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Ugly Betty: Subversively flamboyant?
British news magazine New Statesman sang the praises of Ugly Betty recently, noting a subversive political agenda underneath Betty's shiny Cinderella story. The article praises the way it gave a human face to illegal immigration but also notes how the show quietly went into uncharted territory with it gay characters: "Gay characters are not unheard of in American drama, but Ugly Betty went a stage further by introducing a friendship between the flamboyant gay fashion editor Marc St James (Michael Urie) and Justin, Betty's 12-year-old brother (Mark Indelicato), who is clearly (but not explicitly) struggling with his sexuality. 'It's a relationship we've never seen before on television,' says Urie. 'We've seen what America is willing to accept with a gay man in a couple, but we've never seen a positive relationship with a young child before.' One of the show's creators, Silvio Horta, is gay and says that, as Justin ages, he will experience 'the journey'. 'I see myself in him. Growing up, I certainly felt like an outsider at times. But there is this sweet innocence in Justin that sees the positive.'" While both Marc and Justin have their stereotypical qualities, Betty has done much to define them beyond their flamboyant demeanor, catty gossip and fashion knowledge. Their relationships with members of the Suarez family and with the staff at Mode have given plenty of depth to both. Meanwhile, Televisionista has some pics of Marc and his new boyfriend, Cliff from the October 25 episode of Betty. Cliff's definitely not who we'd imagine someone like Marc dating, so it looks like we're going to get to learn even more about Marc. Check him out:
The quote from Silvio Horta also stood out for me. I've seen some debate on whether of not Justin is supposed to be gay and that's the clearest statement I've seen on the matter. Interestingly, the same episode that introduces Cliff also gives Justin a girlfriend. Is this part of "the journey" for Justin?
Submitted by on Mon, 2007-10-08 15:19. |
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A few corrections.
Silvio Horta
Marc's boyfriend.
Marc's boyfriend is adorable: a sexy, scruffy slacker dude! What a great combination, this will be fun!
justin...
The basketball..
If you look back at least week's episode I think there were tons of hints that Justin feels like his fabulous-ness is something his Dad wouldn't be proud of, and so he is likely going to butch it up to try and please his recently departed Papi.
At least, that was the vibe I got when he chose to keep the basketball. And those pictures of him with his "girlfriend" just make me surer than ever that that is where they are going with this storyline.
ah, yes.....
Why Justin is "Changing"
Many may not remember this; but Justin ended up playing Tony in West Side Story only because the original lead “accidentally” ate walnuts which he was allergic to. Although it was never specifically said, it was clearly implied that Justin was the one who “accidentally” gave the kid the walnuts because he was pissed he had not gotten the lead and was the understudy instead.
The only reason Santos was in the store, where he got shot, was to buy Justin an opening night congratulatory gift because he ended up playing the lead. If Justin had not been in the performance, Santos would not have been in that store. Justin is undoubtedly feeling guilty and responsible for Santos’ death. Most likely, as a tribute to Santos, and to alleviate his own guilt, Justin is going to try to be straight or straight acting (a phrase I hate). This will lead to an even greater struggle for Justin trying to be something that he, most definitely, is not.
Eventually there will be a family intervention, once they realize that he is changing or trying to change who he really is, and they will help him recognize that he was not responsible for the death. It will be like a “coming out of the dark” type story.
Of course, this is just my opinion. But, methinks it’s a good one.
Your analysis
makes sense, a contributing factor could be his age. He is entering puberty and is starting to experience (we assume) sexual and emotional attractions to members of the same-sex. At that age kids want to desperately be accepted by their peers, and same-sex attractions are a sure way to feel you will be an outcast.
Cheers
JBE
Justin's father.
Santos may have started to
Santos may have started to accept Justin but that's Santos giving way to Justin. Maybe, this is the way Justin grieves for his father -- Hilda set camp in her bedroom for weeks and pretended Santos was alive -- so in order to honor the essence of his father (which is gruff, macho, straight) and since this was what Santos wanted Justin to act when he first came back, Justin may have thought that this would make his dad happy.
Marc could do...
Marc could do so much better in the boyfriend department. I'm disappointed, to be honest.
Justin's new beard...er, girlfriend is fierce.
I think Marc's new boyfriend is entirely appropriate...
... for a show that's based on the notion that it's not the surface beauty of a person that's important, but the beauty on the inside.
It's great that the writer's chose to make this character someone relatively normal looking rather than the tan, toned, gym-bo supermodel type that you might expect Marc to fall for, not to mention the intriguing depth of character that it shows in Marc; it makes us wonder what it is that would make someone who is surrounded by all that sculpted flesh all day choose the opposite.
To each his own!
I think Marc's new boyfriend is dreamy! But I like 'em scruffy and husky like that.
LOL @ Gabriella.
"Justin's new beard...er, girlfriend is fierce."
HAHAHAHA!!
I love Marc's boyfriend.
I love Marc's boyfriend. It's fantastic how they chose someone so unlike him! Looking at this guy I can't imagine he cares about fashion at all. Fabulous!
And yeah, Ugly Betty is doing a great thing for flamboyantly fabulous gay men. In this show they're more than just "one of the girls", which is how they're often portrayed in different shows.
Marc's friendship with Justin
could stir up the homophobes that watch the show (something tells me though there are not many that watch UglyBetty). A significant portion of the population still thinks homosexuality is a "choice" and that people like Marc influence what choice "sexually confused" kids like Justin make. Age 12 is when I could put a word to my crushes on guys. I asked a schoolmate what "faggot" meant, he told me it was slang for a homosexual. Of course I was no further ahead because I did not know what that word meant either (I was so naive). My favourite sister kindly enlightened me and then I thought oh-oh that is me. Hopefully Justin's journey is a less circuitous one then mine, otherwise UglyBetty will have to go another 13 years!
I am delighted on the choice the program made for Marc's boyfriend, it is nice to see TV show writers not going down the tried and true path of picking someone that is a stereotype or a "gym-bunny", totally ripped and sexy. This guy looks more like a budding teddy bear!
Cheers
JBE
Michael Urie tells me --
-- there's going to be a LOT of drama with the new boyfriend because Marc doesn't want Amanda to know about him. In other words an out of the closet gay man is going to find himself going BACK in the closet when it comes to romance in order not to upend his work/social life. Of course it won't last, and I'm betting Betty will help to smooth the way for Marc and Cliff. As for Justin, while it's obvious from as far away as Mars that he's gayer than Anderson Cooper's sock drawer, he hasn't been anywhere near HOT MAN-TO-MAN ACTION yet. There was a reference he made last season to "all my friends at school" so we're going to see more of them. As for this little miss she'd be a fool not to latch onto someone as fashion-savvy as Justin. Leave us not forget he's a budding Yves St. Laurent. Therefore he likes women a lot. And this girl may well be his Twiggy -- whose fashion Svengali was also named Justin.