LATimes | Such
an approach, and the resulting film, is a manifestation of the unique
vantage point Berlanti brings to projects as a gay man. As Hollywood
continues conversations about inclusion and diversity, the distinctive
outlooks LGBTQ filmmakers bring have become a calling card. Call it the
"queer gaze."
The
"male gaze," a term coined in 1975 by film theorist Laura Mulvey,
describes how film — and art of all sorts — is created through the lens
of a heterosexual man. Such a gaze has manifested itself in
stereotypical roles for women and minorities, including the busty dumb
blond and the sassy black woman.
Over
the last couple of years, awareness has risen for an unofficial retort,
the "female gaze," as women have taken and been given more
opportunities to write and direct their own narratives with female
characters at the center. Look no further than the boom of women behind the scenes in television
— from the all-female directing teams of "Queen Sugar" and "Jessica
Jones" to the writers rooms of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and "Jane the
Virgin" — for representations of women toppling patriarchal conventions.
The
"queer gaze," meanwhile, remains less known and discussed as a creative
perspective. A direct response to the oft unspoken of yet ever-present
"straight gaze," the queer gaze recognizes how lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and queer people create and view art. Moreover, it
challenges binary notions of existence and storytelling employed in many
male gaze versus female gaze conversations where the context is nearly
always heterosexual.
LATimes | I
have never been so upset by a poll in my life. Only 22% of Americans
now believe "the movie and television industries are pretty much run by
Jews," down from nearly 50% in 1964. The Anti-Defamation League, which
released the poll results last month, sees in these numbers a victory
against stereotyping. Actually, it just shows how dumb America has
gotten. Jews totally run Hollywood.
How deeply Jewish is
Hollywood? When the studio chiefs took out a full-page ad in the Los
Angeles Times a few weeks ago to demand that the Screen Actors Guild
settle its contract, the open letter was signed by: News Corp. President
Peter Chernin (Jewish), Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey (Jewish),
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger (Jewish), Sony Pictures
Chairman Michael Lynton (surprise, Dutch Jew), Warner Bros. Chairman
Barry Meyer (Jewish), CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves (so
Jewish his great uncle was the first prime minister of Israel), MGM
Chairman Harry Sloan (Jewish) and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff
Zucker (mega-Jewish). If either of the Weinstein brothers had signed,
this group would have not only the power to shut down all film
production but to form a minyan with enough Fiji water on hand to fill a
mikvah.
