{"id":92376,"date":"2017-03-04T02:31:47","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T07:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=92376"},"modified":"2017-03-04T02:32:10","modified_gmt":"2017-03-04T07:32:10","slug":"subtle-very-gay-moment-in-new-disney-film-generates-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/03\/04\/subtle-very-gay-moment-in-new-disney-film-generates-buzz\/","title":{"rendered":"Subtle (very) ‘gay moment’ in new Disney film generates buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The so-called \u201cgay moment\u201d in Disney’s new live-action version of \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d is subtle \u2014 so subtle that one could easily miss it with an ill-timed sneeze or glance away from the screen. And it may sail over the heads of young viewers. (Photo: Beauty and the Beast\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To be clear: \u201cBrokeback Mountain,\u201d this isn’t.<\/p>\n

The so-called \u201cgay moment\u201d in Disney’s new live-action version of \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d is subtle \u2014 so subtle that one could easily miss it with an ill-timed sneeze or glance away from the screen. And it may sail over the heads of young viewers.<\/p>\n

But the cast and director say it is indeed a gay moment \u2014one they’re proud of. And advocates are calling it a big step forward for Disney and for youth entertainment.<\/p>\n

Mere word of it was also enough to lead one Alabama drive-in theatre to cancel plans to show the film \u2014 apparently without having seen it, because it doesn’t open nationwide until March 17.<\/p>\n

The scene in question involves the character of LeFou (Josh Gad), the timid and lovable sidekick to the preening villain Gaston (Luke Evans). Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say that LeFou spends much of the film in Gaston’s thrall, and toward the end also has a moment \u2014 a few seconds, really \u2014 where the same-sex theme is more overt.<\/p>\n

At the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Thursday evening, Gad said he was \u201cvery proud\u201d of the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Director) Bill Condon did an amazing job of giving us an opportunity to create a version of LeFou that isn’t like the original … but that makes him more human and makes him a wonderfully complex character to some extent,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there’s a moment at the end of the film that I don’t want to ruin … because I want the surprise to be intact, but I’m very proud of it. I think it’s an incredible moment and it’s subtle, but I think it’s effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condon suggested that descriptions of LeFou as the first Disney gay character went too far. \u201cI keep saying it’s more like the first gay moment,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause I think it’s a very fluid character.\u201d The director added: \u201cYou can’t help but wonder in his adoration of Gaston … (is there) something more going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

The length of the scene \u2014 or scenes, since LeFou’s fluid orientation is hinted at elsewhere \u2014 is not what’s important, said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a wonderful step forward,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this is incredibly important for the youth of today. They need to see themselves reflected in the media they consume. More and more, as studios want to appeal to youth audiences, they’re going to have to include LGBTQ story lines and characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis noted that in the annual survey that GLAAD puts together on LGBTQ inclusion in movies, \u201cwe have struggled year after year to find any content in major studio films. We’re usually the punching bag or the laughingstock. So this is an enormous step forward for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past, many have speculated on what they see as \u201ccoded\u201d gay characters, or winking references to gay characters or themes in Disney and other youth-oriented films. Ellis said the difference here is that \u201cwe’re moving from coded, where you have to put together the pieces, to this being in the spotlight … It shows the direction America is moving in.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Facebook page that apparently belongs to the Henagar Drive-In Theatre in Henagar, Alabama, announced that the theatre won’t be showing the film as planned because its operators are \u201cfirst and foremost Christians\u201d and \u201cwill not compromise on what the Bible teaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we cannot take our 11-year-old granddaughter and 8-year-old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it,\u201d the message said. Theater operators did not immediately respond to emails or phone messages to confirm the Facebook posting. The theatre’swebsite continued on Friday to say the film was coming in March.<\/p>\n

Audra McDonald, the Tony-winning Broadway actress who plays a particularly tuneful supporting character in \u201cBeauty and the Beast,\u201d said she was \u201cso honoured\u201d to be a part of the moment. \u201cThe thing is, Disney’s not doing anything all that revolutionary,\u201d she said. \u201cLGBTQ people have always existed, interracial couples have always existed. And now they’re shining light on it. So they’re just representing the world the way it actually is and I think that’s spectacular and necessary.\u201d (Interracial couples also appear in the film.)<\/p>\n

Evans said the scene in question was \u201cabout unity. It’s about never judging a book by its cover, but digging a little deeper and understanding to not be fearful of things you don’t know, people that are a little different to you. Fear is not a good thing to fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To be clear: \u201cBrokeback Mountain,\u201d this isn’t. The so-called \u201cgay moment\u201d in Disney’s new live-action version of \u201cBeauty and the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":92377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[16125,16124,16126],"class_list":["post-92376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-lifestyle","tag-beauty-and-the-beast","tag-brokeback-mountain","tag-gay-moment","mauthors-jocelyn-noveck","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}