Still no photo Essay: Thoughts on "Homo" instead.

Michael and I watched "Adventures in Babysitting" this week. We did as we often do and watched the movie in installments. Often we watch short bits during dinner and take an entire week to watch a complete movie. This one we took only two nights to complete. It was made in 1987... I didn't see it until later when it was on VHS, but then saw it several times and always enjoyed it. I hadn't seen it for years, but when I saw it on the $5 shelf decided it was worth buying for Michael to see. When we watched it I was horrified and appalled that I had been so entertained from a movie where one of the main plot points or conflicts was teenage boys calling each other/ other men "homo" as an insult. I have often said as I spoke about homosexuality that in high school "homo" was something the boys called each other as an insult and it never occurred to me that some of them might actually BE homosexuals. Later, when a guy from school died from AIDS, and then a friend came out to me the reality of it struck me. Now it is such a part of my life - Bloomington has a lot of GLBT population and I have many friends who are part of that portion of our community.

I remember telling Emily quite often not to use "gay" as a derogatory term, as in, "that shirt looks so gay on you." I hadn't realized, however, that I was probably at least partially guilty of instilling that negativity in her by letting her watch that movie frequently when she was in elementary or middle school... She went through phases where she would watch a movie repeatedly until she tired of it and then move on to the next - this was one of them. Now she also has very close friends with different sexual orientations and I hope she doesn't use "gay" as a derogatory word any longer.

I think I am beginning to view film differently for some reason... maybe because I no longer analyze literature formally, do research, write papers, this is a way to exercise those skills and activities I have always enjoyed. Last week I watched "The Piano." I have always thought of it as one of my favorite movies...it was definitely well written and well made (by a woman). After I watched it this time, however, I started to deliberate... is this another sexist film? Like "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" as the girls swoon over the story of "The Rape of the Sabines" then fall in love with their kidnappers... In "The Piano" Baynes stops bargaining the instrument for sexual favors, saying he wants Ada to care about him, that it is making her a whore... but if a relationship begins that way does it legitimize it later? Part of me would like to really do research and find if someone has written on the subject. It could be as easy as a one minute Google and there you go. Another part of me says I'd like to keep it a "love story" in my mind and forget analysis and literary comparisons.

I may be considering the films I watch and have watched in the past more carefully and with some different perspective. My life has changed considerably in the past 5-10 years. There are probably many more issues to which I have become more sensitive. Maybe some of my old favorites will change as I view them through new lenses.

Editing to add: Found this article in less than a minute, probably. http://www.bostonreview.net/BR19.1/stone.html The internet is amazing.