Brent Hartinger has a column in After Elton that talks about how Brokeback Mountain has changed his expectations for gay-themed media. In essence, the bar has been irrevokably raised; a new standard set. It's well-written, humorous, personal, and right-on-target, IMO."Portrayals of gay characters on television have alternated between outrageous, usually offensive stereotypes, and noble victims meant to transmit some preachy message to the apparently completely heterosexual audience. In books, we've had an endless stream of self-hating gay men who screw their friends and mess up their lives with irresponsible sex and indiscriminate drug use.
And movies? Don't get me started.
...
I didn't used to care about whether or not a gay project was “good.” I was just so starved to see myself represented on screen or in the pages of a book that I took whatever I could get.
...
But suddenly I've seen that it doesn't have to be that way. Brokeback Mountain was a quality project told from the point-of-view of its gay characters, about a uniquely gay situation (despite all the people who mistakenly proclaimed it to be a “universal” love story). The characters weren't stereotypes, villains, or noble victims."
The full text of the piece can be found at http://www.afterelton.com/columns/2006/4/lastgayword.html.
Thank you,
Lynne
