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Why Aren't Gay Movies More Popular?

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by Mystery, Jan 8, 2011.

  1. Mystery

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    Hello Everybody :slight_smile:
    Something occurred to me. A while ago, I saw the movie Brokeback Mountain and (sorry to anybody who liked that movie) I really didn't like it. The acting didn't appeal to me at all. But that was the only movie based on homosexuality that I had ever heard of and a lot of people did not want to see that movie when it came out only because it was "the gay cowboy movie." But I recently came across the movie Shelter and was hesitant on watching it because I figured it would be another Brokeback Mountain Disaster. But i eventually did watch it and LOVED IT:eusa_clap and went on to watch Latter Days and really enjoyed it as well and it makes me honestly wonder why Gay movies aren't more popular than what they are. I didn't know Shelter existed until just recently. Same with Latter Days and other really good movies (Watching Prayers for Bobby Next). The only movie about homosexuality that I can remember being made a big deal of when it first came out was Brokeback Mountain. Other than that, one would only find any of these movies by chance like I did. It kinda bothers me actually. Was just a thought.
     
  2. JB1986

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    I have to agree with this. I'm not sure why gay films hardly ever get much of a release if a release at all. I'm thinking that it might have something to do with studio executives thinking that there is a more limited audience for those films, so they're hardly given a release. Alot of gay films barely make it out of the festival circuit, and seem to go straight to DVD. That, and unfortunately Hollywood is still pretty homophobic, which really sucks. I could count on one hand the number of gay themed films given a somewhat sizeable release in the last year. That's all I can comeup with. As a movie buff, it sucks. I love to see quality gay-themed films. Oh, and I LOVED "Shelter" and "Latter Days." :icon_bigg
     
  3. midwestblues

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    In general, gay movies tend to be more on the thought-provoking side as opposed to the Hollywood blockbuster special effects side, so that would explain their rather limited audience.
     
  4. Austin

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    Because nobody likes to think?
     
  5. Shevanel

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    Because they tend to be quite bad. I'm sorry.

    Let's look at some good (or generally perceived to be good) LGBT-related/themed films.

    The Birdcage.
    Highest Grossing LGBT Film to date.
    $185,260,553
    What Wiki says about its reception.

    I personally think it's one of the funnier movies I've ever seen.

    But that's one mainstream one.

    Brokeback Mountain was mainstream, and it WAS called "the gay cowboy movie", and it got a lot of press and money, along with a lot of award show nominations/wins. I personally dislike it a lot, besides the Soundtrack (and Anne Hatheway's boobs).

    Milk was another "big" one. Was a Limited release, but it was in the Box Office Top 10 the first weekend and it made $54 million total, not to mention a ridiculous amount of positive reviews (which it rightfully deserved). Big actors, Big Director, Important history.

    There are more too, I just can't think of them right now. The problem with the majority of these gay films is that the minor independent ones have bad acting, bad directing, bad editing, bad writing. A shit ton of them do and it's really sad, because LGBT themed films have such a potential to be really amazing because of the at times harsh and serious (at times of course) subject matter, as used in Mysterious Skin (though the film is more about the victims of pedophilia rather than homosexuality). And the other good LGBT films, SUCH as Mysterious Skin (and Shortbus, if we must call it an LGBT film) are just too under the radar to be mainstream.

    But alas, just my thoughts. I can't stand to watch LGBT films usually because I can never relate to them, I have no interest to be piqued in them (actors I might like, such as in The Birdcage), and they just tend to be horribly made. Why would anyone want to watch anything like what I said in the previous sentence?

    (Don't get me wrong, I love my fair share of indie films, an aspiring filmmaker myself, I love quite a few of them and I understand all the work and difficulty there is in making films and everything, but I really wonder how some of this crap gets to even get filmed, let alone edited and released.)

    But again, just my perception.
     
  6. midwestblues

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    Top grossing films of 2010:

    10. THE KARATE KID
    Domestic Total Gross: $176,591,618

    9. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
    Domestic Total Gross: $217,581,231

    8. SHREK FOREVER AFTER
    Domestic Total Gross: $238,395,990

    7. DESPICABLE ME
    Domestic Total Gross: $250,588,005

    6. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1
    Domestic Total Gross: $274,392,000

    5. INCEPTION
    Domestic Total Gross: $292,517,082

    4. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE
    Domestic Total Gross: $300,531,751

    3. IRON MAN 2
    Domestic Total Gross: $312,128,345

    2. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
    Domestic Total Gross: $334,191,110

    1. TOY STORY 3
    Domestic Total Gross: $415,004,880

    The only one that could even be argued as throught-provoking would be Inception, and even that would be reaching. Note that I'm not saying a movie has to be thought-provoking in order to be good, simply that the majority of mass-appeal films are not thought-provoking.
     
  7. Tim

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    All but two of those are targetted at teens, however, and the other one is targetted at a specific audience.

    So the whole Inception being the only thought provoking one can only be because the others are for kids or a specific audience.

    A VERY large portion of LGBT movies are some of the worst movies I've ever seen.

    There are very few that are good, let alone thought provoking.
     
  8. partietraumatic

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    I think the reason homosexual themed movies are not more popular is because to the majority of the population, it's not a particularly interesting topic.

    I wouldn't say its homophobic exactly, i just think the large majority of the population are not interested in seeing a movie with a gay storyline. Even as a gay person myself, I'm not that interested in seeing a gay movie. I loved brokeback mountain, but not because of the gay aspect, but because i thought it was thought provoking and brilliantly acted.

    There are other topics I find much more interesting in a movie than homosexuality, so if that's how i feel, its not surprise most straight people won't be interested in a gay themed film!
     
  9. maverick

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    Most gay movies I've seen sucked. I hated Brokeback Mountain. I thought it was an interesting setup for a story, but that it was done in such a pretentious way I couldn't even care about the characters.

    90% of the population doesn't want to see LGBT movies because the love scenes don't titillate them and they can't relate to what is usually the primary conflict (the main character's sexuality).

    One of my favorite serious gay movies that I've seen that hasn't been mentioned here yet is Lost and Delirious. It's about a girl at a boarding school who finds out her two roommates are secretly lovers. Besides the whole love story plot which is absolutely heartbreaking in a Romeo and Juliet sort of way, it's just a really gorgeous movie, beautifully shot and acted.

    I always describe it to people as "The Dead Poets Society with hot lesbians".

    [​IMG]

    And there's swordfighting!
     
  10. ArcaneVerse

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    ^^This^^

    I also hated Broke Back Mountain, half of it anyways (I got so fricken bored I changed the channel), but I loved Latter Days even with its cheesy acting but I suspect it was because I was raised Mormon (which they did well in representing), Shelter was soo bad with its acting worse then Latter days imo and without the added angle that latter days had so I just couldn't enjoy it.

    Prayers for bobby was an amazingly powerful movie with minor faults that can easily be overlooked. MILK was just awesome in every way but the only reason I believe it, as a gay movie, got so much funding and such big actors was because it is about important political history, if it had been a love story I dont believe it would have ended up the same way which is why we have so many bad gay films.

    Still my all time favourite gay film is Priscilla Queen of the Desert. If anyone hasn't seen this movie, firstly shame on you =P, secondly go watch it now. It was made with a shitty budget and in not very accepting time in Australia but was still well received when it came out. If the straight beer drinking bogans can enjoy a film about drag queens it has to be a good movie.

    Anyways there are also a lot of non English gay films that you might like if you dont mind subtitles. I Dont remember any of their names though.
     
  11. maverick

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    I just thought of another awesome gay movie. It's not necessarily about being queer, but at least three of the main characters are gay or bisexual.

    Running With Scissors. Just another gay movie that is awesome mostly because its characters are incidentally gay, rather than having their sexuality be the focus of the film. And it's based on a true story, which makes it even better.

    [​IMG]

    ^ The little gay five year-old hairdresser is absolutely adorable. :love:
     
    #11 maverick, Jan 9, 2011
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2011
  12. midwestblues

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    Yes most gay movies suck, but most movies in general suck. There are plenty of terrible movies, Friedberg and Seltzer fare for example, that are very popular. Just because most movies in general suck, and LGBT films are no exception, doesn't answer as to why they're less popular than other films.
     
  13. Emberstone

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    I actually found the opposate... at least thanks to netflix. Most gay themed movies I have seen were far from thought provoking, and often look like they were written by 10th graders, and filmed with a camara you can buy at walmart. The acting tends to be abysmal, and lightning and camara work is crap, and it is far from thought provoking. they tend to be either shallow, or Stephenie-Meyer-Shallow.

    That is not to say there are not thought provoking gay movies, or good gay comidies and romances out there, because there are, but you are swimming in a sea of crap, trying to find the gems worth watching.
     
  14. InaRut

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    [​IMG]

    ^ Gay, Popular and thought provoking...C.R.A.Z.Y
     
  15. midwestblues

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    Like I said, those same claims could be applied to any genre of film.
     
  16. Connor22

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    only one I've seen was get real which I thought was really good, noone else watched it with me though, it was my little secret, I recorded it and watched it when noone alse was around, dad rented I love you philip morris once but he turned it off the second he realised it was a gay movie and turned it off i.e. after the first 10 minutes
     
  17. TheEdend

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    A lot of people here seem to say that gay movies aren't as popular because they have "bad acting, bad directing, bad editing, bad writing", but I think its the other way around. Gay movies have bad production because they aren't popular.

    I think gay movies aren't as popular simply because a lot of people cannot relate to them. Same thing happens with black movies or any other movie that is targeting a small audience.

    I mean, there is only so many things you can do with the story of a gay man/woman coming out or coping with being in the closet.

    I personally LOVE gay movies as well as books. When I watch a gay movie I do it with the mentality of enjoying the story and nothing else. I don't care about the bad acting and the horrible script. I just simply want to feel like I can relate to it. Sometimes I think that my younger gay self is watching the movie rather than me and thats the reason I enjoy them so much. Same reason why barbie movies and so many other kid movies suck for older people but younger kids enjoy them a lot.
     
  18. Beertruck

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    This. LBGT movies have a niche audience. It's the same reason that you probably don't watch blaxploitation or mumblecore or Bollywood films.
     
  19. Shevanel

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    I watch blaxploitation :frowning2: And I haven't heard of Mumblecore until now...
     
  20. Beertruck

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    Yeah, but for camp value, right?

    Also mumblecore is like lo-fi film or the cinematic equivalent of Elliot Smith.