Le cinéma queer: écolières, vampires et cowboys gays

by Barbara Mennel

Le cinéma met en jeu deux plaisirs antithétiques : regarder et être regardé, voyeurisme et exhibitionnisme. À une époque où gays et lesbiennes sont présents à la télévision et au cinéma, comme personnages centraux ou en tant que proches, voisins ou amis de ces derniers, il est intéressant de revenir sur un passé où ces personnages pouvaient être discrédités. Car sexualité et genre ont joué un rôle primordial dans l'histoire du cinéma.
Ces "déviants" tragiques et monstrueux, ancêtres des gays et lesbiennes bien intégrés dans la réalité contemporaine, émaillent l'histoire du cinéma queer (ou LGBT). La trajectoire du cinéma queer n'a pas suivi une progression linéaire, loin s'en faut.

Cet ouvrage, paru aux Etats-Unis dans la collection « Short Cuts », s'efforce de réunir les moments importants et les tournants décisifs de son histoire.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Pop Culture, Art, Film, Queer

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Brendan]

Rating: 3 1/2

Points for being informative. There are numerous specific films discussed, and placed in their broader societal contexts. Demerit for the writing style: very awkward and needlessly intellectual; not surprising that the author is a professor.

In conventional love stories, the heterosexual couple coincides with the happy ending. In contrast, in films about gays and lesbians, up until the late 1970s, a homosexual union constitutes a problem for the narrative that has to be resolved by the film's conclusion, often tragically so.

The effects of feminist lesbianism and the generational shifts from pre- to post-Stonewall male gay culture appear in films throughout the 1980s and were soon overshadowed by the emerging AIDS crisis.

... during the first decade of the twenty-first century, gay and lesbian topics have become more visible, acceptable and thus, also financially viable.... Yet industry forces are such that films have to satisfy the common denominator of audiences' tastes.

[mage. · Rating 2 out of 5]

look i hate kissing jessica stein too but this book was biphobic and transphobic lol

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much information for the Short Cuts series to cover, but still good. Mennel included a good amount of movies that were supposed to be socially conscious and movies which were supposed to be camp/artsy.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this bad boy up at the museum of moving image. Lowkey read like a gd textbook…. HOWEVER, it gave me a million recs for queer movies. I’ve watched 4 so far and had already seen a handful :) PS: this book came out in 2012 so it only discusses films up to that year. Would love to read a more recent book like this that goes into the 2020s

[Odie Bergstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting insights into the history of queer cinema. Felt a little outdated, but such are a lot of books from 10+ years ago. I’d be interested in Mennels views on more recent queer movies (i.e. Call Me by Your Name, Love, Simon, or even the addition of queet characters in childrens television)