Scar in 'The Lion King.' All photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Scar in 'The Lion King.' All photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Annoncering
Jafar in 'Aladdin'
Annoncering
Annoncering
Thankfully, almost a century later, we've finally made it back to being as progressive as the 1920s. Yet even as actual kids are coming out earlier and earlier, their on-screen counterparts, role models, heroes, and villains have remained resolutely closeted, existing only in suggestion, innuendo, and stereotype. (At least, this is the case in America. Anime has a long tradition of gay characters, and even couples, in programming intended for kids.)Recently, however, this last barrier has begun to break, in large part thanks to one company: Laika Studios. In 2012's Paranorman, they featured a gay jock named Mitch, and in The Box Trolls, their narrator specifically mentions all kinds of families, including ones with two fathers or two mothers. In an interview in 2013, Laika CEO Travis Knight explained, "The kinds of films we make have to be consistent with our values… Sometimes that means putting yourselves out there a little bit."Personally, I hope we see more gay villains – just ones who are gay gay. Gay heroes as well, and sidekicks and straight men and bit parts, too. I hope the pansy doesn't disappear just because he's a stereotype, but I hope he's allowed to be more than just a stereotype. And I hope gay men get to be more than just pansies. But it will take brave, conscience-driven filmmakers and studios to get us there.Do I Sound Gay? is now screening at the IFC Centre in New York and on cable-on-demand. It opens in select theatres in the US on July 17.Hugh Ryan is on Twitter.On Motherboard: 'Why the Gaming Industry Plans to Keep Gay Characters on The Sidelines'
