Even if you read or watched The Celluloid Closet, it’s worth watching Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert’s 1982 Sneak Previews episode entitled, “Changing Attitudes toward Homosexuality”—we give it two thumbs up.
Not only does the show cover some movies and viewpoints left out of the film version of The Celluloid Closet, but the men also cast different predictions about the future of gay cinema—one foresees greater inclusion and complexity for gay characters while the other worries that gay films might prove a short-lived fad.
Considering today’s offering of LGBT fare on the big screen, one wonders whether both men were correct.
randy
Very perceptive Sneak Preview. Their analysis is spot on and still relevant.
What’s amazing is that when those films came out, there were no protests from Christians, or even any controversy. I remember that I was in high school, and our French teacher took us all to see La Cage Aux Folles, and no one thought twice about it (and this was a conservative suburban school).
Today, a teacher would probably be fired for taking her students to see a gay movie.
BubbasBack
Oh, that’s when Ebert still had a face! Poor guy. Burp.
ethan
@randy:
agreed
so what did happen between then and now??? the answer is of course the rise of the hateful
conservative right during reagan’s time as president.
Its the same thing with race relations in America now that we have a black president. Everyone thought that it would mean this is now a post racist america when in fact again the far right has galvanized their hatred for Obama and now race relations are worse than before his election. go figure.
Trey
I don’t think Reagan or the Right (and I can not believe I am saying this) is as much at fault as you are implying. If you look at that video, you have two social libs (for 1982) treating gays like humans. This was not radical for urbanites, but it was radical in the burbs at that time. The progress that we have really made is that we exist both places. It involved AIDS and a generation lost of us, but also led to a generation of people who felt comfortable coming out to their family, and a family that was fairly receptive.
David Gervais
I’d like to watch this, but I think it’s geoblocked. Does anyone know of another source that might work? So far I haven’t found it on Youtube & the WTTN TV Chicago site won’t play it for me.