Evolving Representations: Long awaited depth for LGBT stories in Hollywood Film.

Cinematic representations of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals have not received such mainstream attention prior to last year’s Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain along with Transamerica and Capote. For the first time, mass audiences were able to see homosexual and transgender story lines that went beyond stereotypes and two-dimensional caricatures. Brokeback’s success can be attributed to the relatively known actors, an acclaimed director, and a narrative operating outside of typical gay cinema territory, the classic Western. Brokeback’s ability to demythologize the most fixed conventions of the genre, along with its timeless backdrops, and empathetic ending, made it the most humanizing tale of homosexual love to ever hit so many big screens. The representational consequences of Brokeback Mountain have the potential to produce LGBT characters of substance in mainstream cinema, eventually contributing to the goals of social tolerance and equality.

Now that Hollywood has little reason to abide by any preconceived notions about whether gay films with gay leading characters can succeed with audiences, there’s no limit to how many widely released films in the upcoming year will incorporate LGBT into its vocabulary. One point of contention is how these films are going to be sold to audiences. Even if a series of thought provoking, tactful films continues to emerge, overzealous coverage can easily turn much needed visibility into a superficial fad. The potential for this is blatant in Silvia Aloisi’s Entertainment news headline that highlights the “Gay Kiss” between the two lead actors in the upcoming film “Infamous” (another film about the acclaimed writer Truman Capote). This need to emphasize the homoerotic interactions in the film indicates the level of intrigue audiences are expected to have over anything with a hint of homosexuality in it. Daniel Craig, one of the actors involved in the kiss, is slated to play James Bond in the upcoming film Bond 22, prompting the playful subheading, “KISSING JAMES BOND.” Like the demything of the Western, the publicity over this kiss is an example of another subversion of an infamous cultural text. The same actor lined up to play the epitome of the chauvinistic womanizing secret agent can simultaneously take on a role that involves kissing another man. This no longer jeopardizes the persona of the actor, nor the legendary character. This illustrates the fact that Hollywood is more willing to tell LGBT stories than ever before and is letting down some incredibly old boundaries.

So what can truthful and humanizing representations do for LGBT communities? How tangible is the correlation between representation and reality?

The main objective of any marginalized group’s visibility within a prominent medium, like film, is to ultimately ignite social change. Maria DiBattista, using Brokeback Mountain as her example, explores the question, “Can Movies Change our Minds?” in a LA Times article. She states that movies have the ability to “take on the great social problems of their time, but they may be the least effective — or appropriate — medium for solving them.” Claiming that Brokeback Mountain is the beginning of the end of homophobia and injustices based on sexual preference is of course a completely irrational conclusion. However the films that take on such issues in their time add up to be something impacting. What will effectively provoke change are honest, if not positive, representations of LGBT individuals. Film, like any art, has the potential to rouse analysis, understanding and even allow audiences to embody the life, or story, of someone else. We will see a change in social and political disparities as more LGBT narratives and characters are implemented with substance and purpose.