1. For my final topic I will be looking at and critiquing the societal perceptions of homosexuals and looking more into "straight" privilege. One major theme I will be looking at is how it is "cool" and "popular" to have a gay best friend and how some females use the idea of having a gay best friend as an accessory. Also looking into overgeneralized statements about homosexual males and how they all talk in high pitched voices, love fashion and shopping and the overall flamboyant stigma that all gay men have now due to the media and overgeneralizing a certain population. I also will look into "straight" privilege and how many straight people do not understand the privileges they have by being straight.
2. My argument is that the media overgeneralizes and stereotypes the gay male figure and then the idea is adopted by the general public and they have a stigma towards gay men which I believe is often negative and the media needs to represent gay men in many forms not just in one general stereotypical way. Also I believe that straight people aren't aware of the privilege they have by not being attracted to people of the same sex and I want them to realize that with being straight comes some forms of privilege.
3. For my final project I am creating a short film that is queering the media and also parodying it. The short film will have two different parts to it. The first will be like an A&E true story about coming out as heterosexual or straight. This is going to be a queering of the idea because straight people don't have to come out because being straight follows societal norms so there is no need to come out. For the second clip it will be a parody of The Real Housewives and it will also be queering the idea of women using gay men as accessories. Instead of housewives it will be two extremely flamboyant gay men talking together (to show the serious over generalization and to follow the norms in the media surrounding gay men portrayals). Also these men will be talking about "straight" people as an accessory and talking about straight people in a stereotypical way. This will be the queering part because instead of a group of rich girls talking about their gay best friends it will be gay men talking about their straight best friends.
Connor, the motivation for your project is very important. You're so right about the stereotyping of gay men, especially in the media, and how they are portrayed in an extremely generalized version. Queering the media is necessary to create conversations about how we treat the gay community. I sure do hope that you release the Real Housewives parody. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Connor, I think your topic is very interesting and an important one. Our media does tends to generalize gay men and I think its detrimental since it is then applied in real life. I love your idea to parody the real houswives and to reverse the dynamic that is so often potrayed.
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