We recently presented a feature that examined the major television networks' individual records on gay visibility. The article unearthed some fascinating skeletons in the networks' closets, and generated interesting discussion among AfterElton members.

And now … as a movie trailer might dramatically intone … it's the movie studios' turn.

General Overview: Assessing movie studios is a complicated business. The six major studios operating today are vestiges of the old Hollywood studios dating back to the industry's early days, but they bear little resemblance to those original studios in how they operate. Today they're owned by mammoth corporations and have opened subdivisions and acquired subsidiaries, many of which were once major studios in their own right. Unlike independent studios, which have themselves emerged as major enterprises, they tend to market movies to widespread mainstream audiences. Most of the clearly gay-friendly, gay-targeted movies you love were probably produced by independent studios, or the arthouse subsidiary of one of the majors.

Moreover, the extent to which a studio is involved in the actual day-to-day production of a movie varies significantly. For the most part, when we say a movie is produced by a particular studio today, it means the studio served as distributor and primary financial backer. In other words, it's the big name at the top of a poster that comes before all the individuals and production houses involved.

Nevertheless, despite these complications, it's possible to examine each studio's catalog of movies and see patterns emerge indicating the types of movies that a particular studio has a history of backing.

In general, the outlook here is not good.

Given how many movies have emerged over the years from major studios, it's disturbing how few instances there are of gay characters appearing at all. Worse, there are many cases when this visibility is of an entirely negative kind — perpetuating stereotypes, fostering fear of monstrously portrayed social deviants, or making gays the convenient targets of juvenile homophobic humor. This is particularly troubling when one considers that these mass-marketed movies, particularly those released in prior decades, served as the only place where many mainstream moviegoers — including gay ones — encountered images of gay life.

Obviously, it's impossible for an article of this scope to address every movie with gay content (for a look at how lesbian issues are handled in popular culture, visit AfterEllen.com). Hopefully this two-part article (beginning today with in-depth discussions of three studios and concluding tomorrow with the remaining three) will invite further discussion. Please feel free to post comments expanding on readings of particular movies mentioned here. Or if a particular movie stands out for you as having been particularly gay-friendly or homophobic, track down the studio that produced it and post a comment about it.

BUENA VISTA MOTION PICTURES

Parent company: Walt Disney

Subsidiaries: Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar

Overview: More than any of the other major studios operating today, Disney aggressively markets to mainstream, family audiences. To the extent that family-friendly material is still defined as representing a traditional, heterosexual norm, Disney films reflect that standard with little deviation.

The company has also been carefully scrutinized by, and subject to protests from, conservative religious groups like the American Family Association and the Southern Baptist Convention, both of which in the 1990s initiated longterm boycotts of Disney for its domestic partnership policy, promotion of “gay days” in its theme parks, and some of its film content, particularly from its newly acquired Miramax division. To their credit, Disney did not respond to these boycotts, both of which were ultimately called off without any change in Disney policy.

However, while the company might be known for gay-friendly employment policies, when it comes to gay visibility on film, it's uncomfortably like its famed theme park rides: there might be plenty of gay hands at work behind the scenes, but you'll find nothing overtly gay in the tidy “small world” as Disney presents it on screen.