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Gays becoming more mainstream on TV.......
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:41 pm
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:41 pm
Interesting to note how portrayals of gays have evolved over time.
I remember the very first "gay" character on network television--on the short-lived series "Hot L Baltimore" back in the 70's--a flophouse for losers and the socially marginal (which it was assumed all gay people were at that time)
Then, there was a period of short "guest appearances"--and these characters were generally dressed flamboyantly and only had bit parts--for example, on an episode of "All in the Family", Archie Bunker slammed the door in the face of gay rights activists clad in flowery shirts who appeared at his door one day asking for signatures on a petition
Fast forward to "Will and Grace" and "Sex and the City"--where the characters were more developed and substantive, but were virtually all stereotypical, effeminate queens who hung around straight women all the time.....
Then there was a bit of a breakthrough with "Six Feet Under", where there was an actual gay couple portrayed, one of whom was a hyper-masculine cop and the other a career guy--and they were even shown in bed together a few times.....
Last season, we saw a totally non-stereotypical corporate lawyer in "Brothers and Sisters".....who married his partner in a full-fledged wedding in the final episode, including a real kiss at the end.....with all his family present and supportive.....
And this year, not only have we seen an actual sex scene on "Mad Men", but ABC's "The Modern Family" will actually show two "regular Joes" living together and raising a baby......and in "real life", Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Emmy's
An interesting progression that reflects society's changing views and comfort levels and perceptions.......
I guess the next thing we will see is an openly gay anchor on ESPN or as an NFL analyst....now THAT would be interesting.....
I remember the very first "gay" character on network television--on the short-lived series "Hot L Baltimore" back in the 70's--a flophouse for losers and the socially marginal (which it was assumed all gay people were at that time)
Then, there was a period of short "guest appearances"--and these characters were generally dressed flamboyantly and only had bit parts--for example, on an episode of "All in the Family", Archie Bunker slammed the door in the face of gay rights activists clad in flowery shirts who appeared at his door one day asking for signatures on a petition
Fast forward to "Will and Grace" and "Sex and the City"--where the characters were more developed and substantive, but were virtually all stereotypical, effeminate queens who hung around straight women all the time.....
Then there was a bit of a breakthrough with "Six Feet Under", where there was an actual gay couple portrayed, one of whom was a hyper-masculine cop and the other a career guy--and they were even shown in bed together a few times.....
Last season, we saw a totally non-stereotypical corporate lawyer in "Brothers and Sisters".....who married his partner in a full-fledged wedding in the final episode, including a real kiss at the end.....with all his family present and supportive.....
And this year, not only have we seen an actual sex scene on "Mad Men", but ABC's "The Modern Family" will actually show two "regular Joes" living together and raising a baby......and in "real life", Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Emmy's
An interesting progression that reflects society's changing views and comfort levels and perceptions.......
I guess the next thing we will see is an openly gay anchor on ESPN or as an NFL analyst....now THAT would be interesting.....
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:43 pm to NJReb
"Omar's coming yo"
Meh
quote:
I guess the next thing we will see is an openly gay anchor on ESPN or as an NFL analyst....now THAT would be interesting
Meh
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:45 pm to NJReb
Should have Willow in there as well.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:47 pm to NJReb
quote:
An interesting progression that reflects society's changing views and comfort levels and perceptions.......
TD does not belong to normal society, though.
'THAT AINT RIGHT. I DONT WANNA SEE THAT SHEEIT'
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:47 pm to NJReb
No Ellen reference?
I remember that being a pretty big deal when she "came out" on her show or whatever.
I remember that being a pretty big deal when she "came out" on her show or whatever.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:50 pm to CocomoLSU
quote:Also, wasn't Roseanne the first show to have two women kiss? I am also thinking there was something with two women on that short lived show with Mariel Hemmingway.
No Ellen reference?
I remember that being a pretty big deal when she "came out" on her show or whatever.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:53 pm to CocomoLSU
quote:
No Ellen reference?
Yeah, I thought of that, but that was more of a personal political act on the part of the real-life actress than it was part of the character itself, who, up to that time, had been presumed to be straight.
I also think there is a bit more resistance to the acceptance of gay men than there is to lesbians, but your point is valid, nonetheless....
I also didn't mentioned "The L Word" or "Queer as Folk"--which were actually gay-themed shows on cable targeted mostly at gays, themselves, which is a little different from "mainstream"
shows on "mainstream" networks......I mean, you can just flip the channel if you don't want to watch those shows, but you cannot avoid gay characters if you want to watch "Brothers and Sisters" or "Mad Men", even though some might prefer to.....
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:55 pm to NJReb
quote:
An interesting progression that reflects society's changing views and comfort levels and perceptions.......
See I don't think it reflects that at all. I think that's the precipitation they would like you to believe which is why you're seeing it pushed more and more as mainstream.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:56 pm to NJReb
quote:
"The L Word"
I'm not sure who this show is intended for. Lesbians tuning in will be offended or annoyed by the superficial depictions and nauseating dialog, and guys tuning in to see lesbians will be mostly disappointed.
The show is just terrible.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 2:58 pm to Towelie
quote:
"Omar's coming yo"
Omar changed the game for teh queers.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:00 pm to constant cough
quote:
See I don't think it reflects that at all. I think that's the precipitation they would like you to believe which is why you're seeing it pushed more and more as mainstream.
No, it is really just portraying people the way a certain proportion of the population actually live their lives......which has been sanitized out of TV and the movies as though it did not even exist as part of society.
It is perfectly natural that you are going to include people who are gay in TV shows if you are going to present a realistic view of the world that people can relate to........
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:03 pm to NJReb
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:03 pm to Muppet
quote:
I'm not sure who this show is intended for. Lesbians tuning in will be offended or annoyed by the superficial depictions and nauseating dialog, and guys tuning in to see lesbians will be mostly disappointed.
The show is just terrible.
I kind of liked it because it was the first of its kind, even if it was a little flawed. I have known very few lesbians personally, so I found it interesting to see their interactions portrayed in a TV show.
But you are right, straight guys tuning in to see women getting it on together would be very disappointed, even though several of the actresses are quite attractive.....there is not much portrayal of actual sex
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:06 pm to NJReb
quote:
It is perfectly natural that you are going to include people who are gay in TV shows if you are going to present a realistic view of the world that people can relate to........
I agree. But the gay population is a rather small one much smaller than portrayed by hollywood. Turn on tv and you'd swear half the population is gay.
Tv has become very Political Correct like that. There's always one gay friend, one black friend, one asian friend, one hispanic friend, etc.
Nothing wrong at all with having minority characters they just tend to be overrepresented.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:13 pm to constant cough
quote:
Nothing wrong at all with having minority characters they just tend to be overrepresented.
Not in terms of minority actors or actresses being hired or in terms of minority centered shows. What you get on TV is largely just tokenism in terms of minorities. You get as you described a gay, Asian, black, etc friend rather than shows that are made up of primarily of one minority.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:13 pm to constant cough
quote:
Nothing wrong at all with having minority characters they just tend to be overrepresented.
I think that is true with racial minorities, especially blacks, but not with gays. I mean, as of last year, USA Today reported that there were only 16 gay or bi characters on network TV across ALL shows. When you consider the hundreds of characters that exist, that is still a very small number.
On the other hand, it amazes me how every single program and every single commercial, it seems, has to have a racial minority in it. Every one. And that is most definitely not a reflection of real life, especially when it comes to people's personal lives. So some of that is definitely propaganda and is so excessive that I agree it is a bit annoying.
I laughed out loud the other day, in fact, because I actually saw a commercial with only white males in it--a DRUNK DRIVING commercial--all four of the people stopped were white males, no women, no minorities--except of course that one of the arresting officers was black.
Moral of the story, I guess, is that bad or irresponsible behavior should be the exclusive province of white males, even though nothing else should be......
Posted on 9/10/09 at 3:56 pm to NJReb
quote:
I remember the very first "gay" character on network television--on the short-lived series "Hot L Baltimore" back in the 70's--a flophouse for losers and the socially marginal (which it was assumed all gay people were at that time)
Did you forget about Billy Crystal's character on "Soap"? Pretty sure he was one of, if not the first gay character on a successful TV series.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 4:02 pm to NJReb
quote:
I think that is true with racial minorities, especially blacks, but not with gays.
How many shows have the majority of the cast made up by a minority? Tokenism does not equal overrepresented. If it is suppose to be a reflection of real life, races are not evenly distributed throughout the population. Rather than have the ideal mixed race cast, what you should see is some shows where the majority of the cast is of a certain ethnic group other than white.
Posted on 9/10/09 at 4:59 pm to MemphisTiger
quote:
This thread is GAY!
LOLOLOLOL
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