Benedict Cumberbatch Believes Alan Turing Should Be Celebrated As Gay Icon On Bank Notes
‘The feeling you have for the man after getting to know him through the duration of the film is really exacerbated by the frustration and anger, not just at the injustice served him, but also at the fact that, why don’t I know this story? It seems unbelievable that someone who is a war hero, someone who is the father of the modern computer age — and a gay icon — could remain in such relative obscurity to the scale of his achievements in his brief time on this planet.
‘One of the main reasons I was really attracted to playing him was to try and bring his story to as wide an audience as possible. It still seems unfathomable to me that Turing is not on bank notes; that he’s not on the front cover of a textbook. I’m serious. I mean, Newton and Darwin are on bank notes for Christ’s sake. This man, as acknowledged by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and other titans of the digital age… was the forefather of modern computing. He was an extraordinarily important man. I just think he should be celebrated as a social-cultural hero as well as someone of extraordinary importance in the scientific and modern worlds.’
— Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Turing in The Imitation Game, discusses the suffering endured by the computer pioneer who was ultimately chemically castrated for his homosexuality, during an interview with Deadline.
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18 Comments
Max
December 05, 05:16Oh my dear Benedict..
Once you’re gay, that’s all the world will see u as . It’s like being gay takes away your identity. I’m not surprised no one knows about him. People have always made it their life’s purpose to keep gay ppl out of history, only it didn’t work out this time.
Check out the bible, the only reference to gay ppl was in S&G albeit a bit vague which was associated with immoral act.
We’ve always been here doing amazing things. Just that over-zealous ppl make it their life’s mission to keep us out of history.
And the negative effect can be seen all around today. It makes ignorant ppl to think that somehow homosexuality is a 21st century type of perversion…
pinkpanthertb
December 05, 05:20So true. People who write history zealously keep gay people out of it, thence making it seem like the only thing homosexuality is known for is sex and irresponsibility.
Max
December 05, 05:25YES.. And also making it seem like everyone is supposed to be straight(cos everyone in history is straight) .. Cos all novels and story books etc plus history books had to do with Romeo and Juliet.. And not Romeo and Romeo
chestnut
December 05, 07:14…Or Romeo and Julio (I’m sorry,I just couldn’t resist,lol)
Max
December 05, 08:16Lol ..
#TeamKizito
December 05, 05:19Hmmm.
Kryss S
December 05, 05:59Hian!!! Kizito!!! Do you have a “mic” in your mouth this early morning? All this ur “hmmning” eh, me no code oh!
Masked Man
December 05, 05:25‘Ultimately chemically castrated’ kwa?
That’s a horrible one. More horrible than Nigerian parents taking their kids to churches to be flogged, starved and delivered of their homosexuality. I never thought it made sense, till I realised that it’s society and religion that set the pace in such issues.
Ndo, my dear Alan.
Dennis Macauley
December 05, 06:17Till today Isaac Newton’s sexuality is shrouded in secrecy, Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Handel, DaVinci etc! All these men had gay rumors surrounding them, but then again the people who decide what history will be have consciously omitted mentioning these parts of them.
Things are changing tho, albeit slowly. The community needs more positive role models breaking glass ceilings so much that they cannot be ignored
FKA Chizzie
December 05, 07:28Chemically castrated? wow as draconian as that sounds, I wouldn’t mind if that happend to some guys.
Legalkoboko
December 06, 17:03What if I tell them to use it on you?
DeadlyDarius
December 05, 08:03He was one of the most important figures in the 20th century…for any of his major achievements: helping to bring WWII to an earlier end OR being the father of the modern family. He was also treated horribly the British state he saved. I love Cumberbatch’s acting and cant wait to see this flick (I have not seen a single file on Torrentz tho to download…even though its out on cinemas)
Max
December 05, 08:19It’s still new… Waiting for torrents too…
1080p is my kinda quality… Wouldn’t watch it any other way…
DeadlyDarius
December 05, 09:34Yeah but more box-office friendly movies would hv files by now…crappy cinema-dub files but files none the less. Wanted to see the movie as soon as Cumberbatch was interviewed by Jon Stewart about it last month. Oh well…patience
Max
December 05, 12:03Yeah, patience is the key…
Deola
December 05, 22:23Ok Benedict we hear you. I am fan of Benedict but he is obviously trolling for Some Oscar attention. Funny enough that he talks about Turing being recognized, but yet the movie itself doesnt once depict his sexuality it’s just insinuated, not even a modicum of intimacy is shown. The movie itself is afraid or ashamed to show who the man really was and For a movie that was done in 2014 thats annoying, especially if one believes the reports that a sex scene was taken out of the scripts at the final moment.
The Movie is filled with wonderful acting performances, but their depiction of Turing was a tad dissapointing.
Alan Turing was a genius he really was, and should be celebrated, this movie though, not so much.
pinkpanthertb
December 06, 04:07Oh come on! Seriously? The movie came up that short?
Legalkoboko
December 06, 16:46The call to have Alan Turin’s face on bank notes is a commendable one but it isn’t ” unbelievable” to me that it isn’t.
I think it was merely this year, 2014 that David Cameron apologized for the appalling treatment of this extraordinary man. This is an event that took place as far back as the 60s!
I think the British society has really done well over the past few decades in accepting gay rights. Gay marriages are now legal there, and it is supported by all Brits.
So my dear? Benedict Cumberbatch, I think you should exercise some patience. Wait for the next time the UK gets to change the faces on her bank notes which I think is only after the coronation of a new monarch.