DOCSLIB.ORG

Internalized Homophobia of the Queer Cinema Movement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Internalized Homophobia of the Queer Cinema Movement San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2010 If I Could Choose: Internalized Homophobia of the Queer Cinema Movement James Joseph Flaherty San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Flaherty, James Joseph, "If I Could Choose: Internalized Homophobia of the Queer Cinema Movement" (2010). Master's Theses. 3760. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.tqea-hw4y https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3760 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IF I COULD CHOOSE: INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA OF THE QUEER CINEMA MOVEMENT A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by James J. Flaherty May 2010 © 2010 James J. Flaherty ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled IF I COULD CHOOSE: INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA OF THE QUEER CINEMA MOVEMENT by James J. Flaherty APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TELEVISION, FILM, RADIO AND THEATRE SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2010 Dr. Alison McKee Department of Television, Film, Radio and Theatre Dr. David Kahn Department of Television, Film, Radio and Theatre Mr. Scott Sublett Department of Television, Film, Radio and Theatre ABSTRACT IF I COULD CHOOSE: INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA OF THE QUEER CINEMA MOVEMENT By James J. Flaherty This thesis offers a critical examination of essentialist and constructionist theories of queer identities, with emphasis focused on portrayals of internalized homophobia in film. The thesis examines three films released at the latter part of the first New Queer Cinema movement (1991 – 2000) – American Beauty (1999), Urbania (2000) and Velvet Goldmine (1998). Using criticisms of Queer as performativity, as theorized by Judith Butler, in addition to the works of Gregory M. Herek, Harry M. Benshoff, Jeffrey Weeks, as well as other theorists and academics, the thesis analyzes the use of characterization, mise-en-scene, and spatial and temporal relationships in these films as consideration for social, cultural, and psychological influences on the development of internalized homophobia in queer identities. The thesis also examines how these identities under discussion may have sustained or bolstered commonly held perceptions, or stereotypes, attributed to the behaviors and mannerisms of homosexual men during the time period. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction I. Variations on a Theme: Social Theories on Queer Identities.............................. 1 II. Butching Up: How Hegemony, Heterosexism and Homophobia Induce Gender Performativity .................................................................................... 11 III. The First New Queer Cinema Movement (1991-2000).................................. 19 IV. Methodology................................................................................................... 23 V. Films for Study................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 2: Structure and Discipline: American Beauty and the State of Suburban Conformity I. Looking Closer: Screenwriter Alan Ball and Life Behind Things .................... 30 II. Character Analysis: Jim and Jim...................................................................... 37 III. Character Analysis: Colonel Frank Fitts, USMC ........................................... 40 Chapter 3: Hear Any Good Stories Lately?: Dissolving Myth and Reality in Urbania I. John Shear and a Study of Controlled Urban Sexuality .................................... 49 II. Character Analysis: Dean................................................................................. 57 Chapter 4: Velvet Goldmine and the Death of Glitter I. Todd Haynes and the Mythology of Gay Style ................................................. 66 II. Character Analysis: Arthur Stuart.................................................................... 73 III. Character Analysis: Brian Slade / Tommy Stone ........................................... 81 Chapter 5: Assessing the Critical Receptions of American Beauty, Urbania and Velvet Goldmine I. A Model For Social Reception: Benshoff’s Assessment of The Talented Mr. Ripley................................................................................... 89 II. American Beauty ............................................................................................. 93 III. Urbania........................................................................................................... 96 IV. Velvet Goldmine.............................................................................................. 99 Chapter 6: Conclusion.................................................................................................... 105 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 109 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I. Variations on a Theme: Social Theories on Queer Identities In a 1998 interview with The New York Times, Eve Kosofsky Sedgewick, one of the leading Queer theorists of the 1990s, stated that among the social, political and academic problems in accepting Queer theory was the debate that “one cannot understand desire and repression without understanding gender, [and therefore], sexual practice and sexual identity” (Turner 4). Sedgewick, along with Judith Butler and Teresa de Lauretis, laid much of the groundwork for the emerging field of Queer in the 1990s, noting its inextricable place among discussions of politics, desire, sexuality and representation. According to William Turner, author of A Genealogy of Queer Theory, it was de Lauretis who was first credited with use of the term “queer” while describing “her own [personal] intellectual endeavors [in juxtaposition with women’s political issues]” (4). She was questioning the ability of women to represent themselves through a language and conceptual framework created by men, but “in a social and political order, [that took] little account of [them]” (5). As such, Queer owes much of its derivation, if not the majority, to feminist political and scholarly activities as compared to gay political and scholarly activities. Queer is a conceptualization that takes the notion of grounded, centered identities and challenges how society arrives at such identities, all in an effort to question society’s preordainment of specified gender roles and orientation. In a sociological context, Queer describes an “oxymoronic community of difference” (Benshoff 63). The rapidly growing study of persons who self-identify as gay and/or lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transvestite, drag queen, leather daddy, lipstick 1 lesbian, pansy, fairy, dyke, butch, femme, feminist, asexual, or other non- heteronormative identities, prompted “an [increased] deployment of the [umbrella] term ‘queer’” (Jagose 1). Queer theory “offers methods of imagining difference on its own terms” (Francis 74), yet traditional analytical models only succeed in “[dramatizing] incoherencies in the allegedly stable relations between chromosomal sex, gender and sexual desire” (Jagose 1). Additionally, Queer theorists are credited with “consistently [celebrating] the unformed, inchoate, provisional character [of ‘queer’]” (Turner 9). Queer theory lends itself to the defiance of heteronormative gender and sexual identity standards, and among some theorists, is considered the epitome of authentic resistance and nonconformity. Because the fundamentals of Queer are so diverse and undefined, several philosophical debates have been posited to come to an understanding of “queer.” Queer theorists view conformity as an acceptance of “straight” gender and sexual roles, and largely against the progressive nature of “queer.” By contrast, gay and lesbian studies predominantly involve the analysis of “gay” and “lesbian” social and anthropological models, and is also regarded by Queer theorists as more defined, less amorphous, and thus contradictory to the fluidity and ambiguity of Queer. Queer constitutes a challenge to the foundations of heteronormativity. This is the essence of Queer activism – a defiance, if not an unruly determination, set upon “dismantling the oppressive assumptions of heterocentrist discourse” (Benshoff 64). That which is embraced by Queer theorists is therefore empowered with unacknowledged values otherwise disregarded by what is considered “non-queer.” 2 The History of Sexuality, written by French philosopher and theorist Michel Foucault, is considered among the definitive studies of gender and sexual development, and has been critical to the development of queer and feminist thought. Foucault’s interest in the ordainment of personal truths led to the belief that “individuals governed themselves and each other using the truths that they so derived” (Turner 37). Therefore, personal truths, being unique to the individual, were seen as “an expression of an individual’s psyche” (Sullivan 3). Foucault’s writings on early sexual discourses suggest they were “imbued with age-old delusions, but also with systemic blindnesses” (Foucault 55), stemming from a refusal by doctors and authority
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hypersexuality in Neurological Disorders
    HYPERSEXUALITY IN NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS NATALIE AHMAD MAHMOUD TAYIM A thesis submitted to the Institute of Neurology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) University College London January 2019 Declaration of originality I, Natalie Ahmad Mahmoud Tayim, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. _________________________________ Natalie Ahmad Mahmoud Tayim ii Abstract The issue of hypersexuality in neurological disorders is grossly underreported. More research has been done into sexual dysfunction (outside of hypersexuality) in neurological disorders such as erectile dysfunction and hyposexuality (loss of libido). Furthermore, in Parkinson’s disease research, most mention of hypersexuality has been in conjunction with other impulse control disorders and has therefore not been examined in depth on its own. Although in recent years hypersexuality has become more recognized as an issue in research, there is still very limited information regarding its manifestations, impact, and correlates. It is therefore important to explore this area in detail in order to broaden understanding associated with this sensitive issue. Perhaps in doing so, barriers will be broken and the issue will become more easily discussed and, eventually, more systematically assessed and better managed. This thesis aims to serve as an exploratory paper examining prevalence, clinical phenomenology, impact, and potential feasible psychological interventions for hypersexuality in patients with neurological disorders and their carers. The thesis is divided into three main studies: 1. Study I: systematic review assessing prevalence, clinical phenomenology, successful treatment modalities, implicated factors contributing to the development, and assessment tools for hypersexuality in specific neurological disorders.
    [Show full text]
  • Melodrama, Sickness, and Paranoia: Todd Haynes and the Womanâ•Žs
    University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ScholarWorks @ UTRGV Literatures and Cultural Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations College of Liberal Arts Winter 2016 Melodrama, Sickness, and Paranoia: Todd Haynes and the Woman’s Film Linda Belau The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Ed Cameron The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/lcs_fac Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Modern Literature Commons Recommended Citation Belau, L., & Cameron, E. (2016). Melodrama, Sickness, and Paranoia: Todd Haynes and the Woman’s Film. Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal 46(2), 35-45. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/643290. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts at ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. It has been accepted for inclusion in Literatures and Cultural Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Film & History 46.2 (Winter 2016) MELODRAMA, SICKNESS, AND PARANOIA: has so much appeal precisely for its liberation from yesterday’s film culture? TODD HAYNES AND THE WOMAN’S FILM According to Mary Ann Doane, the classical woman’s film is beset culturally by Linda Belau the problem of a woman’s desire (a subject University of Texas – Pan American famously explored by writers like Simone de Beauvoir, Julia Kristeva, Helene Cixous, and Ed Cameron Laura Mulvey). What can a woman want? University of Texas – Pan American Doane explains that filmic conventions of the period, not least the Hays Code restrictions, prevented “such an exploration,” leaving repressed material to ilmmaker Todd Haynes has claimed emerge only indirectly, in “stress points” that his films do not create cultural and “perturbations” within the film’s mise artifacts so much as appropriate and F en scène (Doane 1987, 13).
    [Show full text]
  • Sexualized Spaces Revisited
    Queerspace: Sexualized spaces revisited Queer a formerly pejorative term reclaimed by nonheterosexual and/or antihomophobic subjects, signifies an open, multiperspectival, and fluid--if slippery--conceptual space from Diepiriye Sungumote Kuku-Siemons which to contest more effectively a heteronormative and heterosexist social order. (Martin and Piggford 1997) (Przestrzeń odmieńcza: znowu w miejscach seksualnie Space freedom nacechowanych) Greenspace STRESZCZENIE: Snując rozważania wokół doświadczeń, na Parmindar and I first met one Sunday evening at Nehru Park. It is an jakie endemiczna i powszechna homofobia narażała go przez cały expansive park, complete with a kidney bean shaped lake, large, okres dzieciństwa na południu Stanów Zjednoczonych, ta osobista smooth boulders, lightly forested acreages, rolling hills of trimmed opowieść autorki/-a rozpoczyna się w momencie, gdy odnalazł/-a green grass, healthy green foliage, whirling cement and pierwszego sojusznika w najmniej oczekiwanym miejscu. Jego well-treaded paths throughout. The roads on all sides are wide in najlepszej przyjaciółce jako pierwszej w całej klasie zaczęły rosnąć both directions, reducing the standard honking and buzz of auto piersi i wydawało się, że świat się dla niej zawalił, podobnie jak cały rickshaws of Delhi traffic. Anyway, the park sits on the edge of the świat odwrócił od niego z powodu jego zniewieściałości. Ta sparsely populated diplomatic area; the park is unusually tranquil opowieść w pierwszej osobie jest pierwszym rozdziałem książki and manicured for its size in this city. It was pitch dark, indicating that traktującej o płci kulturowej, rasie i klasie na południu Stanów the police would soon abruptly arrive to close the area. The park is Zjednoczonych, w połączeniu z krytyczną refleksją osoby open until 8PM in the cooler months and till 9PM during the six months z mniejszości etnicznej, która przemierzyła świat i zamieszka po of summer.
    [Show full text]
  • LGBTQ in Social Studies Curriculum
    _____________________________________________________________________________ Educator Affect: LGBTQ in Social Studies Curriculum _____________________________________________________________________________ Corrie R. Block, Bellarmine University Abstract Space has been opened to question heteronormativity and to address the assumption that each student in k-12 schools identifies as heterosexual. Is anything happening in this space? What affective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs do teachers who teach LGBTQ+ topics demonstrate? Conversely, what affective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs prevent teachers from teaching LGBTQ+ topics? These questions guided this qualitative research study. Data were collected with document analysis, interviews and measures of affect. This study measures affect by exploring the attitudes of teachers who include or do not include LGBTQ+ within social studies courses. Particular focus was given to teachers who imple- ment course content that relates to LGBTQ+ civil rights within socio-historic contexts. For this study, educator affect means the emotions that influence whether to or not to include LGBTQ+ in middle and secondary school social studies curriculum. Keywords: LGBTQ+; heteronormativity; social studies curriculum; affective measurement Middle and high schools within the United States are largely heteronormative in nature—privi- leging heterosexual practices and assuming students identify as heterosexual (Cohen, 2005). School heteronormativity is maintained by excluding anything outside of heterosexuality. Heter- onormativity goes beyond dislikes or prejudices against those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, by thoroughly permeating the school culture (Berlant & Warner, 2000). Sexuality tends not to be acknowledged as an area of diversity within schools. Even though the National Council for the Social Studies states “diversity and inclusiveness,” are core values, J. B. Mayo, Jr.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer Classic Film Series, Now in Its 43Rd Year
    Austin has changed a lot over the past decade, but one tradition you can always count on is the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, now in its 43rd year. We are presenting more than 110 films this summer, so look forward to more well-preserved film prints and dazzling digital restorations, romance and laughs and thrills and more. Escape the unbearable heat (another Austin tradition that isn’t going anywhere) and join us for a three-month-long celebration of the movies! Films screening at SUMMER CLASSIC FILM SERIES the Paramount will be marked with a , while films screening at Stateside will be marked with an . Presented by: A Weekend to Remember – Thurs, May 24 – Sun, May 27 We’re DEFINITELY Not in Kansas Anymore – Sun, June 3 We get the summer started with a weekend of characters and performers you’ll never forget These characters are stepping very far outside their comfort zones OPENING NIGHT FILM! Peter Sellers turns in not one but three incomparably Back to the Future 50TH ANNIVERSARY! hilarious performances, and director Stanley Kubrick Casablanca delivers pitch-dark comedy in this riotous satire of (1985, 116min/color, 35mm) Michael J. Fox, Planet of the Apes (1942, 102min/b&w, 35mm) Humphrey Bogart, Cold War paranoia that suggests we shouldn’t be as Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Crispin (1968, 112min/color, 35mm) Charlton Heston, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad worried about the bomb as we are about the inept Glover . Directed by Robert Zemeckis . Time travel- Roddy McDowell, and Kim Hunter. Directed by Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre.
    [Show full text]
  • Queer Studies Concentration Brochure
    QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION Rachel Cooper Hall Second floor Campus Box 4260 Normal, IL 61790 Phone: (309) 438-2947 WGS.IllinoisState.edu This document is available in alternative formats upon request by contacting (309) 438-2947. An equal opportunity/affirmative action university encouraging diversity university marketing and communications 18-5631 printed on recycled paper REQUIREMENTS FOR THE QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION The queer studies concentration requires 12 credit hours of course work (four courses), which include three core courses and one elective. The concentration may be taken either within the WGS minor or as a stand-alone concentration independent of the minor. You may begin the concentration at any time, although we strongly recommend that students begin the sequence by first completing WGS 120 and complete WGS 292 before enrolling in WGS 392. The core courses are: • WGS 120: Gender, Sex, and Power • WGS 292: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies • WGS 392: Queer and Transgender Theory One additional elective may be chosen from the following list of approved courses: • ANT 270: Anthropology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality • PHI 202: Sex, Values, and Human Nature • POL 337: Gay and Lesbian Political Theory WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM • PSY/SOC 123: Human Sexuality QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION • Seminars and topics courses with at least 50 percent queer/ sexuality content may be subwaivered into the sequence with The Women’s and Gender Studies’ (WGS) queer studies permission of the WGS advisor. concentration is an option for students wanting to enhance their understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, * The concentration will not appear on a student’s transcript.
    [Show full text]
  • Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge About Homosexuality, 1920–1970
    Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge About Homosexuality, 1920–1970 The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Lvovsky, Anna. 2015. Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge About Homosexuality, 1920–1970. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17463142 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge about Homosexuality, 1920–1970 A dissertation presented by Anna Lvovsky to The Committee on Higher Degrees in the History of American Civilization in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History of American Civilization Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2015 © 2015 – Anna Lvovsky All rights reserved. Advisor: Nancy Cott Anna Lvovsky Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge about Homosexuality, 1920–1970 Abstract This dissertation tracks how urban police tactics against homosexuality participated in the construction, ratification, and dissemination of authoritative public knowledge about gay men in the
    [Show full text]
  • A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric Antron D
    University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class Volume 19 | Issue 1 Article 3 When the Spirit Says Dance: A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric Antron D. Mahoney Heather Brydie Harris Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc Recommended Citation Antron D. Mahoney, & Heather B. Harris, When the Spirit Says Dance: A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric, 19 U. Md. L.J. Race Relig. Gender & Class 7 (). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol19/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Academic Journals at DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MAHONEY & HARRIS WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS DANCE: A QUEER OF COLOR CRITIQUE OF BLACK JUSTICE DISCOURSE IN ANTI-TRANSGENDER POLICY RHETORIC ANTRON D. MAHONEY* HEATHER BRYDIE HARRIS** INTRODUCTION In a closed-door forum on July 11, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions invoked Martin Luther King, Jr. in a speech given to and in support of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti- LGBT religious freedom group responsible for crafting many early anti- transgender bathroom bills.1 Employing King, Sessions parallels the ra- cial civil rights struggle of the past to the current “important work” of the ADF—by representing a divine moral right that he suggests be pro- tected by the state.2 Besides the personal criticism of Sessions’ civil rights record by Coretta Scott King when he was nominated for federal judgeship in 1986,3 Sessions’ deployment of King seems paradoxical on © 2019 Antron D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emotional Content of Sexual Fantasies, Psychological and Interpersonal Distress, and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2017 Women’s Sexual Fantasies in Context: The Emotional Content of Sexual Fantasies, Psychological and Interpersonal Distress, and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships Sarah Constantine The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2162 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] i Women’s Sexual Fantasies in Context: The Emotional Content of Sexual Fantasies, Psychological and Interpersonal Distress, and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships By Sarah Constantine A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2017 ii © 2017 SARAH CONSTANTINE All Rights Reserved iii Women’s Sexual Fantasies in Context: The Emotional Content of Sexual Fantasies, Psychological and Interpersonal Distress, and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships By Sarah Constantine This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. May 16th, 2017 Margaret Rosario ___________________________________________ Chair of Examining Committee Richard Bodnar ___________________________________________ Executive Officer Supervisory Committee Diana Diamond Lissa Weinstein Diana Puñales Steven Tuber THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract Women’s Sexual Fantasies in Context: The Emotional Content of Sexual Fantasies, Psychological and Interpersonal Distress, and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships by Sarah Constantine The Graduate Center and City College, City University of New York Adviser: Margaret Rosario, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Agenda of Todd Haynes's Far from Heaven Niall Richardson, University of Sunderland, UK
    Poison in the Sirkian System: The Political Agenda of Todd Haynes's Far From Heaven Niall Richardson, University of Sunderland, UK Certainly Haynes's work does qualify as queer, but in the traditional sense of the word: unusual, strange, disturbing. (Wyatt, 2000: 175) Haynes "queers" heterosexual, mainstream narrative cinema by making whatever might be familiar or normal about it strange, and in the process hypothesising alternatives that disrupt its integrity and ideological cohesiveness. (DeAngelis, 2004: 41) Todd Haynes is one of the most controversial directors of contemporary cinema. From his student film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), to his most controversial, Poison (1991), Haynes has continually challenged spectators' expectations by making the familiar appear unfamiliar and evoking a sense of the unusual, strange, or "queer" within everyday lives. Committed to an agenda of political filmmaking, Haynes's films not only subvert Hollywood's storytelling conventions and assail the spectator with challenging images (especially Poison) but also ask the spectator to acknowledge the alienation of minority groups from mainstream society. It would, therefore, seem odd that Haynes should have recently directed Far From Heaven (2002), a homage to the melodramas of the 1950s. Unlike Haynes's other films -- Superstar, Poison, Dottie Gets Spanked (1993), Safe (1995) and Velvet Goldmine (1998) -- Far From Heaven is Haynes's first "commercial" success, popular with both mainstream audiences and critics. This paper will argue that Far From Heaven is more than simply an affectionate pastiche of Douglas Sirk's classic melodrama All That Heaven Allows (1955). Instead, Far From Heaven combines the social critique of the "Sirkian System" with the political agenda found in Poison.
    [Show full text]
  • 6769 Shary & Smith.Indd
    ReFocus: The Films of John Hughes 66769_Shary769_Shary & SSmith.inddmith.indd i 110/03/210/03/21 111:501:50 AAMM ReFocus: The American Directors Series Series Editors: Robert Singer, Frances Smith, and Gary D. Rhodes Editorial Board: Kelly Basilio, Donna Campbell, Claire Perkins, Christopher Sharrett, and Yannis Tzioumakis ReFocus is a series of contemporary methodological and theoretical approaches to the interdisciplinary analyses and interpretations of neglected American directors, from the once-famous to the ignored, in direct relationship to American culture—its myths, values, and historical precepts. The series ignores no director who created a historical space—either in or out of the studio system—beginning from the origins of American cinema and up to the present. These directors produced film titles that appear in university film history and genre courses across international boundaries, and their work is often seen on television or available to download or purchase, but each suffers from a form of “canon envy”; directors such as these, among other important figures in the general history of American cinema, are underrepresent ed in the critical dialogue, yet each has created American narratives, works of film art, that warrant attention. ReFocus brings these American film directors to a new audience of scholars and general readers of both American and Film Studies. Titles in the series include: ReFocus: The Films of Preston Sturges Edited by Jeff Jaeckle and Sarah Kozloff ReFocus: The Films of Delmer Daves Edited by Matthew Carter and Andrew Nelson ReFocus: The Films of Amy Heckerling Edited by Frances Smith and Timothy Shary ReFocus: The Films of Budd Boetticher Edited by Gary D.
    [Show full text]
  • Ottawa's National Capital Commission Conservation Officers and the Poli
    “He asked me if I was looking for fags…” Ottawa’s National Capital Commission Article Conservation Officers and the Policing of Public Park Sex Kevin Walby Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Canada. [email protected] Abstract The National Capital Commission (NCC) is an organization responsible for so-called ‘beautification’ and land development around Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. This paper examines surveillance of public sex by NCC conservation officers in Ottawa’s parks. Conceptualizing NCC conservation officer work as policing, I analyze conservation officer occurrence reports obtained through federal-level access to information requests to examine how public male with male sexual activity is problematized and criminalized. This case study of NCC conservation officer work demonstrates how notions of so-called ‘appropriate’ sexuality and space usage can be shaped and reinforced through policing and surveillance conducted by governance agents who have peace officer status. Conservation officers have been excluded from studies of policing because of a bias towards conventional municipal officers in the policing literature as well as the marginal status of specialized enforcement agents. Contributing to the literature on policing of public sex, my analysis of conservation officer occurrence reports suggests that even when bylaws and park regulations concerning erotic acts are written in gender-neutral and innocuous language, these bylaws are enforced in ways that discriminate against public homoeroticism. Though NCC officer policing is integral to attempts at purifying urban space, because of their mandate to promote the spirit of Canada in the lands surrounding Ottawa I argue that sexuality is also a matter of national character for the NCC.
    [Show full text]