Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (March 21, 2008)

He was on Derek and Romaine (show on Sirius OutQ) and when the topic of ATWT came up and Derek asked about the gay backlash, Neil characterized it as the gay community is upset that they aren't "making out" more. F**k him. The NYT, ET, Access Hollywood, LA Times and many other news outlets think it's news worthy but our own internal community organization doesn't think it's a big deal. What a f**king joke. This just goes to show you that a organization meant to hold media in check on gay issues can't when it's the media they are policing that writes their checks. Seriously...what a asshat.

Neil is indefensible (assuming it's exactly what he said and you didn't miss something). I've always said Nuke should be kissing and to say that gay folks are upset because they want more making it is insulting to say the least.

I'm really surprised that you didn't enjoy Stardust---I loved that film! Oh, I was not at all crazy about the DeNiro character, though. (The best bit of that subplot was that his crew knew he was gay, and didn't care about it at all.) But I did get a kick out of the film in general.

I'm like a superhero, with no powers or motivation...

(You'll do it anyway?)Newsflash: it's not meant to be a gay storyline at all. It's Brad and Toni's storyline, one going for many years.

Either you want normalcy and equal treatment by writers or you don't. Looks to me like you want cliches.

In the real world it's not a subordinate's business who the boss sees in his private life. The character matter-of-factly stated his was invitee's identity. He didn't whip out the leather chaps and dance on his desk, he did go on a parade, he didn't wrap himself up in a rainbow flag, he also didn't say, "I'm gay, so I'm taking my partner of eight years."

Toni (and Brad) clearly interpret the choice of same-sex guest as meaning their boss is a gay man. Obviously they didn't expect this but they didn't freak out either and from Evans' point, life for the characters will go on as if nothing's amiss just because the boss might be gay.

Isn't that what folks are striving for in media portrayals, to be treated with a normal sense of dignity? If not, what is? Readers are smart. Not everything needs to be spelled out in detail or pre-determined by the writer. Seems to me Evans has it right.

You left out the requisite FoxNews dig. Seriously, now, aren't you projecting just a bit much? I didn't see where he was concerned about "being dropped because of upsetting conservatives" in your coverage. Put up the quotes that support this claim or admit it's wild speculation from a wild, ingrained sociopolitical bias.

BTW, it is suspected that Evans considered making Luann's love interest (Aaron?) gay. There was a point where he told her he had some big secret that got in the way of them ever being a couple (it was always portrayed as a one-sided crush) and then the storyline disappeared for several weeks. In the end, he told her there was another girl he liked but comic strip fans were pretty sure the point of the cliffhanger were to see how readers would react to the possibility of Aaron being gay before putting it in the strip. I guess Evans got enough complaints to be scared off.

I can see why he'd be scared of controversy, Luann isn't Boondocks, a strip with enough critical praise that it can weather controversy and calls to take it off the funny pages, so such a reaction could mean a loss of income. Still, it sounds like a topic he wants to address, it just isn't something he'll take a big risk with.

. . .hmmm. . .

. . .I wonder if the NAACP ever honored Amos & Andy and Blazing Saddles?

. . . I'll have to look that up!

 

Been there, done that, bought the soundtrack!

You mean, no more Heath in Greek? That sucks (and not in a good way).

When it comes to LBGT cinema there were a host of worthy offerings last year including The Bubble (Israel), The Man of His Life (France), One to Another (also France), and I Don't Want To Sleep Alone (Kuala Lampur) But GLAAD has never head of them -- and doesn't care to. It's a publicity machine designed for B-lister photo ops. And nothing more.

Wonderful job as usual Michael. I always look forward to Best Gay Week Ever. However, I must say it seemed like two separate people were writing the column today. You defend ATWT for having interesting, well rounded (if not always well written) gay characters even if they are treated like the sexless do gooder gays (save a straight person by marrying them!) we always saw in the 90's; then you attack Stardust for not being worthy of a GLAAD award.

 Stardust was a smart and funny children's movie, and the first ever to have a gay (rather than gay coded) character who was allowed to be openly gay, accepted by his crew of pirates, and even got to flirt with another guy at the end of the film without it being seen as something creepy. Considering Disney's homophobic Wild Hogs was one of the most successful family films of last year, I would think you would have been more impressed with what has to be seen as a huge step forward for the portrayal of gay characters in US children's films.

Hey, Michael, as far as I know, both Danny Tidwell, last years runner up and his brother Travis Wall, runner up of 2006 -So You Think You Can Dance are openly gay.

I too thought Stardust was a pleasant little movie. Sorry you're so easily bored. Neil Gaiman (in various blogs) was hoping it would be another Princess Bride , but it did only so-so at the BO. Maybe it will grow as a DVD.

I missed the gay ref in Luanne. Every little hint helps, I think. If you want out-and-out GAY, go to The Meaning of Lila, in which a gay boy and his gal pal sit around dishing and bitching. He's as unattached as Will, however. One of the jokes is that neither one can get a date. Or go to 9 Chickweed Lane in which the the main character, Edda, a ballet dancer, lives with Seth, her gay partner. Seth has a boyfriend, but they're too Oscar-and-Felixish to live together. They are a couple, however, and keep a maternal eye on the other characters.

Speaking of buried plots, I finally noticed one in TEX, S. E. Hinton's last Tulsa novel about the Outsiders gang. It's a beautiful book, written in the voice of a none-too-bright 14-year-old boy, who manages to tell the reader more than he himself knows. The characters ring true, and every chapter ends on a zinger. Maybe not a great book, but a perfect one in realizing what it sets out to do. Anyway, I finally noticed that Tex has a family of rich friends whose son, Blackie, left home after arguing with his father, who wanted him to play football while Blackie wanted to study art. Later, after much trouble involving Tex, it's noted that the father has gone to San Francisco to mend fences with Blackie. That's all that is said. But there for young gay readers to pick up on and be encouraged. (The movie with Matt Dillon is good, too, but not so rich as the book. During the filming in and near Tulsa, Hinton was a bit put out with her horse, who played Tex's mount. "Toyota loved that kid," she said; "He'd run over me to get to him."

 

There's a Spanish version of it. Well, it's a little different as I understand it. The contestants live in an academy in a sort of Big Brother environment. The first gay romance has flourished. Check this video: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=x9fa8cSXHgc It's kinda cute and, obviously, it's in national tv, not cable.

Two weeks. Torchwood ep 10... unless the scene is cut for US audiences. Yeah. What you've all been waiting for. What you all want the show to be. You will be sad it's not a 50 min Falcon video but it should still satisfy those who want Torchwood to be a gay gay gay show.   I hope the show 'Skins' never makes it over here. One of the best gay characters EVER is never seen having sex. But he's so very out loud and proud. I'm sure the US viewers would hate it.

Not to be missed under any circumstances. Especially as the climax features an incredibly tender love scene (Note: Love Scene, not sex scene) between the Byronically beautiful Louis Garrel and the magnificently named (and magnificent in other ways as well) Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet. (Nice to see The Bubble got a GLAAD hand. Nicer still if they remember Christophe Honore next time around.)

I disagree with your "carrot and stick" approach. That was the 1980's-- we're past that now. There are plenty of examples of responsibly written, balanced storylines by major media. Brothers & Sisters & Ugly Betty in the US, not to mention BBC and other European media. By letting CBS/P&G get away with a censored storyline, we're allowing them to look progressive when they're really not. To me it's a step backwards from the status quo for Focus on the Family et. al. to have successfully lobbied to remove the physical affection from this storyline. It's not just about kissing, it's about treating this relationship like any other on the show.

German Soap - I don't like soaps, but I watch this one ever since Christian and Oliver are an item (well not yet officially..) in "Forbidden Love" I watch it again (I watched in 2000 when there was the story of Tom and Ulli and then Tom and Oliver - no other gay male storyline for 7 years..).

I mentioned in some other thread the other German soap "Marienhof" (which I don't watch either :o) but have seen the episodes with Mischa and Sülo - read ahead for more). It's the soap that follows "Forbidden Love" immediately afterwards (both on the first German channel 'Das Erste' - one at 5:30pm the other one at 6:00pm). So, everyday, you can watch both half hours one after the other, if you wish to. Both soaps have fervent followers, that say they only watch one and never the other *lol*. Whereas "Forbidden Love" relates the stories of the more 'hip and rich' folk, "Marienhof" is more the German "Eastenders".

Anyway, last summer/fall, "Marienhof" had its own coming-out/gay storyline between closeted and to-be-married Sülo (he has a young son from a previous marriage) and out Mischa (teacher). He meets Mischa and starts feeling very strongly about him. Sülo is very very deep in the closet though and very much in denial. Also, he's Moslim and faces even more inner turmoil because of it and his feelings for another man.

Check out: http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2424063/Marienhof_Suelo_und_Mischa

• R.I.P. - Heath Ledger [1979 - 2008] - always there..

As for GLAAD — are they perfect? No. Could they explain what they do better to the general public? Probably. Are there times they could react more quickly and more muscularly when homophobia rears its head in the media? Undoubtedly. But am I glad GLAAD exists, and do I think we're better off because they do? Undoubtedly.

Explain what they do better? An organization that gives media awards might have a problem explaining things? How can they judge others if they can't explain themselves?

I am happy that an organization exists who will calls the media out. But you act like they are the first to ever do that. They are not. And hopefully not the last.

Our community has limited funds. If we support GLAAD we need them to get it right every time. There are other groups that promote equality and if GLAAD is unable to, they should step aside and stop bleeding the community.

What troubles me is that GLAAD is too invested in promoting their own brand, over promoting fair representation of gays in the media.

ATWT deserved recognition for the work they did before the Christmas show when it became clear that the gay characters were second class citizens in Oakdale. The tide truned well before the first ballet was cast. GLAAD chose to have Van and Jake be their poster kids at the event, that was insulting and tacky. But it shows who GLAAD best thinks represents their community even if it doesn't represent ours.

Thanks to soapfan10038 and medusajames for posting the clips and subtitles, respectively. This entire storyline is so compelling. And Christian has a hot older brother as well!

And soapfan10038 even put together this great video with clips set to a song, "One More Try", sung by Jo Weil, the actor who plays Olli.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9YPom7aUvI

Exactly RJ! :o)   

On April 15th Christian will attempt to tell his brother Gregor (very hot indeed - check out the picture: Christian on the left and Gregor on the right) about his feelings for another guy but will not be able to.

You can check for episodes here -

www.daserste.de/verboteneliebe/folge_dyn~folge,3126~cm.asp (it is in German though). For each upcoming episodes they have a few pictures to view.

In a previous episode Gregor seemed not uptight at all - a gay guy hit on him and he didn't react/freak out. So it should really be 'easy' for him to accept that his little brother is gay. But we all know, it's always very different when it's someone from your family.. right? Hmm.. Well, the episode when Christian will finally out himself to his brother will surely be quite interesting!

• R.I.P. - Heath Ledger [1979 - 2008] - in peace..

I'm officially obessed with the Christian and Oliver story. I spent most of my early Easter Sunday morning, downloading all of the subtitled clips (thanks to Soapfan and Medusajames) up to Chapter 14 (in which Christian's dealing with the breakup/departure of Coco). I'm in love with this story and I like that it was long and drawn out. You could see the struggles that Oliver had in trying to not have feelings for Christian and I liked how it wasn't so "sudden" for Christian to develop feelings for Oliver. The writers took their time in showing how Coco and Christian were growing apart, even though they both tried very hard to keep their relationship together. Just love this story.

"Their relationship hasn't even really gotten off the ground yet, and the still already have more chemistry than Nuke! Maybe part of it is that since I can't understand the dialogue without subtitles, I am paying a lot more attention to their facial expressions and body language. The actors are doing a very good job with these roles. I know Van and Jake will tar and feather me for this, but I think that their performances look more than a little wooden. " 

Psionycx...I love your honesty and agree completely with your summation and comparision of chemistry and good acting skills between the German Soap actors and Jake and Van. The praise given to Jake and Van is so overkill. I've seen Van being called a 'great' actor..i'm sorry, but I don't even think he's very good, mediocre at best. And Jake is even worse...stiff as a plank of wood. I also don't think they have much chemistry on screen together, either. 

I just popped over to YouTube and caught a few of the chapters of the German SOAP with Christian and Olli...now that's what I call great chemistry and good acting. On my day off next week, I plan to watch from chapter 1 to present because i'm already intrigued with what i've seen so far. The two actors make you want to tune and see how their relationship progresses. With Luke and Noah, you tune in to see how further this storyline will go in its race to the bottom. I actually haven't watched since the Christmas episode with the pan away from Luke and Van kissing to a bunch of mistletoe.

And to think GLAAD actually awarded ATWT for it's gay storyline. By presenting this award to ATWT, it only gives them this false illusion that they're doing a fine job.  This is one award this shoddy storyline did not deserve. Maybe ATWT need to take a look at the far superior gay storylines being produced in many other countries, and it will help bring them into the 21st century.  

geesh! ... i really don't think any gay guy in his right mind would not fall in love with this show.... i am kinda hungry for storylines like this in any show - daytime or primetime, but Forbidden Love really took it to the next level.... although the writing is not new (the e-mail think is quite reminiscent of a certain tom hanks-meg ryan movie) and coming out for me is kinda over-used already... but above all that the show is still quite refreshing... and it doesn't hurt to have two gorgeous hunks as lead! - their chemistry can set off fireworks.... thank you thank you medusa and soapfan!!!! (not to pressure you or anything ms./mr. medusa... but can you please translate ep. 16-22 soon???? i'm dying to learn the dialogue exchanges!!!!!! pretty pretty please!! :-) thanks a million!!!!) Chrioli forever!!!!!

http://gaydaytime.blogspot.com/2008/04/jo-weil-das-interview-interview.html gaydaytime has an interview with Jo Weil through email about his show and his gay role. Thought people might be interested

"In contrast, sitting through a typical bout of Nuke involves watching Jake with a vacant expression on his face and Van with a look of petulant unhappiness. It's like they've realized that the dialogue they've been given is crap, so now they're abandoning any effort to embelish it with pretended emotion."

Psionycx...You gave me a good laugh with this because it's so true. After seeing the HollyOaks storyline between John Paul and Craig, and now this really well written and wonderfully acted storyline of Olli and Christian, it only further highlights the dirt poor writing and acting going on with the story regarding Luke and Noah. I watched all the translated episodes on Monday of Olli and Christian and was glued. I'm very greatful for the time and effort from medusajames in translating into english. On the weekend i'm going to do like you and just watch episode 16 onward without the translation, since the acting is so good you get an idea of what's going on in the scene.

"I say they need to yank that GLAAD award back from ATWT and give it to Verbotene Liebe!"

 I completely agree...the Luke and Noah storyline didn't even deserve a nomination in the first place much mind walking away with a GLAAD trophy. I think it's quite embarrassing

While I am certainly enjoying these clips, I am reserving judgement to see if they avoid the same tired progression that every other European gay soap couple has had this year, i.e. John Paul/Craig, Roman/Deniz, etc. The tiresome "I'm not gay, I'm just in love with this particular gay guy, and now I'm going to retreat in fear to Vagina Heights."

 As bad as the writing is for Luke and Noah, and it currently is really bad, at least the two guys are clearly sure they are gay and in love with each other. Of course, on cowardly ATWT, they never get to the kissing or sex, but I don't see Noah ever going back to the ladies, in spite of the hideous Ameera.