GLAAD: `Bruno’ reinforces negative gay stereotypes

[WillParkinson]

GLAAD: `Bruno’ reinforces negative gay stereotypes

(Los Angeles) The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said that “Bruno,” the new film starring Sacha Baron Cohen, reinforces negative stereotypes and “decreases the public’s comfort with gay people.”

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios, who saw the film Friday, said that “the movie was a well-intentioned series of sketches - some hit the mark and some hit the gay community pretty hard and reinforce some damaging, hurtful stereotypes.”

<snipe>

Universal Pictures, which released “Bruno,” sought GLAAD’s input on the film and invited staff members to advance screenings, Barrios said.

<snip>

The organization “shared a number of concerns, and unfortunately, the scenes that we had the biggest concerns about remained in the film,” Barrios said.

One such scene shows Bruno in a hot tub with his adopted infant son and two naked men involved in a sex act.


http://www.365gay.com/news/glaad-bruno-reinforces-negative-gay-stereotypes/

[sui generis]

1. so does Madea

Nobody views Bruno as a documentary on gay culture.

I refuse to be outraged.

[WillParkinson]

2. It's OK not to be outraged...

But it's also OK for people to be outraged.

We don't know what other people think. After years of hearing the tales of how gay sex included gerbils, casual sex, etc some people will find this film to be everything they always claimed being gay was about.

I won't see the movie. It's not my type of humor (I'm more of a Beautiful People on BBC type). I do not begrudge anyone who views it differently, though.

[imdjh]

3. Jack McFarland was a ditzy shallow bitchy nelly self-centered vain slut.

And the actor who played him was ridiculously "coy" about his sexual orientation. But all in all, he was an amusing and lovable character without whom Will & Grace would have been Mad About You with a minor twist.

Brian Kinney used meth, ecstasy, pot and assorted other drugs on just about every episode as he fucked his way through the local disco and bathhouse. All of his friends more or less did the same thing despite being lovable (except Michael who was annoying) characters.

[GodlessBiker]

4. The problem is the lack of LGBT characters in film. If this were just...

one portrayal of a gay character among many regular characters in media who were doctors, presidents, lawyers, fathers, truck drivers, aunts, sales people, small business people, and all the other kinds of people a gay character could be, then this one portrayal of a gay man wouldn't seem to stand out so much.

I think Bruno can be analogized to Lincoln Perry, a/k/a Stepin Fetchit. Mr. Fetchit was clearly a big personality, certainly extremely talented, the first African American millionaire film star, and a trailblazer in his day, but his characterization of African Americans still leaves a bad taste in many mouths particularly because, I think, there weren't too many other portrayals of African Americans on the screen at that time.

[imdjh]

7. True, numbers bring context and proportion.

Stepin Fetchit was probably most popular because he was an animated character instead of a loyal servant or noble background figure. Mammy O'Hara was kind of all three: loyal servant, noble background figure, and comic on stereotype.

I think the first realistic and complex black character I remember in film was Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson in Imitation of Life 1959. That movie covered some serious ground without being preachy. I saw it on TV, so it must have been 8-10 years old by then (1968), but it was still relevant.

[izquierdista]

8. What movies do you go to?

I remember when 'Making Love' came out in 1982, and it had believable gay characters in it. Cohen's taste in comedy is that of a purulent anal discharge. I expect his next movie to be a feature length adaptation of 'Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs'. If you thought it was too crude to be funny anymore, Borat will take you back in time.

[GodlessBiker]

9. Yes, 1982. And there was Brokeback and several others. My Beautiful Launderette is my favorite...

These movies come out every few years and are talked about, quite often, because they are so rare.

[tavalon]

13. Okay, that's twice in one week I've heard the name of that movie

Time to see it. One of my partners says he loved it because it had gay characters but the plot was around them being gay.

[GodlessBiker]

14. And it was positive and life affirming. Daniel Day Lewis was so very good in it.

[tavalon]

12. So true

I went to see his last movie and laughed but was horrified. I had already decided to skip this one.

[jeremyfive]

5. Gay Made Films Oppressive, Too

Did anybody see "Another Gay Movie" or "Another Gay Sequel"?

I was writhing uncomfortably in both of those because of the viscious stereotyping, and these were gay-made.

[imdjh]

6. Or just plain bad.

That movie about the guy who went to work in P-Town for the summer was awful.

[DarkTirade]

11. I tried to watch the first one.

About five minutes in I hit the little x in the corner of the screen. It was just bad. On every conceivable level.

[Fearless]

10. Oh yes, and movies like brokeback mountain provided such a positive image

of the GLBTQ community. (Continuing to be in a straight relationship with children while still wandering off in the woods and screwing like rabbits. A very positive stereotype, indeed!) In reality their outrage can be filed much more under political correctness than actually righteous dissent. Sorry, no dice.

[allanrbrts]

15. Bruno enforces the stereotypes

At a time when we are finally seeing progress, this horrible movie comes out which only causes those on the fence of gay rights to shy away. We have to do things that approach these people in positive ways, not negative ones which shove gay stereotypes down their throats.