LGBT Film

Introduction

‘New Queer cinema’ coined in 1992 by Ruby Rich, the term signals a turning away from notions of negative stereotypes and positive images of gays and gayness in films, and a move towards cinematic explorations of the perverse and the deviant within the sexual domain and or celebrations of intertextuality, pastiche, irony, and irreverence. New Line Cinema, with its fine line features subsidiary, was the principal film company that convened to deliberate on these concerns. Since 1992, other scholars have also described the phenomena, and it has been applied to a number of other films that have been released in the 1990s. A number of themes are common to New Queer Cinema films, including the rejection of heteronormativity and the lives of LGBT characters who are marginalized in society

History of LGBT Film

According to Susan Hayward, queer cinema was around for decades before it had an official designation. Examples of this include the works of French filmmakers Jean Cocteau and Jean Genet. Films from the avant-garde and underground are often linked to queer cinema. Lesbian filmmakers from avant-garde cinema, such as Ulrike Ottinger, Chantal Akerman, and Pratibha Parmar, established the groundwork for queer cinema. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's European art films from the 1970s and 1980s contributed a "gay and queer sensibility" to film, which had a significant impact on the growth of queer cinema. Many of these have been screened and rated globally, much like Rosa von Praunheim, who has produced over 100 LGBT films subjects since the late 1960s. In the history of queer cinema, a few of the director's works are regarded as classics. Von Praunheim rose to prominence as a global symbol of gay film. Héctor Babenco, a Brazilian film director, has had an impact on queer cinema. In his 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman, a prisoner is enticed by his cellmate. His films also explored the connection between political, social, and sexual oppression—themes that would later become central to New Queer Cinema.

Queer theory, which aims to "challenge and push further debates on gender and sexuality" as developed by feminist theory and "confuse binary essentialisms around gender and sexual identity, expose their limitations," as well as depict the blurring of these roles and identities, is likely responsible for the identification of queer cinema in the mid-1980s. Sometimes, queer movie directors would take mainstream genres and pervert them by praising excess and posing the "question of pleasure" or by reintroducing historical aspects or gay undertones that had been straightwashed out of them. A "multiplicity of voices and sexualities" as well as a "collection of different aesthetics" were demanded by queer cinema creators. As is the case with the heterosexual/mainstream film business, more financing went to gay male filmmakers than lesbian film directors. Thus, a large portion of queer cinema concentrated on the "construction of male desire." This created the question of "lesbian invisibility" in queer cinema.

Development of LGBT Films

Paris Is Burning, a 1991 documentary film, exposed viewers to yet another subcultural domain. The reality of New York's drag clubs and homes, as well as the individuals of color who lived there, were shown by director Jennie Livingston. Many Americans were not familiar with this world, which might be considered subterranean. In drag shows and competitions, flamboyance and artistic skill were essential. Another aspect of the drag experience that was highlighted was stylized vogue dance, which had a significant impact on pop diva Madonna's artistic vision. Livingston and other New Queer films icons urged audiences to put aside their prejudice and appreciate human variety.

Rich mentioned many films, including “Poison” (1991) by Todd Haynes, RSVP (1991) by Laurie Lynd, Young Soul Rebels (1991) by Isaac Julien, Edward II (1991) by Derek Jarman, Swoon (1992) by Tom Kalin, and The Living End (1992) by Gregg Araki. Explicitly homosexual and lesbian protagonists and topics, as well as blatant and unapologetic references to or representations of gay sex, are present in every film, along with a confrontational and sometimes negative attitude toward heterosexual culture.

The AIDS pandemic of the 1980s and the conservative political trend brought about by Margaret Thatcher's administration in the UK and Ronald Reagan's presidency in the US presented fresh obstacles for the homosexual community at the time these film directors were creating their films. At the age of 52, Jarman passed away in 1994 after receiving an AIDS diagnosis in 1986. Jarman is a well-known activist in the LGBT community thanks to his outspoken support of equality and homosexual rights. Other important examples of New Queer Cinema include the first feature film by a black lesbian, Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman (1997) and Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together (1997).

LGBT Films in the 21st Century

A number of LGBT filmmakers, such as Rose Troche and Travis Mathews, began to see a more recent trend in LGBT cinema in the 2010s: the impact of New Queer films were shifting toward a more broadly appealing audience.

The appearance of popular films with LGBT themes in the late 2000s, including Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and The Kids Are All Right, has been noted by Rich, the person who coined the term "New Queer Cinema," as a turning point in the development of the genre. Troche and Mathews both cited Stacie Passon's 2013 film Concussion as a notable example of the trend. Concussion is a story about marital infidelity in which the lesbian identity of the main character is a relatively minor plot point and the main theme is how a long-term relationship can become troubled and unfulfilling regardless of its gender configuration.