Sunday, December 1, 2013
Every Single Week (due by section meeting Wed.)
According to Anna McCarthy, ABC’s president, Robert A Iger, said of Ellen that it “became a program about a character who was gay every single week, and… that was too much for people.” McCarthy describes this perspective as maintaining the “fantasy of queer identity as something that can be switched on for special occasions” along with a “fear of a quotidian, ongoing lesbian life on television.” Since Ellen’s coming out episode in 1997, a number of queer characters, generally secondary characters, have appeared on both broadcast and cable television. Choose a program with a queer character from the 2000s that you are familiar with and examine whether or not that character’s relationship to their sexuality is truly serialized or only focused on during “special occasions,” whether to play up a particular stance on sexual identity or for eroticizing reasons.
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In the TV show “The Office”, Oscar is a gay accountant, though his identity is not alluded to until the second season, then brought to the attention of his coworkers in the beginning of the third season. Oscar is a tertiary character, often just in the background of scenes working or adding one-liners in large group settings. Though Oscar is a regular character, his sexuality really only comes out for special occasions, such as the episode where he is outed to the office and Michael kisses him to show that he is OK with homosexuality. His sexuality is usually the butt of jokes, especially early on. He tries to maintain a professional demeanor, though his “gayness” is usually brought up to make fun of him, or as his sole defining attribute by other members of the office. It is only in later seasons that his sexuality becomes more important to actual storylines, rather than just being used for a joke. When he gets involved with Angela’s closeted gay husband, his sexuality becomes a serialized issue, bringing up the stigma around being a gay man in politics, in Christianity, and in small towns. Not only does Oscar further develop as a character in later seasons, but his sexuality becomes more prominent. Rather than being used to fuel one-off jokes, it is instead central to a large, comedic plot.
ReplyDeleteIn the show, “Entourage”, Lloyd’s character as a gay assistant is introduced in the second season. Right off the bat, his sexual orientation is brought to light and is frequently made to be a joke. These jokes, though, are somehow delivered in a way that seems acceptable, even to the most politically correct viewer. The only character to use Lloyd’s sexuality as a joke is his boss, Ari Gold (the smartest, most powerful, and most intimidating talent agent in Hollywood). While many of his comments are quite awful to hear, they are never meant to be taken seriously. And despite him calling Lloyd a whole list of names, Ari Gold never comes across as homophobic. His foul language and pervasive actions are commonly directed at many people, not just Lloyd. And in the case of Lloyd, they can be seen as tools for motivation or intimidation regardless of their bad taste.
ReplyDeleteBecause almost every episode contains Lloyd and Ari together, almost every episode contains one or more reference to Lloyd’s gayness. I would therefore conclude that it is not used on “special occasions.” Nor, however, is it used to take a stance on sexual identity. It seems to be there merely as a character trait.
Sex and the City was an interesting hybrid of sexualities when it came to the early 2000’s because it had a queer character who was more of a minor character, who was queer all of the time, Stanfod – there never was question about his sexuality. There were also several storylines dedicated to him, leading him also on a quest for love, but having difficulties because he wasn’t your typical stud gay man. But what interested me most about this show was dealing with Samantha, one of the main female characters. Samantha didn’t define herself in terms of sexual identity, making a joke that she was “try-sexual: I’ll try everything once!” In season 4, which debuted in 2001, Samantha finds herself meeting an exotic lesbian artist and has a stable relationship with her for a few episodes. This wasn’t exactly a “special occasion” because the storyline was an arc that carried through for quite a few episodes. Yet it wasn’t exactly serialized, because once they broke up, it was never brought up again that she might have been queer. The show tackled a sensitive issue and brought to light what a healthy relationship might have been for Samantha, the serial anti-monogamist, but at the same time, it was brief and it was never brought up again. Sex and the City has always had quite a varied stance on sexuality, often showing both queer and straight characters, but even though they dared to be different every once in a while, at the end of each episode, things would go back to normal in Carrie’s heterosexual world.
ReplyDeleteDrama shows have often used a gay character in order to add more dynamics and as a source of tension for the show. Masters of Sex is no exception to this rule with their storylines based around Provost Barton Scully’s sexuality. Similar to its fellow period drama Mad Men, Masters of Sex uses a gay, secondary character to explore what it was like to be in the closet in the past. Scully’s sexuality is not brought out for “special occasions,” but instead used as main plot for many of the b stories in each week’s episode. Often they portray his meeting with a young male prostitute, however, they never show any details of their meetings and Scully’s sexuality is definitely not used for any eroticizing reasons but instead as a key dramatic portion of many of the episodes. Scully’s plotlines are heartbreaking as they also often involve his relations with his wife, which are strained and leave her confused, as he never reveals his true feelings to her, instead saying she is his best friend without further explanation. This can be seen as furthering support for gay rights as it produces audience empathy with the characters, making viewers wish that this emotional pain should not be placed on anyone.
ReplyDeleteScully’s sexuality may not brought out for only “special occasions,” but I still can’t help but feel sometimes it verges into another token gay character whose life revolves around his sexuality as a driving force for the drama rather than a truly rounded character. While I understand that he is a secondary character and his sexuality is clearly a point of much tension in his life, specifically because of the period the drama takes place, I still feel somewhat frustrated. It’s great to have more gay characters on TV but I wish that they weren’t used as often as simplistic plot points in order to add an easy source of drama to shows. However, I do appreciate Masters of Sex, as well as other period drama’s, inclusion of difference sexualities as it creates a more realistic depiction of sexuality in history and serves as a reminder that people have always had different sexual orientations, even if they weren’t represented in popular culture as often.
In 2006, ABC released two new shows that portrayed a plethora of complicated three-dimensional gay characters – Ugly Betty (2006 – 2010) and Brothers & Sisters (2006 – 2011). These shows both had significant main characters that were gay men. In Ugly Betty the gay men were typically portrayed as more stereotypical and flamboyant, but were also portrayed as empowered in opposition to the main character Betty. In my opinion, at least during the early episodes that I have seen, the gay characters seem to fulfill more of the “specialize occasion,” approach. In Brothers & Sisters, brother Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) was portrayed as a traditionally masculine, conservative, openly gay lawyer. Basically, he’s Will of Will & Grace, only on a family drama rather than a sitcom. However, although within his fictional family it is made clear that he is supported, accepted, and his sexuality serialized in the family, in the actual show, his sexuality is again emphasized on a “special occasion”-like basis.
ReplyDeleteGrey’s Anatomy (2005-present) seriously lagged behind ABC’s two standout gay-friendly series in their representation of LGBTQ characters. For the first few years, gay characters were only featured as one-off patients, and as an avid viewer, I would venture to say that maybe only 3 gay patients at the most were in the first 4 seasons of the show. However, in the season 4 finale, everything changes for Grey’s when series regular Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) kisses Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). There were issues within the fandom, as Erica Hahn was disliked by fans, and controversy brewed as in the next season Brooke Smith was fired from the show against creator Shonda Rhimes wishes, when “the suits had issues with where the characters were going.” The presentation of gay characters was both positive and flawed during Callie and Erica’s brief relationship, but overall it did seem rather “special occasion”-y as well.
HOWEVER, as the seasons progressed, the Callie Torres character’s newfound bisexuality did seem to become more serialized. And when an openly gay Dr. Arizona Robins (Jessica Capshaw) came on the scene in season 6, I would argue that the relationship that the two have on the show seems almost entirely serialized rather than offering up their sexuality as a “special occasion,” a stance on sexuality, or a stunt for shock. Occasionally, it comes up that the characters sexuality is an issue to a family member or patient, but only as often as the show address race or class issues. The characters went through struggles that the typical relationships on Grey’s must go through (break ups, cheating, professional rivalry, natural disasters, plane crash induced amputations, PTSD). But in addition to those struggles they also went through the same positives, such as marriage, children, family, etc. Overall, Shonda seems to have finally got it right for ABC in her representation of gay characters and couples being portrayed as equally important and equally complex as hetero characters without trivializing their sexuality.
Mitchell and Cameron on the sitcom “Modern Family” were introduced as a gay couple in the pilot episode. This was simply part of their characterization, not something that needed to be revealed to the audience via some grand announcement, like we saw in “Ellen”. Their sexuality is more prominent in some episodes than in others, but the fact that the two characters are in a romantic relationship with one another makes it difficult to ignore. Showing Cameron and Mitchell’s home life involves an acknowledgement of this, particularly in that they are raising their daughter together. Recently, they have been planning their wedding, which has taken place over the course of several episodes. Because of this, their relationship is central to the development of the plot and is often shown just as much as the marriages of the straight characters on the show. Jokes are sometimes made in reference to their sexual identity, but not in a way that criticizes it. Their relationship is simply accepted into the narrative and is fairly apparent in every episode. The fact that these characters are gay does not really seem to be the point of the plot, though. They often face a lot of problems and mishaps comparable to those of the straight characters, although their sexuality is not ignored. This is much more of a serialized sexuality than what we saw in “Ellen”.
ReplyDeleteOne show that I feel has more of a contemporary comment on homosexuality is “Modern Family.” Mitchell and Cameron are a gay couple who are raising a child, and the sexuality of their relationship is made clear in every episode. Their homosexuality is not a shock or problem to anyone within their family except for Mitchell’s father - who is clearly not from a time period where homosexuality is casually dealt with – and even he seems to have come to terms (for the most part) to the sexual identity of his son.
ReplyDeleteThe sexuality of Mitchell and Cameron’s relationship is absolutely serialized because whenever either one of them appear in an episode (which is rather frequently), the sexuality is implied, but in a normal way. The narrative of the heterosexual people is very similar to the narrative of the homosexual people in the show; Mitchell and Cameron aren’t facing problems that have to do with oppression or prejudice due to their sexuality, they face problems that a person would face. “Modern Family” lives up to its title in that it is commentary on modern day lifestyles, and within the middle/upper-middle class lifestyle these people live, homosexuality doesn’t seem to be a large issue.
I think the overall progression of incorporating gay characters in television has improved over time, but there are definitely still improvements that can be made in terms of stereotypical situations that gay characters are put in. The particular television show that I want to focus on is “The Office”. In the show, we don’t find out that Oscar is actually gay until the end of season two. Before this point, I don’t think there were any real indications that Oscar was gay. I think this is something that can be seen as positive, because Oscar is not playing into the stereotypes that are associated with gay men. I also think the Office successfully introduced Oscar’s homosexuality, because it’s not like his sexuality was disregarded until the writers decided he was gay. I think Oscar was not really a main character in the beginning series, and as the audience got to know Oscar more, they were eventually introduced to his sexuality. However, I think the way that Michael interacts with Oscar and his sexual orientation shows the ignorance that some people have about being gay. I think this was successful, because the way that Michael interacts with Oscar brings laughs to the audience for how ridiculous he is acting. Instead of Michael being seen as a homophobe that people can relate to, he is being made fun of for his attitude and seen as an idiot for the way he acts with Oscar. I think this is a good message from the writers of the show because they’re relaying the message that everyone in the office is fine with Oscar’s sexual orientation besides Michael, who is known for being stupid.
ReplyDeleteOn the television show Archer there is an openly gay character named Ray Gillette. His character is an interesting one because his homosexuality is both serialized and sensationalized. From his first introduction he is depicted as effeminate and there are several instances in which he depicts “gay” behavior, such as having an interest in fashion and being sassy. He is also constantly being harassed about his homosexuality by his coworkers (his boss constantly calls him Miss Gillette) but for all of that, his homosexuality is never the focus of the show. There was one episode where he was forced to pretend he was married to his female coworker so that he could go home to his homophobic family and yet somehow that episode focused more on drug laws than on Ray’s homosexuality. Furthermore, while Ray may be constantly mocked for his sexual orientation but he gives as good as he gets. Every character on that show has some aspect of themselves that is mocked relentlessly by the other characters, and so rather than having Ray being a subordinated gay character, he is actually being depicted as equal to his peers. In addition to this, Ray breaks free of stereotypes as much as he represents them. Ray may be effeminate but he’s also a special ops agent; he’s both tough and manly as well as effeminate. I definitely think that Ray’s sexual orientation is not being used in the show to make a particular stance or for eroticizing reasons, in fact I think his homosexuality is one of the better examples of serialized sexuality in television.
ReplyDelete[OITNB Spoilers]
ReplyDeleteNetflix’s “Orange is the New Black” often addresses issues of queer sexuality. Piper, the show's main character, has a history of romantic relations with both male and female partners. A main plotline of the series follows her long-distance relationship with her male fiancée while surrounded by the all-female inmates of the Litchfield Federal Prison.
Throughout the season, Piper's sexuality, as well as the sexuality of most of the supporting characters, is continually explored. Piper is almost constantly faced with a choice to make regarding her bisexuality. She begins to have feelings for her ex-girlfriend (a fellow inmate), again, even though she is engaged to her male fiancée.
In addition to Piper, there are numerous other queer and heterosexual relationships portrayed in the show. This is also the first show I’ve watched that portrays a trans-gender woman in a prominent role. These depictions are a very regular occurrence in the show – I ’d wager they account for around half of the many plotlines – and are completely integrated into the fabric of the series.
One of my favorite exchanges in Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" takes place between two supporting characters as they discuss Piper, the show's protagonist. In one of my favorite dialogue enhances of the series, Piper’s fiancée, after learning of Piper’s current affair with her ex-girlfriend, asks Piper’s brother, "So, what? Is she gay now?" Sitting across from him, Piper’s brother responds, "I’m going to go ahead and guess that one of the issues here is your need to say that a person is exactly anything."