LGBT+ Moving Pictures

Disobedience

Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz in a romantic drama movie.

Disobedience is a new world movie and it is fresh. There are not a lot of lesbian movies that has an orthodox jewish theme. Disobedience touches a subject that are unknown to the general public. The sensibility that the two actresses offers is outstanding. The camera angle, the color palette and the sound opens the door for an intimacy with the characters. The dilemas are one that relate to everyones life, creating empathy for each characters.

I would recommend this movie 100%.

Colette

Keira Knightley in another period movie! Colette is a French novelist known for breaking barriers in the late 1800s till middle 1900s. Once a ghostwriter for her husband, she began to emacipate herself from him to finally write under her name instead of Willy. Writing was not her only talent as she became the first female mine. Pushed by friends she began to perfom in musicals.

This biopic came out the 21st September of 2018.

Check out the trailer!

Creating generative value

Representation in movies is what will bring awareness to people. Even though, there are several movies centered on the LGBT community the numbers are still low. Most movies have LGBT representations, but it is often satirical. In this post, I will explore furthermore the subject.

In this article, (https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/25/15690404/glaad-lgbtq-representation-film-not-getting-better) by Kaitlyn Tiffany, Hollywood is giving the impression that they are trying but they barely are. Every year, GLAAD releases a report on LGBTQ representation in movies nowadays, and the numbers are miserable. The numbers barely increased since 2015 and even worsen when divided into more specific demographics.

According to Kaitlyn Tiffany, the overall, representation of lesbian, gay, transgender, or queer characters was slightly higher in 2016 than 2015. Each year, the movie industry produces for a more diverse audience. We live in a consumerism society and frequently the producers listen to the audience’s requests. GLAAD reports that 18.4 percent of the industry’s top 125 films included a LGBTQ character. Yet, gay men are the most represented. There is still a monopoly of men characters. Movies with a female lead are often overshadowed by the actors as the characters development often revolve around them. Films with a transgender character played by a transgender actor/actress are starting to gain recognition. For example, in 2018 the movie ‘Una mujer fantastica’ won an Oscar and the main role was a transgender woman. And, transgendered men are underrepresented; there are barely movies or characters about them. Hollywood is still very patriarchal, most major studios are owned by upper-class Caucasian men.

Racial diversity in films with LGBTQ representation decreased in 2016. This shows the type of audience that the industry is targeting.

DISNEY PERFORMED THE WORST OF ALL THE MAJOR STUDIOS

Often LGBT characters are put in a box and only few attributes are given to them, they are basically there to fill up space. Disney often has a young target as an audience and they repeatedly uses this as an excuse to exclude lesbians, gays, queer or transgender persona.

To write a good character that will trigger empathy is the main issue with Hollywood. They must be willing to give chances to LGBTQ writers who already embodies the community to be as relevant as possible.

On the opposite, GLAAD found that the representation on TV is better than in cinema. Television put more emphasis on transgender and bisexual representation which are often forgotten by the industry.

Why Representation Matters?

The movie industry is a major part of the entertainment industry. Films form part of popular culture. The subject LGBT itself is problematic to talk about. The lack of representation is a reason why people are not aware of the diversity that exists. Nowadays, the movie industry includes LGBT characters in movies. The positive aspects is that they show diversity and the negative aspects is that they categorised the characters. Often when Hollywood have an LGBT character they hightlight this aspects of the character and it is usually what they only talk about; the character only exists because of its sexuality. The representation is important also to feel part of the society. When you see someone similar to you on screen you can identify to them and feel included. Representation shows that we exist and we are important. Educating people and expanding their point of views is what will make the things change. And Hollywood has such a huge range of audience that when a movie it can break taboo. The next post will support this argument!

There are different reasons why representation matters, what are your opinion? Comment Below why for you it is important!!

Introducing Your Topic

My blog is about reviewing movie. I love watching movies and as there are a ton of them I chose the ones with LGBT content as explained in my previous post. My post will principally be about the movies of this genres, but I might be sharing outside stuff concerning LGBT movements. With my blog post, the audience will be able to construct an opinion on different facet of LGBT. Through the blog post, visitors will see the diverse aspects of LGBT movies. The movie industry is one of the largest industries that exists. It has a been part of the society ever since its creation. Hollywood is the most lucrative film industry worldwide. (https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-film-industries-in-the-world.html ). Even though the industry generates billions every year the content they generate is mainstream. In other words, to sell a movie the story must please the general audience. And, the big productions company are often owned by people who wants to transmit their ideology which is often heteronormative. However, the industry nowadays tends to produce more LGBT movies as there is a shift in the audience. The industry is an old one and at some points ideas get remediated to satisfy the new viewers. It is a new wave that producers are surfing on to create. Gay characters changed from being overly girly hairdresser or fashion designer to leading masculine characters. One example is Brokeback Mountain; a movie where two cowboys fall in love. The film industry is breaking the stereotypes that he formed in the past. More healthy representation on latter are produced. LGBT movies are winning awards every year now and are increasing in popularity. (https://www.goldderby.com/gallery/22-great-lgbt-movies-that-won-oscars/ ). More and more well-known actors and actresses (Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, etc.) are willing to represent those characters and LGBT actors and actresses are not boycott anymore because of their sexuality. Same sex attractions and relationship always existed it is not a new concept invented; it even exists among animals who live accordingly to their instincts. The taboo around it was created and supported and to break through it true representation is in order. My blog post will be about the movies that their main plot revolves around LGBT characters. However, in most films of this genres the plot is the LGBT movement. I will take in any suggestion and my ask box will stay open for discussion!

Personal Interest

Hello visitors,

I chose this topic to promote the LGBT movies which I think most of them are underrated. I always been interested in movies; not any movies as I find some genres are more interesting than others. My topic is based on the LGBT community. I kind of always been aware of this community as family members are part of it. When I was approximately thirteen or fourteen; watching a TV, show called Glee I saw the bullying that faced a character and realized because of someone’s sexuality people can be horrible. This community has often been misinterpreted and thus more stereotypes are being created, I hope that my blog will break through some of them. The diversity of the community is why I feel appealed to create a blog on it. As someone who does not like discrimination this topic tie in. LGBT movies are very topical and as a cinema enthusiast, it gives me the opportunity to see movies about it. Nowadays, I feel like the LGBT community are breaking barriers as more and more movies and actors or actress are being nominated for awards and some of them even win. Seeing the representations and movements being created an online platform will help me monitor the changes occurring in the cinematography universe. By choosing this topic I hope that I can create awareness about how the LGBT community is categorized; actors and actresses are often offered only one type of role. After the recent event; anti pride manifestation that occurred in Mauritius; I realized that educating people about the latter is important because as we are still constructed to put people that are different aside. By talking about this genre of movies, I hope that I am uncovering issues that touches every society and even more Mauritius. With digitalization more and more LGBT movies are more accessible to me thus expanding my knowledge surrounding the topic. In Mauritius, this thematic is not really discussed therefore my blog will be a place where discussion can take place. What I want is to make this theme approachable to anyone who has questions. I want to trigger the interest of teenagers and young adults; the movies might reflect their stories. I also want to encourage Mauritian creators to make more films about this topic as there is not much local content. Every day breaking a new barrier about gender, sexuality and genres.

Avatar

The avatar that I chosen is a picture of myself as there is no better way show who I am and a rainbow. A picture of myself is symbolic as I support this cause and I hope it shows my commitment. The rainbow is a wink to the LGBT+ community as it is the color of their flag. Representation is what will make the subject less taboo and showing the colors will push visitors to be more curious and ask about the latter. I hope that I will be able to bring answers and create a positive movement!

Welcome !

Hello,

I am Ingrid, a twenty-year-old second-year student and this blog is dedicated to LGBT+ movies. This topic is about two things that I like movies and the LGBT+ community. Watching movies is one of my favorite things to do as one I can learn stuff here and there and second it is entertaining. I personally dislike inequality and it is revolting to see how this community have been mistreated and misunderstood. The LGBT community has faced a lot of stereotyping and nowadays they are more correctly represented in movies. A new genre of movies is being produced and I would like to talk about it on my blog!

Hope! That you enjoy