{"id":53571,"date":"2017-06-01T22:00:32","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T02:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-studio-responsibility-index-memorial-day-update-paramounts-baywatch-opens-summer-blockbuster-season-with-stale-gay-jokes\/"},"modified":"2017-06-01T22:00:32","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T02:00:32","slug":"glaad-studio-responsibility-index-memorial-day-update-paramounts-baywatch-opens-summer-blockbuster-season-with-stale-gay-jokes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-studio-responsibility-index-memorial-day-update-paramounts-baywatch-opens-summer-blockbuster-season-with-stale-gay-jokes\/","title":{"rendered":"GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index: Memorial Day Update: Paramount’s ‘Baywatch’ opens summer blockbuster season with stale gay jokes"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index: Memorial Day Update: Paramount’s ‘Baywatch’ opens summer blockbuster season with stale gay<\/a> jokes<\/b><\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox, Demi\u00e1n Bichir as Lope in Alien: Covenant<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Last week,\u00a0GLAAD released its fifth annual\u00a0Studio Responsibility Index<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that looked back at the 125 films released by the seven major studios in the U.S. during the 2016 calendar year. The findings were disappointing: only 23 of those 125 (18.4%) films included characters who were identifiably LGBTQ and nearly half of those (10 or 43%) included less than one minute of screen time for those characters. Additionally, only nine of the 23 (39%) passed the “Vito Russo Test<\/a>“, a set of GLAAD-created criteria analyzing how LGBTQ characters are situated in a film. As part of that report, GLAAD announced that we would be changing how we report on films throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of bringing the popular \u2018Baywatch\u2019 brand to modern day, the creators relied on outdated tropes that no longer appeal to mass audiences, and in the process sent a message about what sells \u2013 and what doesn\u2019t – to the whole industry,\u201d said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. \u201cCreators of future films looking for a mass audience should take a page from blockbusters like \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019 and include LGBTQ characters in ways that drive positive buzz, LGBTQ acceptance, and subsequent box office success.\u201d<\/p>\n

May is considered the kick off to the summer box office season. In examining the eight films released by the seven major studios this month, LGBTQ people remain nearly invisible or the outdated punchline.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alien: Covenant<\/h3>\n

LGBTQ characters: 2
Vito Russo Test: PASS<\/b><\/p>\n

Twentieth Century Fox\u2019s\u00a0Alien: Covenant\u00a0<\/em>was the only of the eight releases to actually include LGBTQ characters with the introduction of husbands Lope and Hallet, members of the crew of the U.S.S. Covenant which is en route to colonize a new planet. The couple<\/a> likely had a slightly bigger impact on the fans who searched out the short prologue film, \u201cThe Last Supper,\u201d which more clearly established their relationship and included a kiss between the two. More general audiences likely had no idea the men<\/a> were a couple<\/a> until after Hallet died and the camera<\/a> zooms in on their clasped hands, their wedding rings pressed together, and Lope whispers \u201cmy love.\u201d Lope himself, and nearly the entirety of the crew, later dies. The film squeaked by in passing the\u00a0Vito Russo Test\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0as Lope\u2019s death sets up the film\u2019s finale, meaning that were he removed from the film the plot would have been significantly altered.<\/p>\n

It is disappointing that the gay<\/a> couple<\/a>\u2019s relationship was only made clear after death given the graphic sexual talk between straight couples<\/a> and their repeated use of \u201cmy wife\u201d to refer to their partner. The small confirmation of their relationship did not have nearly the same impact on the audience as it would have had the prologue been included in the film itself. Still, the inclusion of these characters in a major sci-fi action franchise, which opened in over 3,700 theaters, should be seen as positive development. We hope this small step will lead to more substantial depictions of LGBTQ characters in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Covenant<\/em>\u00a0also included a scene where synthetic lifeform David, the returning villain played by Michael Fassbender, kisses a newer model synthetic and \u201cbrother,\u201d Walter (also Fassbender). The moment is not a romantic one; David has realized that Walter disagrees with his plans for creating a perfect lifeform and so he must die. David leans in, tells Walter \u201cno one will ever love you like I do\u201d as a comment on their shared understanding of life as synthetic family, presses a kiss to his lips, and stabs him in the neck.<\/p>\n

Baywatch<\/h3>\n

LGBTQ characters: 0
Vito Russo Test: FAIL<\/b><\/p>\n

One film that did not include any LGBTQ characters, but\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0include many jokes relying on gay<\/a> panic for cheap laughs, is Paramount\u2019s widely panned\u00a0Baywatch<\/em>. The first meeting between the male<\/a> leads, Matt (Zac Efron) and Mitch (Dwayne Johnson), includes a joke about Matt having a \u201cmangina.\u201d The film continues with \u00a0jokes about Matt\u2019s hair product being \u201c100% semen based,\u201d how uncomfortable he was to ride on a jet ski behind Mitch while holding on to his waist, and an extended exchange at the morgue where Matt is tricked into touching the genitals of a dead man<\/a>. Mitch takes a picture and threatens to post it online. Near the film’s end, Matt envisions his female<\/a> love interest kissing him as he is drowning. It turns out to be Mitch who is blowing air into his lungs, and Matt reacts with angry disgust.<\/p>\n

However, most audiences no longer find two guys<\/a> kissing or touching to be inherently weird or worthy of laughter.<\/p>\n

\"\"Later, Matt and Mitch decide to go undercover to infiltrate the kitchen of a resort they believe is involved in selling drugs. When they meet up, Mitch is dressed in a chef\u2019s outfit, while Matt \u2013 rather than wearing a matching uniform – is dressed as a woman<\/a> (in what is possibly the restaurant’s women<\/a>’s server\u00a0uniform)\u00a0for no apparent plot reason. The entire joke then becomes a visual gag based on a man<\/a> dressed like a woman<\/a>, furthering the idea that someone in a dress who looks masculine is just a joke to be laughed at.<\/p>\n

Juvenile comedies tend to play to the lowest common denominator of what a studio believes an audience will find amusing. Creators \u2013 and executives \u2013 must learn that appealing to one demographic does not mean the project must belittle or insult another audience.\u00a0Baywatch<\/em>\u00a0has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with a current 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and flopped at the box office in its opening weekend. This might be a good time for the studio to reassess what type of content it stands behind before moving forward with a possible sequel, which producers spoke with press about.<\/p>\n

The film’s poor box office and poorer word of mouth suggest that audiences get these jokes – they just don’t find them funny anymore.<\/p>\n

\"\"Snatched<\/h3>\n

LGBTQ characters: 0
Vito Russo Test: FAIL<\/b><\/p>\n

Twentieth Century Fox\u2019s comedy\u00a0Snatched<\/em>\u00a0included \u201cplatonic best friends,\u201d Barb (Joan Cusack) and Ruth (out actor and comedian Wanda Sykes), who are vacationing together and meet the leads at the Ecuadorian resort where they are all staying. The two have a background in security, Ruth shares that Barb used to be in special ops and is now mute after cutting out her own tongue post-retirement so she could never be tortured for information. The film\u2019s implication is that the two are a committed couple<\/a>, up until the \u201cplatonic best friend\u201d line. We wish\u00a0Snatched<\/em>\u00a0would have just gone all the way and let them be a couple<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2<\/h3>\n

LGBTQ\u00a0characters: 0
Vito Russo Test: FAIL<\/b><\/p>\n

Disney kicked off the month with the release of Marvel Studios\u2019\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2<\/em>. Director James Gunn was asked during the film\u2019s red carpet premiere if he would consider including a gay<\/a> character in the franchise and\u00a0he responded<\/a>, \u201cWe might have already done that. I say watch the movie. Check it out. See what you think,\u201d hinting that there would be some kind of noticeable queer content in the film. After fans and critics struggled to find any LGBTQ characters,\u00a0Gunn clarified<\/a>, \u201cYou know, somebody asked me will there be any gay<\/a> characters in Marvel movies, and what I meant was there\u2019s a lot of characters in the MCU and very few of them have we delved into what their sexualities are – whether it\u2019s gay<\/a> or straight or bisexual<\/a>. We don\u2019t really know. So, I imagine there are probably gay<\/a> characters in the Marvel Universe, you know. We just don\u2019t know who they are yet.\u201d Gunn has already confirmed there will be a Guardians 3<\/em>. This is a prime opportunity to\u00a0include telepath Moondragon and her girlfriend<\/a> Phyla-Vell in the new film. Both women<\/a> had major roles in the source material for the MCU films.<\/p>\n

Since beginning our\u00a0Studio Responsibility Index<\/em><\/a>\u00a0five years ago, the sum total of representation that GLAAD has found in Disney\u2019s Marvel films are seconds-long cameos of out news anchor Thomas Roberts appearing as himself in\u00a0The Avengers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Iron Man 3<\/em><\/a>. Similarly, our most recent report found that\u00a0Warner Brothers\u2019\u00a0Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was only counted as inclusive for cameos by out commentators. It does not look much better in other major comic book films.\u00a0Fox\u2019s\u00a0Deadpool<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was confirmed as pansexual in outside press though most of the film\u2019s references to this are in service of proving how outrageous his character is, and Warner Brothers\u2019\u00a0Suicide Squad<\/em>\u00a0completely erased Harley Quinn\u2019s bisexual<\/a> identity.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marvel recently screened footage of the upcoming\u00a0Black Panther<\/em>\u00a0film for press, which included a scene between two women<\/a> that many outlets read to be romantic. One of the characters in question, Ayo, is actually the lead in the book\u00a0World of Wakanda<\/em><\/a> that centers specifically on her relationship with another member of the all-women<\/a> Dora Milaje who guard their country\u2019s king. Yet,\u00a0Marvel issued a statement<\/a>\u00a0saying the relationship seen in the film\u2019s clip is not romantic and \u201cthat specific love storyline [\u2026] was not used as a source.\u201d Only time will tell if the film erases Ayo\u2019s queer identity all together, but the studio\u2019s rush to disclaim a lesbian<\/a> relationship does not bode well.<\/p>\n

\"\"There are so many strong LGBTQ-inclusive comics that this year GLAAD extended the number of nominees in the GLAAD Media Awards\u2019 Outstanding Comic Book category from five to ten in recognition of the quantity and quality of stories we are seeing. On the television side, superhero shows like\u00a0Supergirl, Jessica Jones, Legends of Tomorrow,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Arrow\u00a0<\/em>regularly include LGBTQ characters and have been a hit with fans. Marvel recently announced an upcoming TV adaptation of\u00a0The Runaways<\/em>\u00a0where a lesbian<\/a> hero and her shapeshifting partner will make the jump to the small screen. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore that LGBTQ people remain almost completely shut out of Hollywood’s big budget comic book films that have dominated the box office over the past several years.<\/p>\n

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – Everything, Everything –<\/h3>\n

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales –<\/h3>\n

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul<\/h3>\n

LGBTQ characters: 0
Vito Russo Test: FAIL<\/b><\/p>\n

Other May releases included Warner Brothers\u2019\u00a0King Arthur: Legend of the Sword<\/em>\u00a0that included a one-off joke about the brothel where Arthur is raised. After Arthur hits a law official, the man<\/a> complains to his supervisor, \u201cHe touched me!\u201d The supervisor tells him he should feel lucky, as \u201cmost people need to pay for that.\u201d Another WB film,\u00a0Everything, Everything<\/em>, is based on a novel of the same name that included a minor gay<\/a> character as a friend of the male<\/a> lead who was cut from the big screen. Disney\u2019s\u00a0Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales<\/em>\u00a0and Fox\u2019s\u00a0Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul<\/em>\u00a0did not include any LGBTQ content.<\/p>\n

Mainstream film continues to lag behind the groundbreaking LGBTQ stories we see thriving in other forms of entertainment media; everywhere from television and digital series to comics to video<\/a> games to novels to music. The fact that film has remained clumsy and inconsistent in its portrayal of LGBTQ lives makes the medium look more dated with each passing year. If the industry wants to remain relevant and retain younger generations as box office ticket buyers when they so many options for entertainment, Hollywood must catch up in reflecting the full diversity of the world those young people know as those\u00a0aged 18 to 34 are more than twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ as older generations.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can read the full 2017\u00a0Studio Responsibility Index<\/em>\u00a0now<\/a>. Follow\u00a0GLAAD on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook to keep up with our work<\/a>\u00a0as we continue to hold Hollywood accountable for who they are \u2013 or are not \u2013 representing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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June 1, 2017<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues:\u00a0<\/div>\n