The Media's Depiction of Homosexuality

Last week's lectures got me thinking about how homosexuality is depicted in films and TV. As was discussed in class, the subject was watered down for a straight demographic. The purpose was to not "shock" a straight audience with outright homosexual displays of affection. While I'm straight, such things have never offended me, but I can see how it may have shocked people years ago. I believe this trend has been reversed to an extent in more recent years.

I believe the reversal of this trend has primarily taken place within films and premium channels such as HBO and Showtime. Premium channels have actually begun showing homosexual characters in an explicit manner quite frequently. Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and Shameless are all shows that come to mind immediately.

Another trend, which was not discussed in class, also came to mind last week. After viewing Kinky Boots, which revolves around a gay, cross-dressing former boxer helping save a small family owned shoe factory from going under, one of my film professors stated that normally homosexual characters are depicted in a Christ-like manner. My professor said it is a common occurrence during times of positive social change in equality towards a demographic. He stated the same thing was visible within films released during the Civil Rights Movement. During this time, black characters were represented in a similar manner. They, like the gay character in Kinky Boots, almost always possessed an incorruptible moral compass and provided valuable advice to other characters on screen.