We need more black gay storylines like Tariq & Kal Deserve Their Own Television Show.
Wow, the chemistry that Tariq and Kal have for each other is off the charts! It is disappointing that the LA Complex was cancelled after the first season. The most interesting storyline of course is the gay romance between Kal and Tariq. It was so refreshing to turn on my television and see a black gay couple falling in love. I didn’t agree with the way how the writers created conflict between Kal and Tariq. I believe there is still so many stories to be told.
Is The James Franco & Seth Rogen Parody of Kanye West Video Homophobic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGZ6tJdtmc
Although the James Franco & Seth Rogen parody of Kanye West new video is considered funny is it really? The immediate reaction people have is Franco & Rogen are just being funny making fun of rapper Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s arrogance.
Franco and Rogen are homophobes, except they utilize humour as a mask to conceal their anti gay prejudice.
Franco has used male homosexuality as a gimmick to get free publicity, yet he clearly has no respect for gay men!
The subliminal message is still homophobia against male homosexuality is palatable if the homophobes are young white heterosexual male actors. We live in a racist, homophobic world where the obnoxious behaviour of white heterosexual men is giving a free pass. Imagine, if two young black male actors made this parody video? Would the mainstream media and public be so accepting of it or would they scorn them?
Some people might argue, that it is simply a joke not be taken seriously. However, humour has a subtext, a message that is beneath the surface. The homophobia Franco and Rogen are engendering is that male homosexuality is wrong.
The anti gay message Franco and Rogen are spreading must be challenged and not dismissed as just comedy.
The general public is laughing at the fact two famous young male actors are kissing and being affectionate with each other. People are not just laughing at Kanye West, they also have a platform to being homophobic because Franco and Rogen provided the space for this to occur. Male homosexuality is ridiculed, gay men being affectionate with each other is seen as a joke. Since Franco and Rogen are both white, heterosexual men, they utilize their white male privilege to humiliate gay men.
Once again, two men kissing is considered funny and disgusting at the same time. Although, James Franco claims to be an ally of the gay community he has a propensity to be an opportunist. Franco is no friend of the gay male community, he utilizes male homosexuality to shock his heterosexual audience. James Franco is a bigot, but his bigotry is covert not overt. Franco’s art about gay male sexuality which he manipulates for his personal game is an example of his prejudice.
Since Franco is heterosexual, some gay men fall for Franco’s prejudice they give him a free pass for mocking male homosexuality.
Franco has white male skin privilege and since he is handsome, gay men ignore his anti gay prejudice. However, just because Franco is a good looking man, does this give him a pass for being a jerk?
Franco isn’t as gay positive as some gay men assume. For instance, Franco’s short film Interior Leather Bar, was created to alarm heterosexual audiences since he was recreating portions of the 1980 cult gay classic Cruising. Of course, Franco was not involved in any of the gay male sex scenes.
Franco’s so called art is meant to shock, he feels comfortable exploiting male homosexuality for his own personal fame. However, Franco won’t get too close to male homosexuality and he is quick to point out he isn’t gay. Franco’s coy attitude about his sexuality is lame and pathetic. Franco needs a new gimmick and move on from male homosexuality he is a coward.
Only a coward would claim to be an ally of the gay male community yet consistently use homosexuality to alarm the general public. There is no substance behind Franco’s art, it lacks true meaning.
Male homosexuality is just a prop for Franco, a joke, not to be taken seriously. In addition, since Franco has never clarified his true sexuality, he is assumed to be heterosexual. Franco utilizes his heterosexual male privilege to mock, humiliate, and discriminate against gay men.James Franco is the enemy of gay men he is not an ally.
HBO New Gay Series Looking Once Again About Pretty White Gay Men Complaining About Their Lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawZGuGHDWo
Of course, I know I shouldn’t be surprised, the trailer for the new HBO show Looking which will debut in January 2014 is all about young white gay men. I hear there is a Hispanic character in the cast, of course there is no black, Asian, or Native American gay characters.
It is more of the status quo, and this is why gay people of colour we must continue to create our own art.
The representations of gay men in pop culture are still the same bland white gay guys or the token Latino.
Remember, being Hispanic is NOT a race it is a cultural group. It seems to me the casting director made sure the cast was white enough to pass for their white gay male audience.
San Francisco where the show is based has a very diverse gay community so where is the diversity?
I will probably pass on watching this show. I am just apathetic to pop culture viewing gay men through a Eurocentric lens.
Lee Daniel’s New Film The Butler Is Boring Black Films Are Unoriginal Only Focuses In Race.
Lee Daniel’s new film The Butler is the number one film for two weeks in a row. The box office for The Butler is also solid earning over $52 million dollars. However, I am not interested in seeing The Butler because it is basically a black male version of The Help. These race movies are big box office for Hollywood, the Help was a huge box office hit two years ago.
Hollywood has an extremely myopic perspective about the black life experience and it is all about money.
The narrative is, the black life experience is ONLY ABOUT RACE. The commercials tell me I am supposed to see The Butler, because I am black. However, I am not African American, I am a black Canadian, and I’ve seen my fair share of black films that revolve around racism. It is tired, boring, and I am sick of it!
Another film, I won’t be seeing in the fall is Idris Elba’s biopic about Nelson Mandela. There have been several movies already made about Nelson Mandela the famous South African civil rights leader. However, I am fatigued, and I am exhausted watching another boring movie about race. How many films can Hollywood possibly release about Nelson Mandela?
Why hasn’t anyone made a movie about the struggle of black gays and lesbians in South Africa? Why are all the films released about African people always about the black heterosexuals? Why can’t a black dramatic film be made about black people that does not REVOLVE AROUND THE ISSUE OF RACE? It is so derivative, and so tired.
According to the ideology of Hollywood filmmakers, black dramatic films must revolve around race and be about two points in history slavery and the civil rights movement! If there is a movie set in the present about a black person it involves race such as the film Fruitvale Station.
This is BORING! Yes, I said it IS BORING! Yes, I know racism is a serious problem in society, and black people still struggle. However, I am also cognizant as a black man, that I don’t just think about being black every single minute of my life. Isn’t there more to the black life experience than just RACE? Seriously, can’t a screenwriter or filmmaker make a movie about black people that doesn’t revolve around the past? What about life right NOW IN THE PRESENT?
For instance, one area of black film that is ignored is the issue of homosexuality in the black community. Only indie films such as Brother To Brother which was released almost a decade ago dealt with gay black men.
In black cinema, there are numerous films that could be made revolving around black gays and lesbians from the past. However, black films have a tendency to downplay the homosexuality of black queer icons. For example, Lorraine Hansberry the playwright who became famous for her 1959 play A Raisin In The Sun, is a lesbian. It is well known, that Hansberry wrote for the lesbian publication The Ladder in the 1950s. However, how many people know Hansberry was gay? I hear there is an indie biopic being made about Hansberry life, but will this biopic explore the fact she was a black lesbian?
There is a paucity of films being created about black gays and lesbians. I heard there was supposed to be a film made about E Lynn Harris first novel Invisible Life. Tracy Edmonds was supposed to produce the film yet according to the black film blog Shadow & Act Tracy Edmonds is no longer producing the film. E Lynn Harris mother sued Proteus Spann a man who has the rights to all of Harris books. A LA judge sided with Spann and he states he is going to make a film adaptation of Harris novel Not A Day Goes By. However, a film still has not been released yet about black gay men.
Rodney Evans a gay African American filmmaker does have an indie film out called The Happy Sad. However, how many black people are actually going to watch this film? There are no high profile black actors in the film.
Two years ago Dee Rees film Pariah was released, but the film’s box office was luke warm it didn’t even earn $1 million dollars. I believe more black films should be made around issues such as homosexuality because they move beyond JUST RACE. Pariah was a very interesting film, because it dealt with the struggle of a young black teen lesbian coming out of the closet.
There is a film adaptation of the erotic writer Zane’s best selling book Addicted, and I am interested in seeing the movie. However, I am also concerned, because there haven’t been many black films that explore the issue of sexuality well.
Hollywood needs to understand, the film audience, at least I hope people are thirsty for something new, something different.
Gayblackcanada 