Read a really great piece tonight in CBC.ca's Arts section entitled "Funny that way: Blades of Glory and Hollywood's homophobic impulse". It's a great piece by writer Rachel Giese that discusses gay men as one of the few remaining minority groups that it is acceptable to openly mock for comedic effect:
With so many targets now forbidden from the comedy repertoire (like Jews, black people, women … unless they are horny, fat, black women played by men in padded suits — you go, Eddie!), gay men are one of the last remaining minority groups that can be mocked with impunity. Because what’s funnier than suggesting that two guys with – as Chazz would put it – “matching dongs” are doing it? Such anti-gay humour doesn’t just litter sophomoric gross-out comedies like Little Man, Boat Trip and the Scary Movie franchise, but shows up in the relentless gay-baiting banter between Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest on family-friendly American Idol, as well as in popular, mainstream movies.
Giese offers insightful commentary on a number of recent Hollywood offerings and then goes on to discuss the differences between US and Canadian portrayals of gay men:
Perhaps it all comes down to context. Gay life, like straight life, has plenty to laugh at. The difference is that gay life is so rarely seen in mainstream films that every depiction appears to be This Is the Way That It Is, rather than one of myriad portrayals, both good and bad. So when Hollywood makes fun of gay men, it looks like a bully. In the absence of blockbuster gay-themed movies created by gay comedians, or, more crucially, when gay Americans don’t enjoy full civil rights, it’s just not a fair fight. Maybe that’s why in relatively open and tolerant Canada, gay comedians like Gavin Crawford of This Hour Has 22 Minutes have more leeway to make jokes about being gay, which are funny precisely because they don’t play into easy stereotypes.
The article is well written, articulate and though-provoking - definitely worth a read.
My favourite part of the whole piece, though, is something that Giese didn't intend. Running alongside her article were ads for George Strombolopolous' show, The Hour, with him looking very tough-guy street and copy reading "The world. Served straight up."