Breakthrough Black and Latino Roles on the Big Screen

THE “MOST IMPORTANT” BLACK GAY ROLE?

Rodney Evans’ Brother to Brother (2005) captures the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance through the eyes of a celebrated gay poet who lived it and a young Columbia University student, Perry (Anthony Mackie), who is researching the era for a term paper. The film has been acclaimed as an example of historical fiction by introducing the story of poet Bruce Nugent, the older character in the film. (Prior to the film, the real Nugent and his poetry were little known to modern audiences, having been eclipsed over the years most notably by one of his contemporaries, the internationally known black gay poet Langston Hughes.)

“This is possibly the most important film I’ve seen in the past 10 years depicting black gay characters,” j. brotherlove explains. “At its core, the film is an unapologetic look at a young gay man struggling to find himself. However, it also proved that films centered on black gay characters could take on literary issues, transcend time, bridge generations, and do not have to be centered on HIV/AIDS.”

Like many other movies that offer roles for black gay men — both mainstream and gay — Brother to Brother features characters involved in inter-racial relationships. Most of these roles have been panned by critics because “it’s usually a mismatch, or the black character is simply an object of lust,” notes Kevin E. Taylor. “Here is an example: It’s like casting Taye Diggs opposite Will Truman (Eric McCormack). That pairing was so unlikely… even Jack and Karen didn’t believe it, and the relationship was quickly written out of Will & Grace.”

On the other hand, Taylor and many other black gay critics applaud Anthony Mackie’s role in Brother to Brother. “It made sense for Perry to experiment with sex as he fumbled his way through self-discovery,” explains Southern Voice’s j. brotherlove. “It also yielded an important scene about black skin as a sexual object, which goes unaddressed in white gay films.”

A NEW CAMP CLASSIC

The Ski Trip, the 2004 romantic comedy by director Maurice Jamal, deserves a spot on this list of breakthrough gay black film roles. Corey, the movie’s protagonist, an overweight black gay man who just turned 30, was equal parts Woody Allen and Pedro Almodóvar. Campy, romantic comedies may be somewhat more common for mainstream gay audiences, including Another Gay Movie (2006) or Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (2006), but the genre has rarely been explored with black gay characters.

"Initially some of the critics panned The Ski Trip,” says Jamal, who wrote, starred in and directed the film. “I mean there were some reviews that were so brutal I thought they had to be written by a jilted ex-boyfriend! But there really hadn't been a film like that before. Very urban, very camp, with bold, politically incorrect characters.” Jamal says that mainstream black films, and even the burgeoning black queer cinema, have a tendency to cast characters into “a very small box.” His script, says Jamal, “really pushed those boundaries.”

The Ski Trip was also the first feature-length film broadcast on gay-themed cable channel Logo (AfterElton.com’s parent company). As a result of its presentation on Logo, the film “has become the most widely seen black queer film in history. I am incredibly proud of that,” Jamal adds.

FEW CHOICES FOR GAY LATINOS

It’s probably no coincidence that many of the same frustrations expressed by critics of black queer cinema are also heard about portrayals of gay Latino men in film roles. If the landscape was barren or a “window garden” for black men … it’s a virtual desert for Latinos.

“You'd have to start by saying there are actually very few instances where Latino gay life has been depicted in American film,” says Andrés Duque, the well-known New York City-based advocate for Latino LGBT issues. His weblog, Blabbeando, is the top destination for Latino gay and lesbian news from the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

“If you look at the list, some of the movies that have had some impact in American movie theaters, these are not even US productions. Broken Sky (2006) is Mexican, Burnt Money (2000) and Epitafios are Argentinian, Don't Tell Anyone (1998) is Peruvian, Fresa y Chocolate (1994) is Cuban. That leaves only about a dozen or so that were produced with American financing and none of them certainly indicates a trend that our lives are necessarily going to be represented on the screen in the future.”

Since the vast majority of American movies are written, produced and directed by non-Latinos, Duque believes that explains why “in so many cases the Latino gay character is presented as ‘the other,’ someone who is not part of the core context and whose background might be underdeveloped or non-existent.”

Johnny Diaz is a reporter for The Boston Globe and previously was on staff at The Miami Herald where he shared in the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Elian González controversy. His first novel, Boston Boys Club (Kensington), follows a trio of friends as they navigate life and love in Boston.