Retracing gay and lesbian representation on screen, along with the impact it has had on viewers, since the start of cinema until this documentary’s release date in 1986.

There are many great aspects to this documentary, which I really do highly recommend watching. One great aspect is: it’s free to watch on YouTube, and you can find it by clicking HERE.

The film is narrated by Lily Tomlin, who later starred in Grace and Frankie (which I wrote about here). I think her opening is a great way to introduce the topics. It reads as follows:

In 100 years of movies, homosexuality has only been rarely depicted on the screen. When it did appear, it was there as something to laugh at. Or something to pity. Or even something to fear. These were fleeting images, but they were unforgettable, and they left a lasting legacy. Hollywood – that great maker of myths – taught straight people what to think about gay people, and gay people what to think about themselves.

Tomlin’s narration goes on to categorise the shifting depictions of gay people over time, some of which includes the sissy, the villain, the person who ‘gets what’s coming for them’ (usually suicide or death at the hands of another), and so on, as Hollywood tended to propagate. It’s not all bleak though; it does instill a sense of optimism to note the direction underway at the time of this documentary’s release (1986): namely, our ability to see ourselves reflected on the screen.

All of this evokes the questions as to where we have gone since then, and what directions will stories in films take in the future from now in 2022. Some complain much of gay content has become aligned with ‘wokeness’, the latter of which actually spans a much larger scope than gay stories and, though at times they may align, is a distinct thing. Or at least that’s how I think it is, and hope it continues to be so.

What is essential, is that we see mirrors of ourselves to at least some extent. This is a reason I find it pathetic that older gay male characters, in the few things they appear in, are practically always asexualised. But this is also a reason this documentary is so riveting. As I can remember the impact snippets of gay scenes in film and television had on me as a child, before I had ever even acted on my homosexuality, as I nevertheless knew they were talking about me, and that stopped me in my tracks like I was looking into the lights of an oncoming train about to hit me off them. And the last sentence of Tomlin’s introduction to this film, that I omitted above in order to include here, on the topic of Hollywood, is: No-one escaped its influence.

I hope you enjoy this film and find significance in it. And there are things that may surprise you! I was certainly taken aback to learn of gay aspects in Ben Hur (as discussed by the screenwriter himself) that I had never given any thought to. You can find that snippet of the film by clicking HERE. Do let me know what you think in the comments below (anonymously or otherwise).