New GLAAD Video Highlights Homophobia In Hollywood
The charity has released an online video campaign to highlight the unfair treatment of LGBT characters in major Hollywood films.
Titled ‘Hollywood Must Do Better,’ the two and a half minute video features clips from several popular mainstream films released in the last five years.
GLAAD says each of these clips is an example of how Hollywood regularly depicts the LGBT community in a negative or dangerous light.
“People around the world love going to the movies,” a disclaimer at the beginning the video reads. “But for LGBT people, entertainment often comes at their expense.”
The video then features snippets of popular recent films – including Ted, Project X and The Wolf of Wall Street – that the organisation says contains homophobic and insensitive jokes.
“We’re still the butt of the joke. We’re still infrequently seen and when we are seen, it’s in a negative light,” GLAAD CEO and president, Sarah Kate Ellis told Variety in announcing the campaign. “We want to show people and to build awareness of how bad mainstream films are. Our greatest outcome would be for studios to take notice and understand that we are watching, we are paying attention and we are putting a concerted effort into changing things.”
According to the organisation, just 20 of more than 100 major studio releases in 2014 featured LGBT characters, and those that were included received little screen time. GLAAD’s third annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) found that of the 20 films deemed inclusive of LGBT characters, ten of those contained less than five minutes of screen time for their LGBT characters – with several being less than 30 seconds.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis warned that the film industry was in danger of being left behind by failing to mirror the progress made by ground-breaking TV shows such as Transparent and Orange is the New Black.
She said: “As television and streaming services continue to produce a remarkable breadth of diverse LGBT representations, we still struggle to find depictions anywhere near as authentic or meaningful in mainstream Hollywood film.”
The media charity recently announced it will no longer publish an annual report monitoring the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBT representation on TV. The charity published its ninth annual Network Responsibility Index earlier this month, which identifies TV networks who have excelled at representing LGBT people, storylines and characters – as well as those who have failed to do so.
However, as the report enters its ninth year, nearly all US TV networks are ranked ‘adequate’ or above – with the FOX network becoming the first major broadcaster to be ranked ‘excellent’.
Watch the full video below.
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24 Comments
Mandy
September 27, 08:13Kudos to you, GLAAD. But reorienting Hollywood on its poor portrayal of the LGBT? I dunno, that seems like an uphill task to me.
Khaleesi
September 27, 10:11Hmm… This one is an impossibly tall order… good luck with this GLAAD!
ken
September 27, 11:24Cowards everywia!!!
Nobody said change is easy…whats worse is when u dont even try!
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 11:44“According to the organisation,just 20 of more than 100 major studio releases in 2014 featured LGBT characters,and those that were included received little screen time. GLAAD’s third annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) found that of the 20 films deemed inclusive of LGBT characters,ten of those contained less than five minutes of screen time for their LGBT characters – with several being less than 30 seconds.”
My take,there are/ought to be issues of more importance to the LGBT community to talk about,than kvetch about how many of Hollywood’s releases featured LGBT characters and how much facetime they got.That sounds kinda petty to me,we can’t or shouldn’t expect to have our way in all things.
I wonder why I bothered reading/commenting on this,I’m no fan of the screen.Only watch tv for breaking news or cartoons on rare occasions.
Max
September 27, 14:01What do you do for fun then?
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 15:11I read.
You haven’t tasted the joy of being immersed in words in print?.Becoming part of it,losing yourself to it?
Max
September 27, 15:12I don’t have a single hobby. I have several hobbies.
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 15:30I have several too,but reading comes first and tv/cinema way down there.
You play soccer?
Max
September 27, 15:34Soccer? **pukes all over the floor** . I’d rather count my teeth with my tongue, then do it all over again and again, than to watch soccer.
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 15:41Hehehehe.
That was a gotcha question,Max.Knew you don’t like soccer.That has been abundantly clear from way back when.Contact sports are not your thing,generally.
Max
September 27, 16:21Any sports that has to do with physical contact with other humans, count me out.
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 17:06You’re hewing true to the stereotyped gay man,Max
Pink Panther
September 27, 16:12LMAO! Very graphic disavowal of sports, ei Max?
NINA
September 27, 13:11Tender Dick care says she is not a fan of the screen. Who the hell wants to know?
Secondly, you should have looked the other way, since you don’t know what it means to portray the LGBT community in bad light.
Always wanting to sound politically correct, which on the long run comes off petty. TDC cum.
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 17:11I didn’t know commonsense is now termed being ‘politically correct’.
Okay,you’ve been noticed NINA.
You may take a bow now.
Keredim
September 27, 17:47Ouch!!!???
Sinnex
September 27, 15:36Okay
Stanley
September 27, 17:57There is so much nonsense going on here. I think I am going to unlike this blog. People sounding like they’ve lost touch with reality. WTF!
We all are looking for a better life, but some people here would be acting as if whatever they say is the most fashionable and appropriate thing on planet earth.
Fuck all of you motherfuckers here that make other readers here feel inadequate and less. If this blog is gonna turn into a clique thing, then make it so. Same people churning out rubbish in the name of making statements. TDC, Max, DM, And the rest. Bunch of fake ass motherfuckers.
Just be real here and stop looking drab and petty. This is no Disneyland, s stop painting such an utopian picture of your worlds that are already messed up. Fake people everywhere. Fuck!
Mandy
September 27, 18:44Hmmm…
Max
September 27, 19:27Hey look, its the dragon boy. He has come from hell to destroy us all with his *UNlike threat. ????. Eat your heart out boo boo.
If your life is so fabulous, you wouldn’t be here commenting on a blog where no one gives a shit about you.
The bull crap you wrote up there, I don’t even know where it came from.
YOU DON’T MATTER!!
Now every time you go to sleep,
those words are gonna be echoing in your tiny little head, cos you’re a loser, just like a lot of people.
Gerrarahia..
Tiercel de Claron
September 27, 19:45Be nice,Max.
@Stanley,what was it I wrote that set you off?.
I’ve gone thru my main comment with a fine comb,can’t quite find what might be termed distasteful or make others feel less there.Maybe I missed something tho,can you point it out to me?.
Btw,I don’t do cliques.Almost everyone on this board know that.
ikhines
September 27, 19:48Wonder why some people here feel it’s their job to reply every comment. Drop your comment and move on.
Lothario
September 28, 20:03It’s funny how desensitized you are to these things until they are brought to your notice. I have to say I enjoyed almost all of those movies up there and never got offended by any of those lines until now….. Good one GLAAD!
Tobby
September 29, 13:29How melodramatic