On 2/1/06, Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu> wrote:
> > Dear List
> >
> > Doug asks:
> >
> > > I'm wondering, though - it's Hollywood. What do
> > you expect? Militance? Complexity? Profundity?
> > >From Hollywood?
> >
> > Not at all. What surprises me is the warm embrace
> > this film has received from people I thought were
> > savvier than they now appear to be.
> >
> > Brian Dauth
> > Queer Buddhist Resister
>
>
> What makes a gay-themed film an Oscar contender? The gay guy (or
> transgender girl) dies.
>
> Philadelphia (Jonathan Demme, 1993) -- Tom Hanks plays a gay guy who
> dies of AIDS -- Hanks wins Best Actor.
>
> Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Peirce, 1999) -- Hilary Swank plays a
> transgender lesbian who gets raped and murdered -- Swank wins Best
> Actress.
>
> Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005) -- Jake Gyllenhaal plays a gay guy
> who gets gay-bashed and dies -- the film gets nominated for eight
> Oscars!
>
>
> There is a parallel here;
>
> Action Film: Blacks (unless they happen to be played by Will Smith or
> Wesley Snipes) either are villains who get summarily killed or die
> nobly to save while people.
>
> Gay-themed Oscar Contenders: Gay characters die to help straight
> actors and film makers win Oscars.
>
>
> Yoshie Furuhashi
> <http://montages.blogspot.com>
> <http://monthlyreview.org>
> <http://mrzine.org>
>
>
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>
-- Jim Devine
"The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side." -- James Baldwin