BBM and Double Standards: The Philippine Context

[Drew Kerrigan]

Here's an interesting read, if you guys and gals are curious as to how some Asians (Filipinos to be exact) think of the movie and the lessons it partake in the society...

~ Click on this: http://www.peyups.com/article.khtml?sid=4197 ~

  Brokeback Mountain and the Double Standard of Homophobia

...The Philippines is more or less quite open to the gay community (it's one of a handful of Asian countries showing the film in wide release). Though discouraged by the Church and quietly ridiculed by the heterosexual majority, most Filipino gays are openly "out of the closet" and fear little rebuke or reprisal. Male homosexuals are stigmatized as "effeminate" (bakla) and lesbians as "butch" (tibo). Yet the younger generation is beginning to shed these stereotypes, particularly due to Western literature and media. Quietly, gays are being accepted...

So here comes Ang Lee's unconventional love story, putting this theory to the test. And suddenly, old beliefs are returning to the fore. Straight men are staying away from it like avian flu, unless accompanied by their female companions. If you had never heard of it, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN might have seemed to be the most effective specialized horror movie of its time, regardless of its tremendous emotional craftsmanship. Even close friends of mine, guys whom I had thought to be open and understanding, refuse to see it, even in private (on pirated DVDs)...

NOTE: Read the comments below the posted article. You might get some interesting facts there too... Though some are written in local tongue, most of them were still in English.

[Aussie Chris]

Thanks for the interesting article Drew.  I liked what flipcritic had to say and I think it captures the double standard situation quite well.  Kudos also that the readers comments are represented, and responded to!

However as far as the linked article from SEINFELD writer Larry David is concerned I am less complimentary, and the fact that flipcritic finds it "hilarious" is surprising.  I have never been fond of how SEINFELD deals with homosexuality.  All that "not that there's anything wrong with it" stuff irritates me no end - it's so condescending.  The "Meanwhile: Cowboys are my weakness" article is a perfect example of how Larry David reinforces homophobia by making the point that he needs to protect himself from being "turned gay" by being exposed to gay themes.  Just because he’s telling a joke does not change this, and being "funny" while bludgeoning me with fear-stereotypes does not change the fact that this is just another form of gay-bashing.

[Phillip Dampier]

SEINFELD writer Larry David is concerned I am less complimentary, and the fact that flipcritic finds it "hilarious" is surprising.  I have never been fond of how SEINFELD deals with homosexuality.  All that "not that there's anything wrong with it" stuff irritates me no end - it's so condescending.

I personally have never found Seinfeld funny in the least.  I don't know why that's the case - it just is.  The reaction in the Philippines is similar to a lot of the American reaction.  I am not sure, but we could have a stampede in here once Brokeback hits DVD and video rental stores as a whole new audience comes to see it, and then another stampede when it hits pay cable movie channels.  There will be a lot of people exposed to the movie the first time.  I am not convinced the reaction will be the same in part because the small screen and home viewing allows for a lot of distractions and part of the impact of this film is the way the darkened movie theater makes you watch it.  You can't flip the channel or answer the phone or pet the cat or talk to someone.