORWARD… TWO STEPS
BACK?
Call Me By Your Name
Best Picture nominee 2018
Greenbook wins Best Picture 2019 (The Favourite and
Bohemian Rhapsody also nominated)
Is Call Me By Your Name a film about two straight men
who experiment?
Did Greenbook relegate the lead character’s sexuality to
a passing reference?
Did Bohemian Rhapsody spend more time focused on
Freddy’s straight sex than gay?
Did Rocketman do it better?
‘
Does it matter?
82. THE FUTURE
Where are we headed?
What does the next hundred years
in film, television, and media hold?
83. 5 ARTICLES PREVIEWING NEW QUEER FILMS FOR 2020:
12 QUEER FILMS WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IN 2020 (THEM)
THE 20 MOST ANTICIPATED QUEER MOVIES OF 2020 (NEWNOWNEXT)
8 LGBTQ FILMS COMING OUT IN 2020 (INSIDER)
THE BEST GAY FILMS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2020 (FILM DAILY)
SUNDANCE 2020: THE LGBTQ FILMS WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IN PARK CITY (INDIEWIRE)
New for 2020
84. Acknowledgements
The Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo.
• Book available through the library, Amazon or eBay (used)
• Documentary (available streaming)
Other Resources:
UCLA Film and Television Archive
Jenni Olsen’s LGBT Film Resources
GLAAD – Visibility and Acceptance in Media
Manuel Betancourt Writing on LGBT media
Steve Hayes Tired Old Queen at the Movies (YouTube)
Matt Baume (YouTube)
Autostraddle's Dead Lesbian and Bisexual Characters List
British Film Institute’s 10 Great Transgender Films
85. Reel Charlie
My blog, Reel Charlie focuses primarily on LGBT film
and television:
○ reelcharlie. com/
• Favorite LGBT Film List
• 30 Days of Gay (Film) (I spent June 2015 watching one LGBT film
each day for Pride month)
We always see things from our own perspective.
Watching, listening, sharing helps us expand.
86. YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT HELPS
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text "tccpride" to phone number 56651.
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