Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Notes and quotes



Notes and Quotes

 ‘Midnighter is The Best Portrayal of a Gay Superhero in Mainstream Comics’

http://io9.com/midnighter-is-the-best-portrayal-of-a-gay-superhero-in-1715225013

Yes, it’s sad that one of the most prominent gay relationships in Wildstorm and DC’s comic history came to a close without us getting to witness it—but at the same time, it’s fascinating to see it.’

Talks about Midnighter relationship with Apollo and it was said to be a perfect relationship to see between gay couples. The difference was in the new 52 comic series they had to change it so they were not together and did not know each other sexuality.

If you’re looking for a great new superhero comic series to read, you should be picking up Midnighter—not just for the fact it’s actually a damn fun series, but because it gives us a fascinatingly humanized gay lead.

Midnighter normalizes all that for a gay character, in a way that is rarely shown in the pages of comic books. And it manages to do that while also balancing the personal drama with the superhero sci-fi antics you know and love from the character.

Midnighter go on dates and sleep with a number of different men. Our introduction to the character in Midnighter #1 is actually though a shot of his Grindr profile (a popular social app used by Gay and bisexual men to meet.

Comments:

One of the pleasures of reading Midnighter (when he’s good, so this comic in particular) is that he’s crazy and embraces his particular flavor of crazy. Sexuality too, but the two go in hand in terms of consistency in his character. He wouldn’t be comfortable if he weren’t a little nuts, and when he’s trying on not-crazy for any given reason, he’s especially vulnerable. It’s nice reading, and his one-liners are spot-on.

I still wish he wasn't referred to dismissively "the gay Batman."

Kinda unavoidable considering the circumstances of his creation. But I’m glad he’s getting a good book. It makes room for a gay hero who isn’t an obvious pastiche/commentary.

LGBT news

Two LGBT murders within 24 hours leave community in 'state of emergency

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/11/lgbt-murders-within-24-hours-philadelphia-detroit

‘In Detroit, on the morning of 5 October, an African American gay man known simply as Melvin, 30, was found shot dead on a street in the Palmer Park area. At the time of his death, Melvin was wearing women’s clothing.’

Transgender Woman in Philadelphia shot

Gay man shot in Detroit

“For many LGBT people, participation in street economies is often critical to survival,” civil rights group Lambda Legal said in a statement in August, when supporting Amnesty International’s resolution to decriminalize sex work.

LGBT youth and transgender women of color face all-too-common family rejection and vastly disproportionate rates of violence, homelessness and discrimination in employment, housing, and education,” the statement continued.

many in the Detroit LGBT community hang out – specifically people who are low-income or experiencing homelessness. She feels such people are “targeted”.

Local officials told the Guardian no arrests had been made in either case and it was too early to confirm if hate was a factor. In Philadelphia, police confirmed they were investigating whether Jenkins’ gender identity played a role in her murder.

Celebrity views

Andrew Garfield Is Still Campaigning For A "Pansexual" SPIDER-MAN On The Big Screen

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=124885

 "I'm excited to get to the point where we don't have to have this conversation, where we can have a pansexual Spider-Man."

"The richness of the world we're in, the diversity of the world we're in; you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected. You look all over," he continued. "What are we so scared of? Why are we so, 'No, it has to be this way, a man and a woman.' Why is that even a conversation? We're scared of things that aren't us. Love is love. Skin is skin. Flesh is flesh. We're all wrapped in the same thing. I have no preference. The beauty about Spider-Man, for me, is that he's covered head to toe. That's why everyone thinks it could be them in that suit. You don't see skin color. You don't see sexual orientation. You don't see how old the person is, gender, the whole thing. I celebrate that. Anyone can be a hero in their own lives."

Comment:

100% agreed. I'm not on board with race changes for ANY character (i.e. someone like Bruce Wayne probably NEEDS to be a white male), but it has to make sense. And with Spider-Man, it probably makes the most sense actually. A recurring theme (if not THE recurring theme) of the character is that he represents the every-man. None of this "prophecy" or "destiny" bullshit (looking at you, TASM 1 and 2!). Literally anyone could be under that suit. Why not reflect that through Peter Parker himself? What about being white is somehow inherent or a core characteristic of the character?

Does Marvel have a problem with LGBT superheroes?

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/08/03/do-marvel-have-a-problem-with-lgbt-superheroes/

The company has made attempts to be inclusive of a number of character’s gender and sexuality in the past – for example, it was recently revealed that long time X-Man Iceman is gay.

However, their attempts to promote diversity and include LGBT characters have often been slammed by fans and critics alike, who claim the company is simply trying to increase sales.

fans were quick to highlight that Hercules bisexuality was a very natural progression for the character, especially considering he is inspired by Greek Mythology – in which the demigod Hercules was also bisexual.

Fans were hoping that the hero’s sexuality would be further explored in the recently announced Hercules series

DC Comics Gives Us A Crash Course In LGBT Superheroes

http://www.newnownext.com/dc-comics-gives-us-a-crash-course-in-lgbt-superheroes/06/2015/

One of the first gay characters the company produced was hardly worth celebrating: The magician Extraño was flamboyant comic relief whose sole arch villain was an AIDS “vampire” named the Hemo-Goblin.

But more diverse and three-dimensional characters were quickly added to the fold, from the bisexual Constantine and a lesbian Batwoman to a gay green lantern and Batgirl’s transgender roommate, Alysia Yeoh.

‘Arrow’ Star Echo Kellum on How His Character Becomes DC Superhero Mr. Terrific

 https://www.thewrap.com/arrow-echo-kellum-curtis-holt-dc-superhero-mr-terrific/

http://rollingout.com/2015/08/04/arrow-casts-first-black-gay-superhero/

This version of Mr. Terrific is also an LGBT character. How does that shape who he is?

I think it shapes who he is only in that that’s who he chooses to love. He’s married, he has a husband, but it’s not the most defining quality about him. It’s important, but he is a living, breathing character who happens to be gay … Rarely do people live their lives through their sexuality.

The “Arrow”/”Flash” producers are always great about including LGBT characters in their shows, which is awesome, but this is the first major LGBT superhero character in the world of these shows.

There’s been a wave of LGBT characters and storylines on television over the past few years as the LGBT movement in the real world continues to progress. And now it appears that progress in fiction has extended to the world of superheroes, as it’s been announced that “Arrow” has cast “Ben and Kate” actor Echo Kellum to play the series’ first-ever Black gay superhero.

“We’re often asked when we’re going to add another LGBT character to the show and our version of Mr Terrific happens to be gay for anyone that cares about that kind of stuff,” Guggenheim revealed in a statement.

Mr. Terrific also won’t be the only character on the show repping the LGBT community. The show already features openly bisexual Sara Lance/Canary (Caity Lotz) and the two are now reportedly TV’s only LGBT superheroes.

Mr. Terrific also follows a line of Black LGBT superheroes in the comic world like X-Men’s Storm, who was previously strongly implied to be bisexual, and Young Avengers’ Prodigy, who is also written as bisexual.

These LGBT Character Charts Are the Perfect Guide to Out and Proud Superheroes

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3409017?lt_source=external,manual

As the world becomes increasingly accepting of LGBT communities and individuals, so too have comic book universes expanded their representation of previously overlooked identities. With different writers taking control of even some of the most iconic superheroes, you may be surprised at just which characters have recently come out of the closet.


Flame Off: Will Gay Superheroes Ever Make the Leap to Movies and TV?

http://screencrush.com/gay-superheroes-movies-tv/

Q&A. A kid, maybe in his late teens, makes his way up to the mic and addresses a question to Garfield himself. Identifying himself as a gay Asian American, he wanted to know if the actor felt any pressure in making his stance on LGBT equality known, referring to previous comments made by the actor.

Earlier that year, a set visit report on ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was published in Entertainment Weekly, which quoted Garfield as saying, "Why can’t we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality?," even pointing out the "charismatic and talented" Michael B. Jordan could join in for some "interracial bisexuality."

To the applause of many at Comic-Con, Garfield addressed the question by saying, “Spider-Man stands for everybody: black, white, Asian, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual.” This has been the appeal of superheroes since the early generation of geeks dropped dimes for the latest issue of Action comics, but when it comes to the movie iterations, many minorities are left out. Garfield, while valid in his statements, even backtracked a bit, saying, “It wouldn’t make sense if, in the next movie, I was suddenly with a black guy.”

It's now a year after this panel took place, on our way to another Comic-Con, and the question of why there aren't more LGBT superheroes -- or even characters -- in these comic book movies and TV shows are continuously met with the same excuses.

While major strides are being made in the 'Arrow' universe -- the hit CW series featured a lesbian character through Katrina Law's Nyssa Al Ghul, while 'The Flash' spinoff series will feature two gay characters in the first season alone, on top of openly gay actor Wentworth Miller portraying DC villain Captain Cold -- there is still no identifiable LGBT character taking the reins for a major role, or even a major recurring or supporting role. When the opportunity for this came with NBC's 'Constantine,' producers of the series stated at a recent Television Critics Association panel that they had "no immediate plans" to address the Hellblazer's bisexuality, despite John Constantine's depiction as such in the original comics. Executive producer Daniel Cerone even acknowledged the character's background, though seemingly suggested his sexual orientation didn't matter in regards to Constantine as an individual.

In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades [of comics] there might have been one or two issues where he’s seen getting out of bed with a man.

LGBT characters out of this superhero cinematic arena seemed admirable in its progressive nature, it's now a broken record the community has heard one too many times. Dare I say it, but maybe a character's sexuality should matter more.

exual identity serves is to further demean and reduce him to a stereotypical shell of a person. His presence only serves as comedic relief, a role gay characters frequently serve, while his "outing" is the final nail in the coffin, as if to say, "He got what he deserved by succumbing to 'prison bitch' life."

Apparently, when it comes to having more positive gay representations on the superhero-dominated big screen they won’t allow it to be shown

When might, say, 'Constantine' finally start addressing the character's sexual identity? In executive producer Daniel Cerone's own words, "In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades there might have been one or two issues where he’s seen getting out of bed with a man. So [maybe] 20 years from now?" But on the opposite spectrum, one of the most prominent offenders, Marvel, is already beginning to mend its ways. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told our own Mike Ryan, "We’re going to keep bringing the movies out the way we envision it and the way we believe in it — and that includes diversity in all of the active films." While he's most likely referring to 'Captain Marvel' and 'Black Panther' films, it's certainly a start.

Media magazine

Media magazine 31
True blood is a show about vampires and other mythical creatures, they are reopresented as monstoers and they do show the stereotype of what vampires do. The difference with the show is that it is a age 18 rated series with alot of sex and nudity. It is also filled with different sexuality of vampires and people.

'In the world of True Blood, vampires
have had to fight for recognition and citizenship
in much the same way as gay males and lesbians
have. The reaction of some humans to the rights
afforded to vampires in True Blood could be
seen to mirror the responses of some sections
of society to the rights recently afforded to gay
men and women.'

'Not only does True Blood
present a number of homosexual and sexually
ambiguous characters without drawing attention
to their sexual identities or giving them ‘token’
status, it offers a great many sexually explicit
scenes. Yet perhaps none of this would have been
possible without the pioneering Buffy.'

Media magazine 32
'The films of Cohen seem to have a slightly
more positive representation of homosexuality.'

In the movie bruno it is about Sacha Baron Cohen playing a gay Austriann looking for fame in America. Sacha Baron has does many gay positive scenes in his movies like Borat and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where he plays a gay character and kisses Will Ferrel character at the end.

'The wrestling match where
Bruno and his assistant end up passionately
kissing in front of a jeering, psychotic, angry
crowd shows the awfulness of some American
attitudes to homosexuality.'

The stereotype can be sometimes too much as for the celebrity want to show positive gay people he exaggerates the stereotype to much in the movie.

'Bruno, on the other hand, is not a very nice
character. He is a highly-exaggerated stereotype
of a fashion-obsessed homosexual. His sex life is
portrayed as an exhibition of twisted creativity
and shocking acts of depravity; an exercise bike
with a dildo attached, a chair that catapults his
midget partner into him'


Media magazine 53
'TV drama features multiple lesbians, or looks beyond explicit sexual behaviour. Indeed, studies show that in the 20 most popular TV shows watched by young people, only 4.5% of the total programme time includes LGBT characters. For this reason, when shows feature multiple lesbian characters they are seen as a TV ‘event’, and this may immediately estrange audiences.'

This represents the views on television  as to the type of characters they have used, the characters in the shows that are LGBT are very not common in Tv series but it is going to be pushed as to old TV shows like Ellen and Buffy the vampire slayer had Lesbians. Also the sitcom Happy endings had a gay character which lead for 3 seasons. This is to represent the percentage of a programme and it shows that it is not a big percentage but it will increase over time.

Media magazine 38
'Neil Patrick Harris, who, in direct
contrast to his fictional persona, is openly gay
and an active campaigner for gay rights.'

This is to show the LGBT actors who can play straight characters, This is to show that straight actors can play LGBT like Jared Leto and that LGBT actors can play any character they want as to being different. This links to the LGBT part of my investigation as to that these alternative way to see a character.

Media magazine 44
Talks about Transgender being on channel 4

'For some time now TV, and C4 in particular,
has got big audiences for ‘freak show’
programs – transsexuals,'

homosexual incest between the surrogate
brothers. Bond’s reply mocks his own image
‘What makes you think it’s my first time?’ he
responds to his tormentor.

Gives a range in the entertainment department as to giving more depth and including the LGBT range for viewers. This is good because only 4.5% are LGBT in Tv shows and shows that there can be a increase because of this.



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