When studying homosexuality in film, I Love, Simon (Berlanti, 2018) is a great film to study because it explores themes of sexuality, and masculinity, in a way that had never really been explored before in the history of mainstream film. Yes, queer films had been made, some positive, but Love, Simon (2018), as a project was, ‘the first gay teen movie from a major studio’ (Haley Jr, 2019: 1), Fox 2000 Pictures, to tell the story of a gay relationship so openly and in a hetero-normative light. Homosexuality wasn’t, and still isn’t in many ways, a theme that filmmakers set out to discuss in mainstream media. So, for a major film company to make this film was a big deal, and makes a statement on how much cinema has changed in the last century in response to the LGBT movement.
Homosexuality was a taboo subject for many years, and was seen as an abnormality, and often portrayed as so in many mediums. In fact, until 1967, homosexuality was illegal in the UK and has only been legal in the US, as a whole, since 2003; although many states were legalised much earlier. One of the first accounts of homosexuality on screen, or what could be preserved as same-sex attraction, was in 1895 in the The Dickson Experimental Sound Film (Dickson, W. K, 1894). The film was watched with no judgement by audiences, the fact that the clip had two males dancing together didn’t really cause that much commotion, but this quickly changed in film, and TV, when over the years religious groups started to get worried that the content being shown in films would “corrupt the susceptible minds of their younger, lower class, and female audiences” (Gilbert, 2013; 2). So, the Hays Code was submitted, banning a long list of subjects including sex out of wedlock, criminal activity without punishment, and sexual perversion which included gay sex and same-sex relationships.
Rudy suggests in her journal article The Depiction of Homosexuality in American Movies (2016) that homosexuality has always been displayed in mainstream media to get a laugh, showing gay men, on the most part, as “the pansy...a certain type of queer man- a flowery, fussy, effeminate soul given to limp wrists and mincing steps.” (Rudy, 2016; 62). An excellent example of a movie that supports Rudy’s idea is The Gay Deceivers (Kessler, 1969), in this film two straight men pretend to be a gay couple in order to avoid army service. To achieve the illusion that they are gay they start dressing in a flamboyant way, along with feigning over-exaggerated body movements to give the impression of femininity. They become what the typical idea of a “pansy” is. An audience would have seen this and had a great laugh at the fact that the character was acting in a queer way because homosexuality was seen as a mental illness that didn't belong in society.
Love Simon (2018) doesn’t represent the homosexual main character in this way, in fact in quite the opposite. An excellent scene in the film that dispels the idea of the homosexual as the pansy is the scene where everyone is rehearsing for a play. In this scene, Simon (Nick Robinson) is more of a background character, and in fact is a background character in the play they are putting on in the film whereas the straight characters are front and centre, excited for the play. Simon is shown getting extra guidance from the drama teacher on how he should move, we can see that performing doesn't come naturally to him. This scene defies stereotypes of gay people being “sissy’s” who do nothing but dance around and jump at the chance to perform in a musical. Its shows the audience that homosexuality doesn't mean flamboyant, and that this main character isn't there to be comic relief but rather to grow in his narrative. This scene flips stereotypes of homosexuality and heterosexuality, making the point that sexuality doesn’t determine body action and non-sexual interest.
For many years the stereotypical characteristics of homosexuality were taken on by villains in film, often Nazis. This was done, not only to cement the point that homosexuality was an “abnormality” and "evil" but to give the audience the satisfaction of watching as the villain gets defeated by the macho, heterosexual hero. While gay men were portrayed as evilly camp, lesbians were often portrayed as obsessive psychopaths or hardened prisoners. As Just Write says in their YouTube video, History of Homosexuality on Film, "What was the easiest way to get a homosexual into your movie? Make them irredeemably villainous. (2015)" By giving the villain homosexual stereotypes it made the audience instantly take a dislike them and made the inevitable defeat of them even more satisfying. An example of where you can see this theory of the homosexual as the villain in place is in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood (Curtiz, 1938) within the character of Prince John. The character of Prince Joan is a classic example of the flamboyant movie villain, we can see this in both his looks and action. He is a well-groomed man, with his hair slicked back and beard trimmed and shaped perfectly. This plays to the stereotype of a gay man, looking after their appearance which is considered very feminine, or at least it was in the past century. We can also see the flamboyance in his actions, for example, he carries a sceptre, a very phallic object, and is always caressing it in his hands, along with a spherical ball of metal which he seems to fondle; this taps into the audience’s homophobia and makes them route against the character for more than just the reason of them being the antagonist.
Love Simon (2018) doesn't do this, in fact, it does very much the opposite. The main antagonist isn't very camp at all, we see that he doesn't really take care of himself in the sense of appearance, and we see that he moves in kind of a slumped fashion, very different from the camp, theatrical ways invented for homosexually inspired villains of the past. Furthermore, the straight, non-villainous, men that are shown on-screen are stereo-typically camper than Simon or Martin (Logan Miller) are for example Simon's dad is a crier when it comes to reminiscing, and having a heart to heart, a much more feminine trait that would have been considered camp in the past. If we were to have guessed the villain through the means of campness, it would be the father, who is very much a protagonist. It is also important to mention that all of Martin’s actions are based on wanting to get the girl, rather than just to beat Simon. Simon is much more traditionally masculine than most in the movie, which totally dispels the trend of homosexuality being a villainous trait. Simon (the protagonist) and Martin (the antagonist) start off on equal footing with audience opinion, we don't get any hints of a villainous through theatricality, or manner, and we don't judge the characters until the narrative calls for us to through the story progression. In fact, just by having Simon as the main protagonist is a complete juxtaposition to the old views held by Hollywood on what homosexuality meant about a person's personality.
In 1952 film as a medium was given freedom of speech, and as the Hays code was dismissed, studios became much less afraid of church boycotts. This didn't improve the image of homosexuality right away, in fact, instead of being villainous characters, the gays became self-hating characters, disgusted by their own sexuality. They often are depressed, and many end up committing suicide. The gay characters are often told that their way of life is wrong, or immoral, and they end up believing it. The audience viewing them certainly ended up believing it, both homosexual and heterosexual. A perfect example of this taking place in cinema is in the film The Children's Hour (Wyler, 2019). Martha, a teacher, is accused of being a lesbian and starts on a downward spiral as she realises the accusations were right. She is very openly disgusted by herself and makes it obvious by telling her friend that she “...feels so sick and dirty...and I can’t stand it anymore...” (The Children's Hour, 2019). Everyone in the film tells her that she is disgusting and that she shouldn’t be feeling the way that she is even her best friend, who loves her, tells her that she is wrong about her sexuality. This affects her negatively, and the fact that she agrees with it all makes it much more unbearable. In the end, she ends up taking her own life. These scenes satisfy a homophobic audience, because a homosexual has received their comeuppance, but also leaves the audience with the impression that homosexuality is bad, almost a mental illness in a way. This would have been harmful to homosexual audiences, leaving them with the feeling of disgust and self-doubt.
In Love Simon, there is no doubt whatsoever that Simon is proud of is his sexuality, in fact, it is stated by Simon within the movie that “I'm not ashamed of it” (Love, Simon, 2018). Throughout the whole movie, Simon never wishes his sexuality away, and no one really tells him that he shouldn’t be homosexual apart from two bullies who end up getting their comeuppance in the form of a public shouting from their teacher in front of the whole school. This is unusual in cinema because in many films the homosexual would get laughed at by members of the public, rather than be defended from the bullies by members of the public. An audience watching this movie would leave with the idea that homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of from the content of the characters being comfortable in their skin or the constant support that the characters receive from friends, family and teachers.
Gays have always struggled with the concept of masculinity, and what it means to them as an individual. Many people in the world see homosexuals as “...effeminate queens whose only relationship to the masculine is one of negation...” (Edwards, 2006: 82). For decades the medium of film has told homosexuals that being masculine while being a homosexual cannot go hand in hand, so when it comes to understanding their sexuality, they struggle with how masculinity will affect their image. Do they have to be camp? Will they be an outcast if they don’t fit definitively into the gay or straight stereotypes?
Love, Simon (2018) deals with masculinity within homosexuality perfectly, showing the audience that you don’t have to abide by a certain image because of your sexual orientation. Simon dresses in a very hetero-normative way, this gives the idea that his image isn't influenced by his sexuality or at least a stereotypical image of what his dress sense should be. He also has very stereotypically masculine movements, a great scene that shows this is the scene where he imagines what it would be like to come out in university and what it would mean for his image. This scene is a dance number to I Wanna Dance (With Somebody) by Whitney Houston; two very gay elements according to stereotypes. Throughout this whole scene, mise en scene is used to show that Simon is not really influenced by his sexuality. In this scene, bright colours are seen everywhere, and the lighting is very bright, showing the fantasy as almost heavenly freedom, almost a paradise. Rainbow colours, the gay symbol, are seen everywhere in the style of flags, and the T-shirts of backup dancers. Although this scene is very stereotypically gay, Simon, the whole time, is out of step with the other dancers and can be seen wearing a grey T-shirt, which is a total juxtaposition to the colour. This shows the viewer that yes, it's okay to be this gay, but that not every homosexual person has to be into Broadway dancing and wearing bright flamboyant colours. The contrast of the background dancers' brightly coloured t-shirts and Simon’s grey t-shirt highlights the fact that yes Simon is gay, but he is also a much more stereotypically masculine person than what society expects him to be.
Overall, I feel that Love Simon (2018) is a perfect movie to study when thinking of the representation of homosexuality in film as it takes the concept of homosexuality and places it in a very hetero-normative, mainstream setting and narrative. The film represents Simon as a person, and we get to know him, his problems, and his interests, far beyond his sexuality. Love, Simon (2018) is not a gay film, it is a film where the main protagonist happens to be gay.
Bibliography
The Adventures of Robin Hood. (1938). [DVD] Directed by M. Curtiz and W. keighley. California: Warner Bros.
The Children's Hour. (2019). [DVD] Directed by W. Wyler. USA: The Mirisch Corporation.
Cohan, S. and, rae Hark, I. (1993) Screening the male: Exploring masculinities in hollywood cinema. Oxford: Routledge
The Dickson Experimental Sound Film. (1894). [film] Directed by W. Dickson. United States: Edison Studios.
Edwards, T. (2006). Cultures of Masculinity. London: Routledge, p.82.
Gilbert, N (2013). Better Left Unsaid: Victorian Novels, Hays Code Films, and the Benefits of Censorship. California: Stanford University Press.
Just Write (2015) History of homosexuality on film [online]. [Accessed 09 November 2019]. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeDhMKd83r4>.
Love, Simon. (2018). [DVD] Directed by G. Berlanti. Atlanta: Fox 2000 Pictures.
Rudy, R. (2016) The depiction of homosexuality in American movies, Humaniora [online]. 28(1), pp.59-68. [Accessed 09 November 2019]. Available at: <https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/jurnal-humaniora/article/view/11502/8566>
Writings Of A Queer Mind 