'Celluloid Closet' is a fantastic documentary about the representation of gay people in Hollywood movies. But not only. This is also an important piece about the history of cinema, and what filmmakers had to go through to sneak past the censors. Besides talking about how the stereotype of the gay man was born, it also shares some fantastic anecdotes about how filmmakers spiced the movies up (the story behind 'Ben-Hur' was particularly hilarious).
But, this film made me think about movie-making in general and why movies used to be so well written? Don't get me wrong - I in no way wish the censorship to come back in any form, but. . . Back in the days, to tell the stories properly, and give some hints to the viewers, meant that the writers/directors had to be clever. This sneaking between the lines gave us so many fantastic complex characters, dialogue with neat innuendos, and stories that left the audiences to think (those who were capable of such a difficult task). I'm not speaking only from the LGBT point of view, but generally. It is great that the LGBT community nowadays has much better visibility through movies and there have been some great characters, but still, the use of the stereotypes is in the vast majority. Even in the movies that are supposed to be pro LGBT and not comedies using gay characters as comedic relief. I just wish the nuanced writing without too much obvious politics would return into the mainstream cinema.
But, this film made me think about movie-making in general and why movies used to be so well written? Don't get me wrong - I in no way wish the censorship to come back in any form, but. . . Back in the days, to tell the stories properly, and give some hints to the viewers, meant that the writers/directors had to be clever. This sneaking between the lines gave us so many fantastic complex characters, dialogue with neat innuendos, and stories that left the audiences to think (those who were capable of such a difficult task). I'm not speaking only from the LGBT point of view, but generally. It is great that the LGBT community nowadays has much better visibility through movies and there have been some great characters, but still, the use of the stereotypes is in the vast majority. Even in the movies that are supposed to be pro LGBT and not comedies using gay characters as comedic relief. I just wish the nuanced writing without too much obvious politics would return into the mainstream cinema.
