📺Film and Media Theory Unit 10 – Queer Theory and LGBTQ+ Cinema

Key Concepts in Queer Theory

• Queer theory challenges traditional notions of gender and sexuality, arguing that these are social constructs rather than fixed, binary categories
• Heteronormativity assumes heterosexuality as the default and "normal" sexual orientation, marginalizing non-heterosexual identities
  • Queer theory seeks to disrupt and deconstruct heteronormative assumptions and binaries
• Performativity suggests that gender and sexual identities are not innate but are performed through repeated actions and behaviors (drag performances)
• Queer reading practices involve interpreting texts through a queer lens, uncovering non-normative desires and identities even in seemingly heterosexual narratives
• Queer temporality challenges linear, heteronormative conceptions of time, emphasizing alternative life trajectories and non-normative experiences of aging and futurity
• Queer space refers to the creation of physical and symbolic spaces that affirm and celebrate queer identities and communities (gay bars, pride parades)
• Intersectionality highlights how multiple marginalized identities (race, class, disability) intersect with queerness, shaping unique experiences of oppression and resistance

Historical Context of LGBTQ+ Representation in Film

• Early cinema often depicted LGBTQ+ characters as villains, comic relief, or tragic figures, reinforcing negative stereotypes and moral panic
• The Hays Code (1930s-1960s) explicitly prohibited the representation of "sexual perversion," effectively censoring explicit LGBTQ+ content in Hollywood films
  • Filmmakers resorted to subtle coding and subtext to suggest queer identities and desires (Rope, Rebel Without a Cause)
• The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and the Stonewall Riots (1969) marked a turning point in LGBTQ+ visibility and activism, paving the way for more explicit representation in film
• The AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s profoundly impacted queer communities and sparked a wave of LGBTQ+ film activism and representation (Longtime Companion, Philadelphia)
• The New Queer Cinema movement of the early 1990s embraced radical, unapologetic depictions of queer lives and desires, challenging mainstream respectability politics (My Own Private Idaho, Paris Is Burning)
• Recent decades have seen increasing mainstream visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ characters and stories, though issues of stereotyping, tokenism, and underrepresentation persist

Pioneering LGBTQ+ Filmmakers and Their Impact

• Kenneth Anger's experimental short films (Fireworks, Scorpio Rising) boldly explored homoerotic desire and subcultures in the 1940s and 1950s, defying censorship and moral codes
• Jean Genet's Un Chant d'Amour (1950) is a landmark of queer avant-garde cinema, depicting explicit same-sex desire and BDSM themes in a prison setting
• Andy Warhol's underground films (Blow Job, Chelsea Girls) challenged sexual and artistic norms, featuring queer performers and exploring taboo subjects
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films (Fox and His Friends, Querelle) offered complex, often controversial depictions of queer characters and relationships, critiquing societal oppression and hypocrisy
• Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman (1975) subverts traditional notions of femininity and domesticity, offering a queer feminist critique of patriarchal structures
• Gus Van Sant's work (Mala Noche, My Own Private Idaho) centers marginalized queer characters and communities, employing avant-garde techniques to capture their experiences
• Pedro Almodóvar's films (Law of Desire, All About My Mother) celebrate queer desire, gender fluidity, and chosen families, often subverting melodramatic tropes

Analyzing Queer Narratives and Themes

• Coming out stories depict the process of disclosing one's queer identity to others, often focusing on the challenges and liberations of self-acceptance (But I'm a Cheerleader, Love, Simon)
• Found family narratives emphasize the importance of chosen queer kinship and community, particularly in the face of biological family rejection or absence (Paris Is Burning, Tangerine)
• Queer love stories challenge heteronormative assumptions about romance and desire, depicting the joys and struggles of same-sex relationships (Desert Hearts, Carol)
• Queer trauma narratives explore the impact of homophobia, transphobia, and AIDS on queer individuals and communities, often grappling with grief, resilience, and collective memory (Boys Don't Cry, Tongues Untied)
• Queer utopias imagine alternative futures or spaces where queer identities and desires are celebrated and liberated, often critiquing present-day oppression (Born in Flames, Shortbus)
• Queering genre involves subverting and reinterpreting traditional genre conventions through a queer lens, such as queer horror, queer sci-fi, or queer musicals (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Velvet Goldmine)
• Queer temporalities in film play with non-linear storytelling, fragmentation, and alternative life trajectories, challenging heteronormative notions of progress and futurity (Happy Together, Weekend)

Stereotypes and Subversion in LGBTQ+ Cinema

• The sissy stereotype depicts gay men as effeminate, weak, and comical, often as a foil to heterosexual masculinity (The Producers, La Cage aux Folles)
  • Subversive examples reclaim and celebrate sissy identities, challenging toxic masculinity (Flaming Creatures, Pink Flamingos)
• The predatory lesbian trope portrays lesbian characters as dangerous, manipulative seductresses who prey on innocent heterosexual women (Basic Instinct, Cruel Intentions)
  • Films like Bound and Mulholland Drive subvert this trope, depicting complex, consensual lesbian relationships
• The tragic queer trope suggests that LGBTQ+ characters are doomed to unhappiness or death, often as punishment for their "deviant" desires (Brokeback Mountain, A Single Man)
  • Subversive examples like Happy Together and Weekend depict queer joy and resilience in the face of adversity
• The coming out narrative has been criticized for privileging white, middle-class, cisgender gay experiences as the norm (Love, Simon)
  • Films like Pariah and Moonlight offer intersectional coming out stories that acknowledge the specific challenges faced by queer people of color
• Trans stereotypes often reduce trans characters to tragic victims, deceptive villains, or punchlines, played by cisgender actors (The Crying Game, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)
  • Films like Tangerine and A Fantastic Woman subvert these tropes, casting trans actors in complex, nuanced roles

Intersectionality in Queer Film Theory

• Intersectionality examines how multiple marginalized identities (race, class, gender, disability) intersect and shape experiences of oppression and privilege
• Queer of color critique challenges the whiteness and class privilege of mainstream LGBTQ+ representation, centering the experiences of queer people of color (Paris Is Burning, Tongues Untied)
• Black queer cinema explores the specific challenges and joys of being Black and queer, often grappling with the intersections of racism, homophobia, and classism (Moonlight, The Watermelon Woman)
• Latinx queer cinema represents the diversity of Latinx queer experiences, often engaging with themes of migration, family, and cultural identity (Mosquita y Mari, La Mission)
• Asian queer cinema challenges stereotypes of asexuality and exoticism, depicting complex queer Asian characters and communities (Happy Together, The Wedding Banquet)
• Queer indigenous cinema reclaims Two-Spirit and other indigenous queer identities, often in the context of decolonization and cultural resurgence (Drunktown's Finest, Fire Song)
• Queer disability studies critiques the ableism and heteronormativity of both mainstream society and LGBTQ+ communities, advocating for the inclusion and representation of queer disabled voices (Sins Invalid, Crip Camp)

Contemporary LGBTQ+ Cinema and New Media

• New Queer Cinema of the 2010s and 2020s builds on the legacy of the 1990s movement, offering diverse, nuanced representations of queer lives (Moonlight, Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
• Queer web series and YouTube content creators offer low-budget, DIY alternatives to mainstream representation, often centering marginalized queer voices (The Slope, Queer Kid Stuff)
• Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon have increased the visibility and accessibility of LGBTQ+ content, though questions of authenticity and commodification persist (Orange Is the New Black, Transparent)
• Queer film festivals (Frameline, NewFest) showcase independent LGBTQ+ films from around the world, fostering community and activism
  • Virtual festivals and online screenings have increased accessibility for queer audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok have become sites of queer community building, activism, and cultural production, shaping contemporary queer aesthetics and politics
• Queer fan cultures engage in transformative practices like slash fiction, fan art, and cosplay, queering mainstream media texts and asserting queer desire and creativity
• Queer transmedia storytelling extends queer narratives and worlds across multiple platforms (film, TV, web series, social media), offering immersive, participatory experiences for queer audiences (Sense8, Pose)

Critical Debates and Future Directions

• Homonormativity critiques the assimilationist politics of mainstream LGBTQ+ representation, arguing that it privileges white, middle-class, cisgender, and coupled queer subjects at the expense of more marginalized identities
  • Debates around respectability politics, pink capitalism, and the commodification of queer culture shape contemporary queer film criticism
• The trans tipping point of the mid-2010s marked a shift towards increased trans visibility in media, though issues of misrepresentation, exploitation, and violence persist
  • Trans filmmakers and activists advocate for authentic, nuanced representation that centers trans voices and experiences
• Queer futurity imagines radical queer possibilities beyond the limitations of the present, often through speculative and utopian storytelling
  • Afrofuturist and indigenous futurist works (Welcome to Wanakiki, Lovecraft Country) imagine decolonial queer futures that challenge white supremacy and settler colonialism
• Eco-queer cinema explores the intersections of queer identity, ecology, and environmental justice, often through experimental and documentary forms (Wildness, Bisbee '17)
• Queer archival practices seek to preserve and celebrate the history of LGBTQ+ film and media, often in the face of erasure and marginalization
  • Queer film restoration projects and oral history initiatives document the legacy of queer cinema for future generations
• Queer film pedagogy explores the challenges and possibilities of teaching queer film in academic and community settings, fostering critical media literacy and empowering queer voices
  • Debates around trigger warnings, safe spaces, and the ethics of representation shape contemporary queer film pedagogy