Paper Three

Popular film throughout history has been an industry run under both white and heterosexual ideals. It was not until the late sixties when both the civil rights movement and the feminist movement came into the political arena that film began to receive critical response. In the late seventies and early eighties when gay and lesbian studies started to emerge, people began to also critique films in reference to the portrayal of homosexuals and personal identity.

The film industry up until these movements had been quite stagnant and set in Eurocentric ideals. This strongly affected the portrayal of characters in films to be portrayed as "less than" if anything different than white and straight. When the Racial, Feminist, and Homosexual interventions began to emerge, awareness about these issues was a gradual process. Author Franz Fanon was a leader in critiquing the Eurocentric ideals of the film industry, both in his writings and films. He was well respected for his
efforts and achievements. Fanon’s films went on to be criticized as sexist and homophobic. People not only wanted a racial awakening in film, they wanted a radical movement, which would entail respect and equality in general.

Marlon Riggs was a strong voice in the fight for equal rights for homosexuals. He looked to the media and it’s portrayal of gays, particularly Black gay men, as a mirror of the social and cultural stereotypes that were held for these groups. Riggs talked about the verbal assaults that began to emerge towards Black gay men in films, comedy acts, and on television. Films began to mock gay males in particular by appropriating "gay" gestures such as "the snap", and overall portraying gays as being campy, weak, and silly. On page 1 of the Black Macho Revisited, Riggs writes this about his personal response to these jokes made against the gay community, "I am consigned, by these tenants, to remain a Negro Faggot. As such I am game for play, to be used, joked about, put down, beat, slapped, and bashed, not just by illiterate homophobic thugs in the night, but by Black American culture’s best and brightest." Marlon Riggs went on to make his own films, which today are respected and honored, while still being censored and bashed.

In an industry where Eurocentric ideals are portrayed in all of its products, it was and still is a difficult area for people of racial and sexual minority to receive the respect that the people of their communities deserve. The reading this week speaks about the movements and some of the leaders that fought for equality during this time. It is important to know about these movements because then we can see how we as a society have progressed and how we have not. Studying these movements and leaders makes
it apparent that it takes a great deal of responsibility to be a filmmaker. It is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.