Hannity, The Kiss and Barney Frank, Gay Superstar
Sean Hannity's meltdown about Sean Penn's fictional same-sex Oscar night kiss is absurd if only because, as GLAAD points out, there were many more heterosexual kisses just in that one show. More perniciously, though, it is absurd because Hollywood remains one of the country's most conservative institutions for gay people. At a time when, say, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is an openly gay man, there are barely any openly gay actors of note. Yes, it's great that Penn kisses James Franco. Yes, it's nice that untold numbers of agents, studio executives, costume designers, producers, directors and assorted movie industry workers are openly gay. And, yes it's even nicer that Ellen DeGeneres and Rachel Maddow have top-ranked TV shows in their categories (wither the boys? but that's another story). It would be yet nicer, though, if one could name more than, perhaps, one openly gay movie star.
It is a measure of Hollywood's insecurity that we are probably months away from it being more acceptable to be a gay soldier than to be a gay actor. How did that happen? And how is it that we have been discussing this very same issue for decades, and yet find ourselves in about the same place as we were circa 1950 when Rock Hudson's agent commanded: "No two men can live together and have a career in Hollywood. It is not allowed. You'll ruin it all if you live with this other man." Apparently, it is still not allowed in 2009: one would be hard-pressed to think of a top male actor living with another man. Presumably, this is the same for women, although Jodie Foster did finally come busting out of that closet and, believe it or not, she still has a career (which is sadly more than can be said for many of her ostensibly straight female contemporaries).
Even the music industry has evolved dramatically, although the current wave of ambiguity and androgyny seems timed for the business's usual cycle: glam rockers such as David Bowie in the early 1970s, The Flock of Seagulls et al in the 1980s, boy bands in the 1990s, and now MGMT and Pete Wentz. Nonetheless, there has been progress: it was not quite stunning when Elton John, George Michael and Michael Stipe finally revealed their homosexuality in the last 15 years or so, but it was still an important step, and one that no actor of equal prominence has taken while still working, except for Foster. Even Clay Aiken overcame a strictly Christian upbringing to finally come out last year, as a "gay dad," again not exactly a shocker, but a significant move forward for a multi-platinum artist.
This leaves Hollywood competing with professional team sports as the last bastion of entertainment homophobia, not great company, going by the autobiography of openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi. With Hollywood, the situation is especially frustrating, as it is hidden behind a veneer of gay-friendliness (witness The Kiss on Oscar night). In reality, there appears to be a complex, well-oiled machine focused on keeping gay actors in sham opposite-sex marriages or in eternal bachelorhood. Except, that is, for a few male court jesters so flamboyant that even the magic of Hollywood cannot remake them into its image of heterosexuality. Or, of course, it could all simply be the inevitable result of a risk-averse industry's herd mentality and reliance on conventional wisdom. After all, this is a business in which it was assumed for years, and often still is, that African-American stars do weakly overseas, despite the fact that Will Smith has comfortably outranked all other actors as a worldwide box office attraction for years.
It is extraordinary that at a time when gay people are gaining the right to marry, state by state and country by country, Hollywood remains so essentially fearful for (or is it of?) its gay actors. This anxiety so deeply ensconced in the industry's DNA historically goes well beyond its attitude towards the possibility of openly gay actors. In an industry founded by Jewish immigrants, says writer Gene Lichtenstein, the America projected in films "was a glorified land of promise and happy endings, of small-town family life brimming with virtue and filled with a mythic Western past. And it contained no Jews." In a bit of a twilight zone twist on that attitude, modern Hollywood films do occasionally include gay characters, but we are lead to believe that it is real life that does not contain gay actors.
At a stretch, Hollywood executives will piously repeat that it is up to individuals to make the "difficult" choice to come out, and the industry will bear down with every ounce of its weight on the merest suggestion that an actor may be gay. This leads to the absurd situation where gay fans are portrayed as villainous or silly in their attempts to figure out whether an actor is gay (they will inevitably be lectured that every attractive person is not gay.) The PR machine has become more sophisticated than when an actor's publicist would respond with anger at the "slur" directed towards her client. The standard line now is: "If I were gay, of course I would say so, there is nothing wrong with it, blah, blah." The stupidity of such a statement cannot be overemphasized: if in fact there are no top out actors, then by definition there is a problem with being out and, no, of course none of these actors would say they are gay. Unless, of course, we assume that all actors are straight and that is precisely what Hollywood wants us to believe: big box-office acting draws are a kumbaya gay-friendly group of straight people. Some of them are even flattered at the attention from their gay fans, but no, they are emphatically not gay themselves.
It is ironic that Hannity should focus his homophobic wrath on Hollywood when, in many ways, it should be his friend: with some rare exceptions (Milk, Brokeback Mountain), gay people in Hollywood films remain a deeply asexual bunch of best friends, flamboyant uncles, and butch single cops, with very little to offend Hannity's hothouse flower of a crew at Fox News. And, in Hollywood real life, gay people, or at least gay actors, simply don't exist. What could be better than that for Hannity? He would be much better off going back to assaulting Congressman Barney Frank, the aforementioned Committee Chairman, a homosexual and a liberal, and also a far more interesting gay icon than Hollywood could ever muster.
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Hollywood can pretend all it wants that it is gay friendly, but the truth of the matter is this...the
Glad someone remembered Nel Patrick Harris. He'sbeen acting since he was knee-high to a doormat, but over the last few years has becoem a major TV star. And after coming out he's become an even BIGGER star.
Back to re-write Mr. Jenkins!
Neal Patrick Harris was involuntarily outed by the Perez hilton Blog. for over a year they ran pictures of Neal holding hands with his boyfriend under the heading of "Come out come out wherever you are" for that entire time Harris would not respond to any inquiries. Eventually when other media started to pick up on it Harris finally came out to People Magazine, but he basically had no option as he was already outed.
But this just proves the point. He came out. It's public knowledge. And if anything, it enhanced his reputation and greatly improved his career options. Up until recently, Harris had been a trivia question answer and a walking punchline. His biggest claim to fame had been a self-parodying cameo in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. Now he's a bigger star than he ever was when Doogie Howser was at its peak.
Neil Patrick Harris was involuntarily outed by internet blogs. After they had been posting articles about him for over a year he finally agreed to give an interview confirming.
It's unfortunate that major actors who are gay only come out when they feel they have nothing to lose e.g., they're too old and their careers are over or when they're exposed in the tabloids, when found a victim of a crime after having picked up a hustler or in the case of Rock Hudson--AIDS. There were a gang of Gay actors who were major stars in the in the 50's e.g., George Nader, Hudson, Tab Hunter, Sal Mineo, even that bearish TV star Raymond Burr. (You should see his lover today. WOOFERS!) Then there's the bisexual ones e.g., James Dean etc. Money's not the bottom line for the military so even the military will be ahead of Hollywood when it comes to the issue.
The media always gets it wrong though because when Tom Hanks starred in Philadelphia for example, he was never asked if he could continue to play heterosexual roles whereas someone like Ellen Degeneras' ex girlfriend Ann Heche really went through the mill with the media when she was constantly asked if she could continue or even was qualified to play hetero roles any more. Other than personal problems, that finished her career in films. Shame because she was a very good actress.
Actresses in general though have it easier than Gay males to come out e.g., Jodie Foster and that's because so many hetero makes have fantasies about two women together and get off on it.
Male fantasies about lesbians will never go away, and business exploiting this knowledge to make money will never go away. So what's your point? Ann Heche lost her career...b
The flaw I see in your logic is that those gay men who have come out of the closet have little difficulty doing roles where they are heterosexual (see "How I Met Your Mother" & Neal Patrick Harris). I see the problem not as a sexuality bias, but a gender bias. Just as female politicians are scrutinized endlessly for their clothes, their hair, their makeup, their attitudes in a way male politicians never have to worry about, so too do gay women have to deal with that same type of bias. The whole "She's gay, can she play straight?" question comes not from homophobia, but from gender bias against women.
When the obvious is way too obvious, everyone seems to miss it. Movies are made first and foremost to appeal to young women. Leading men are created to appeal to that very same demographic. That's Hollywood 101! Ergo, leading men should not be gay. Otherwise, some of the audience may disappear. Case closed. Like they say: follow the money. All roads lead to the Bank.
Actually, that is NOT true. Most movies, particularly big budget summer popcorn trash, are made to appeal to 13-17 year old BOYS. And they don't like to see anything gay. To them "gay" is nothing more than an all-purpose insult to be hurled at whatever bothers them.
How ridiculous!
First, your premise is wrong-- "most" movies are made to appeal to the 13-18 and 18-25 year old males. If they were mostly made for women, we wouldn't have the term "chick flick" (I guess it would be "d*** flick"). If that were true, American Pie (and pretty much everything starring Seth Rogan) would have gotten nowhere.
Second, it's called acting for a reason. Need I remind you of the legions of female fans Rock Hudson had? Need I remind you that many, many roles don't even include any reference to orientation? Did Sir Ian McKellan's orientation stop The Lord of the Rings from being the biggest movie ever? Did I miss Gandalf's gay love scene?
Third, straight women generally don't run screaming at the sight/thought of a gay man. That's insecure-s
That is the d.umb.est thing i've ever read not to mention incredibly insulting to women!! Don't you have a mother?
Thats why Angie Jolie and Brad Pitt are together..
They are "normal".
Apart from anything else, what business is it of Hannity's anyway who Penn kisses? There are too many people taking an interest in who kisses who - it smacks of a bizarre fetish if you ask me.
So glad Penn won . He did an outstanding job. The movie was great.
I agree, and I Love Shawn Penn regardelss, although I suspect we are just seeing his innner hero - taunting and bringing out the homophobes. It's been amazing to watch him grow as a person and an actor over the years.
He has always been disgusted at self agrandizement, and champions the disenfranchised. He so far above this muck, he's willing to roll in it for the cause.
Is no big deal to basically play yourself.B
The only thing I agree with Obama on is his stance on Gay marriage..
There's a shock.
Well then you will be disappointed 'cos I'm willing to bet he really doesn't have a problem with gay marriage(he's way to smart for that) But there are way to many fundamentalist christians in our country to say otherwise.
Totally agree!
Its probably more acceptable to be a gay actor than it is to be a conservative one.
john ratzenburger is conservative. he gets work and is loved by gay bears nonetheless. okay, that's rare.
I will not see a movie starring a Bush Loving performer. I do not want my money going to the Repuke party. I don't get a damn about sexual preference. That is why I am not a Republican, and never will be.
You ARE joking. Gary Sinise is conservative. HE doesn't seem to be having problems. I believe Dean Cain is, too. I'm QUITE sure there are others.
Kelsey Grammar, John Voight, Clint Eastwood and Dennis Hopper are all conservative actors.
I believe Dean Cain is Canadian.
Name more than one openly gay actor? Ok. How about 10, to start with?
http://www
Try a site called www.google
The author was referring to actors of "equal prominence" to Elton John or George Michael. You know, names one would immediately recognize. I only recognized three names on that list and one of those three was Rock Hudson!
First of all, I've never even heard of half the people on that list.
Second, the only two who I know are openly gay... aren't Hollywood actors; they aren't American.
Lastly, it's a list of actors that someone seems to THINK are gay.
Do you believe everything you read on the Googlebox?
And who do you doubt is gay? I don't see one on this list who was really closeted (I wouldn't put Willian Haines in that category in spite of a lavender marriage).
But they aren't top actors and not everyone is American, that's correct.
Maybe this is why I haven't watched Hollywood films for years, although I did see Brokeback.
The music industry and the film industry also are becoming increasingly teen-tween oriented from what I've seen. The last film I saw in a theatre, Star Wars Episode 1, was far more kid-oriented than the first film. Now, there's even talk of the latest Terminator coming out in PG-13. I saw the original at a drive-in when I was in the 3rd grade, and I liked it. But, if Arnold hadn't walked out with no clothes on I doubt I'd remember it today.
For the American public, male bodies and gay characters are not compatible with teen-tween programming. So, the new Terminator may show female nudity, but probably only in the "director's cut". And, there won't be any openly gay actors playing gay characters in big productions like Star Wars anytime soon.
Why is it that as a society we continue to place such value on the hateful, spiteful things that people have to say about our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters?
Individuals such as Hannity, Limbaugh, and Coulter do nothing but perpetuate the same tired, baseless 'truths' about anyone who isn't similar to them. The problem isn't with the gay and lesbian community.
Appreciating actors, musicians, politicians, teachers, butchers, bakers, and candle-stick makers should never include having to place an asterisk next to the names of those who are not heterosexual. Why is it so challenging to appreciate people as they are without having to explain in painstaking detail that they are engaged in a lifestyle that is non-traditional?
Everybody has something to contribute to the Gumbo (or Jambalaya, or Minestrone, or Chicken Noodle) soup of life....so let them!
And may we all see the day - sooner rather than later - when the majority of Hollywood has as much class as Harrison Ford when he was asked what it was like to work with a lesbian like Anne Heche ... and he replied, "You mean, a thespian?" For an industry that is nothing if it's not about illusion, this has to be the last bastion of hypocrisy and stupidity. Read my lips, Hollywood, it's O.K. for two same sex people to love each other, and I can watch a same-sex love story on the screen and relate - even if I'm of a heterosexual persuasion. Take a lesson from our current President - treat us like grown-ups and you might be pleasantly surprised at the results .... :-)
Hollywood is a fantasy factory, just like the music industry. It would destroy some people's fantasies if their idols came out of the closet. Personally it makes no difference to me, although everytime I watch a Rock Hudson film I'm fascinated by the illusion he creates.
Yeah, back in the day we never realied what a great actor Rock was, did we?
Sir Ian McKellen has been out since 1988. He had high profile roles in The Lord of the Rings and X-men movies and remains an advocate for LGBT rights. While he's not an 'A-list' celebrity, he's had a very respectable career.
Yes and no. Yes, of course the great Sir Ian deseves boatloads of respect for coming out at a time when it was pretty much assumed that any British actor out of the closet was kissing his potential knighthood goodbye. This didn't happen, which was another milestone. You can be gay and Sir at the same time. You can be gay and a classically trained character actor at the same time. But--can you be gay and a romantic or action leading man at the same time? This is where the Hollywood rubber meets the road. Rock Hudson had to play hetero and pretend to live hetero so audiences would believe he really had the hots for Doris and not Tony Randall. I wish more actors would reveal their true selves, but to pretend it would cost them nothing is to deny harsh reality.
Funny thing is Tony Randall is straight.
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