Queer Sexualities in Early Film: Cinema and Male-Male Intimacy

by Shane Brown

Since the publication of Vito Russo's seminal study The Celluloid Closet in 1981, much has been written about the representation of queer characters on screen. Until now, however, relatively little attention has been paid to how queer sexualities were portrayed in films from the silent and early sound period. By looking in detail at a succession of recently-found films and revisiting others, Shane Brown examines images of male-male intimacy, buddy relationships and romantic friendships in European and American films made prior to 1934, including Different from the Others and All Quiet on the Western Front. He places these films within their socio-political and scientific context and sheds new light on how they were intended to be viewed and how they were actually perceived. In doing so, Brown offers his readers a unique insight into a little known area of early cinema, queer studies and social history.

Genres: Film, LGBT

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 26, 2016

About the author

Shane Brown has a PhD in Film, Television and Media from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, with his thesis about representations of male queerness in silent and early sound film. His book on the same subject will be published in September 2016. In 2013, Shane published his young adult novel, Breaking Point, dealing with the subject of homophobic bullying in schools. To date, it has had over 7000 Kindle downloads. A new edition was published in 2019, along with a sequel, Breaking Down. His 2016 novel, The Lookout, is an adult ghost story set on the Norfolk coast. He has also published song-by-song guides to the music of Elvis Presley and Bobby Darin.

Reviews

[David Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exploring depictions of male-male intimacy in early film, Dr. Brown's work surveys a number of films and situations into which this intimacy is viewed. Far from using a single interpretive lens, Brown examines individual works on their circumstances and merit. This brings nuance and raises other questions for broader society which both shaped and were shaped by these films. If early film is your passion, this is a great book to check out.