Within minutes of retrieving my phone from Disney security following the premiere of “Onward,” I saw a tweet celebrating Pixar’s first LGBTQ character.
And my immediate thought was, “Where?”
Apparently, I must have coughed, or blinked, or been eating popcorn during the one line uttered by a female police officer (voiced by lesbian actor Lena Waithe) that indicates that the character has a girlfriend.
Well, blinking is not allowed if you want pick up on queer representation in mainstream Disney movies, or you might miss such hallowed community icons as “gay guy in a support group” (“Avengers: Endgame”), “two women pushing one stroller” (“Finding Dory”), “women kissing with New Year’s Eve energy during a climactic celebration” (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) or “foppish henchman who briefly dances with another dude” (the live-action “Beauty and the Beast”).
Don’t get me wrong: Better these representations than none at all. American cinema has a rather sorry history of erasing LGBTQ characters altogether (during the Production Code era) or portraying members of that community as punchlines or as threats to society. And specifically, in family-friendly media, LGBTQ visibility offers an increased level of pearl-clutching from bigots who want to hide their small-mindedness behind “But…the children!”
At the same time, for many queer viewers, these blips of inclusivity are not cause for a pride parade. These characters are steps in the right direction, to be sure, but they are baby steps, ones that can easily be snipped or dubbed over in foreign territories. (Popbuzz.com has reported that Russian moviegoers have tweeted that the lesbian cop’s dialogue in “Onward” has been altered to erase any mention of her sexuality.)
And to be fair, Disney isn’t alone in this sort of timidity — how many viewers picked up on the fact that Demián Bichir and Nathaniel Dean were playing a gay couple in “Alien: Covenant”? Or Brent Spiner and John Storey in “Independence Day: Resurgence”? It’s not like sci-fi audiences can’t handle LGBTQ characters; John Cho’s Sulu in “Star Trek: Beyond” was portrayed as having a husband and child, and it didn’t destroy the Federation.
The 21st century puts entertainment conglomerates like Disney in, admittedly, a tricky situation. There are foreign markets that will alter movies that contain a dollop of queerness, while banning outright films with LGBTQ lead characters: China, Malaysia and the UAE, for example, all barred “Brokeback Mountain” from screening in their respective countries in 2006. At the same time, there is a growing global audience — including new generations of younger viewers, who tend to be much more informed and progressive about the vagaries of gender and sexuality — who want to see characters that reflect their lives and those of their friends and loved ones.
These half-measures aren’t making anyone happy. Queer viewers see these blips as cheap pandering, excuses for companies to pat themselves on the back for inclusivity without risking anything or moving the conversation forward in the slightest. Viewers who are offended by anything and everything LGBTQ, meanwhile, complain over even the slightest bit of diversity.
Perhaps the ultimate solution is to, as the kids say, ignore the haters. Studios are never going to win over, or even have a rational conversation with, the kind of audience that gripes on social media when Hallmark Channel airs TV commercials with lesbian brides or movies that end with a montage of romantic couples, one of whom is two men looking at each other with affection (while not even touching). And if that means risking profitability in some deeply homophobic international markets, then that’s an achievement that merits some actual back-patting.
The Marvel movie “Eternals,” coming this November, promises to be a test case for a bolder brand of representation: We’re promised a gay superhero (played by Brian Tyree Henry) with a husband (played by Haaz Sleiman) and even (gasp!) a kiss between them. Let’s hope the studio doesn’t blink.
10 Best LGBTQ Films of the 2010s, From 'Moonlight' to 'Call Me by Your Name' (Photos)
Whether a curse or a blessing, “May you live in interesting times” certainly applies to the LGBTQ community -- the past decade saw the legalization of same-sex marriages and the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but every advancement has been met with pushback and threats to overturn equal protections under the law. Trans characters (played, for a change, by trans performers) got their largest public spotlight on television shows like “Pose” and “Transparent,” while at the same time they remain the targets of violence and of hysterical and reactionary lawmakers. Whatever triumphs and travails the community faced in day-to-day life, their lives and loves continued to be reflected on the big screen; here are some of the decade’s greatest examples, listed alphabetically.
Runners-Up: “1985,” “Appropriate Behavior,” “Booksmart,” “BPM,” “Cola de Mono,” “Drunktown’s Finest,” “Kiki,” “Love, Simon,” “Paris 05:59 Théo & Hugo,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
“Call Me by Your Name” and “Carol” (2017/2015) One was set in the relatively permissive 1980s and the other in the restrictive 1950s, but both films were gorgeous portraits of aching longing and rapturous passion among the wealthy and artistic. These were lush dramas that scratched an old-movie itch while taking a very contemporary look at same-sex relationships.
Sony/The Weinstein Company
“Concussion” (2015) This unpredictable tale of a lesbian housewife shaking off the suburbs for sophisticated sex work had the erotic moxie of “Belle de Jour” and the knowing, arch qualities of “The Stepford Wives,” but it also represented the arrival of an important new voice -- writer-director Stacie Passon, making one of the decade’s most exciting debuts.
RADiUS-TWC
“The Handmaiden” (2016) Park Chan-wook transferred Sarah Waters’ novel “Fingersmith” from Victorian England to Japanese-occupied Korea, but the psychological gamesmanship and breathless lesbian eroticism remained intact. Boasting gorgeous production values and a script where characters are constantly gaining and losing the upper hand, this was a riveting thriller that took queer relationships as a given, even in what we think of as the buttoned-down olden times.
Amazon Studios
“How to Survive a Plague” (2012) David France’s incredibly vital piece of activist cinema documented the rise of ACT UP in New York City in the 1980s, and how the members of that group fought the system -- before, essentially, taking it over themselves -- as the U.S. government and pharmaceutical industry turned its back on people with HIV and AIDS. It’s one of the great “yes, you can fight city hall” documentaries ever made.
IFC
“Moonlight” (2016) The subtle ways in which children come to understand -- and are taught to be afraid of -- their true selves, and the obstacles for adults seeking to overcome a lifetime of negative messaging are just some of the threads that weave their way through this gorgeous tapestry of a life, as portrayed brilliantly by three actors and captured by writer Tarell Alvin McCraney and director Barry Jenkins.
A24
“Pain and Glory” (2019) Legendary filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar offered some of his most tenderly romantic moments late in this autobiographical film, as director Salvador (Antonio Banderas) has an unexpected reunion, decades later, with his onetime lover. In just a few scenes, the two convey the depth and breadth of a relationship, from beginning to inevitable end, and it helps provide the full picture of Salvador, an artist whose past provides the possibility of unlocking his creative block.
Sony
“Take Me to the River” (2014) What starts out as a dark comedy about a gay California teenager forced to attend a family reunion in Nebraska unfurls into an unsettling thriller about family secrets and unresolved longings. Writer-director Matt Sobel subtly but inexorably tightens the vise, and it’s not until the closing credits roll that you allow yourself to exhale fully again.
Netflix
“Tangerine” (2015) A Christmas Eve in the lives of two trans sex workers (played memorably by Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) provides a glimpse into both the grind of their day-to-day existence and their hopes and dreams. The leads consulted on the script, and the results are both quotidian and poetic.
Magnolia Pictures
“Weekend” (2011) Writer-director Andrew Haigh (“45 Years”) starts with a simple premise -- two guys meet and hit it off, just as one of them is about to leave the country -- and turns it into a riveting two-hander, with Tom Cullen and Chris New capturing those moments of connection and curiosity and chemistry that mark the beginning of every new relationship, even as we know this one will end before it can even really start.
Sundance Selects
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”Pain and Glory,“ ”Carol“ and ”How to Survive a Plague“ rank among the highlights of the decade
Whether a curse or a blessing, “May you live in interesting times” certainly applies to the LGBTQ community -- the past decade saw the legalization of same-sex marriages and the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but every advancement has been met with pushback and threats to overturn equal protections under the law. Trans characters (played, for a change, by trans performers) got their largest public spotlight on television shows like “Pose” and “Transparent,” while at the same time they remain the targets of violence and of hysterical and reactionary lawmakers. Whatever triumphs and travails the community faced in day-to-day life, their lives and loves continued to be reflected on the big screen; here are some of the decade’s greatest examples, listed alphabetically.