FROM INDIE QUEER CINEMA TO THE HOLLYWOOD MAINSTREAM, THE PINK LENS PUTS THE DEPICTION OF LGBT+ PEOPLE IN CINEMA IN THE UK UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.
QUEER CINEMA CLICHÉS
THE SCRAP KISS
Two previously straight male friends start to play-fight. The male-to-male contact proves too hot to handle and they end up kissing.
Examples: Brokeback Mountain, Free Fall, Floating Skyscrapers, God’s Own Country
INACTIVITY SYNDROME
A film that thinks featuring LGBT characters is enough to justify its existence but forgets entirely about having an actual plot.
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Examples: Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Beau Travail, Death In Venice, Sodom, Bromance, The Book Of Gabrielle, To Each Her Own, Paths
THE SMDW
(Straight, Married, Dissatisfied Woman)
A straight woman has realised that there is something wrong in her marriage, which she can only put her finger on when she meets a free-spirited, headstrong (and considerably younger) lesbian.
Examples: The Gymnast, A Marine Story, Raven’s Touch, Aimée & Jaguar, Desert Hearts, High Art
DADDY! TEACH ME!
A young man comes out of the closet, so obviously the only person who can show him the ropes is a considerably older man.
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Examples: Call Me By Your Name, Eastern Boys, Shelter, Gerontophilia, Sodom
IT'S HARD TO BE GAY IF...
A very specific and niche community are put under the spotlight fo their treatment of LGBT people: eg. police, army, farming, professional sport, religious group.
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Examples: Brokeback Mountain, Free Fall, Burning Blue, Eyes Wide Open, God’s Own Country, Drown, The Pass, Mario, Floating Skyscrapers
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MOMMY
A gay man grew up in the shadow of his very strong mother and he’s never really recovered.
Examples: All About My Mother, I Killed My Mother, Mother, Lilting, Prayers For Bobby, Mater
DBF
(Drag Best Friend)
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Are you even gay if you don’t have a drag best friend? According to LGBT Cineman, no, no you’re not.
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Examples: Rent, Wild Awakening, Victor/ Victoria, Flawless, Before Night Falls, Trick
DO THE HUSTLE!
LGBT and down on your luck? The answer is sex work. Obviously.
Examples: Mysterious Skin, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Postcards From London, My Own Private Idaho, Midnight Cowboy, Tangerine
FIRE ISLAND
It’s the US in the early 80s and AIDS Crisis is about to start… but in the meantime, every single gay man can can be found on Fire Island.
Examples: Longtime Companion, The Normal Heart, Parting Glances, And The Band Played On
WCHA
(White Cis Heterosexual Actor)
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A landmark Queer Movie is made but its landmark Queer character is played by a white, cis, heterosexual actor/actress to make it more “marketable”.
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Examples: Stonewall, The Danish Girl, Dallas Buyers Club, Carol, The Kids Are All Right, Milk, The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, A Single Man, Transamerica
THE ACID TONGUE
The most flamboyant character shows the outside world that they are actually tough by having a razor-sharp, scathing sass-mouth
Examples: The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, La Cage Aux Folles, The Birdcage, The Boys In The Band, Party Monster
MURDEROUS REPRESSION
Disenfranchised by a society that represses them, instead of coming out defiantly, these lovely characters instead go on a killing spree.
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Examples: Heavenly Creatures, Monster, The Talented Mr Ripley, Beach Rats, Beauty, Cruising, Notes On A Scandal, The Skin I Live In