Identities: Identity & Film blog task

1) Complete the Twenty Statements Test yourself. This means answering the question ‘Who am I?’ 20 times with 20 different answers. What do they say about your identity? Write the 20 answers in full on your blog.

- I'm 5ft 3in. 

- I'm half Welsh. (Social Groups and Classifications)

- I'm passionate about performing arts. (Interests)

- I'm an introvert. (Self evaluation)

- I'm obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch. (Interests)

- I'm in Ravenclaw. (Self evaluation & Interests)

- I'm terrified of spiders and vultures. 

- I'm currently too scared to learn to drive. (Self evaluation)

- I'm a strong believer of fate and soulmates. (Ideological beliefs)

- I'm a huge fan of pre-00s music artists e.g. Adam Ant, Nirvana, Queen, Simon and Garfunkel & The Beatles. (Interests)

- I'm strongly influenced by my parents' tastes in film, TV and music. (Interests)

- I'm addicted to Gingernut biscuits. (Interests)

- I'm surprisingly good at ice skating. (Interests & self evaluation)

- I'm unhealthily obsessed with Disney. (Interests)

- I get hiccups whenever I eat bread. 

- I'm prone to acting on impulse. (Self evaluation)

- I'm in love with Thomas Newman film soundtracks. (Interests)
- I'm really good at remembering birthdays. (Self evaluation)

- I'm a very sensitive person and I hate confrontation. (Self evaluation)

- I'm determined to own a husky in the next 10 years. (Interests)

2) Classify your answers into the categories listed  on the Factsheet: Social groups, ideological beliefs, interests etc.

3) Go back to your favourite film (as identified in the lesson or simply choose your favourite film if you weren't present). What does this choice of film say about your identity? Are there any identities within the film (e.g. certain characters) that particularly resonated with your values and beliefs?

My favourite film of all time is Moulin Rouge (2001). I think that the reason I like it so much is that there aren't really any other films out there like it which I also sort of apply to myself. Everything from the soundtrack to the editing to the visual effects is just so 'out there' and bizarre and I think that it's a film that people will either love or hate because of the lengths it gets taken to. I don't think any soundtrack could be as bizarre as one that has extracts from both "The Sound of Music" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on it. I don't really find myself relating exclusively to one character but their are elements of Christian's (Ewan McGregor) personality that I think are similar to my own. He's a romantic and he's convinced that love is the answer to everything, likening its need for existence to that of oxygen. He's passionate about writing and he plays a crucial role in creating 'Spectacular Spectacular', the play within the film which becomes a representation of his and Satine's (Nicole Kidman) secret relationship. 

4) Watch the trailers for the five films highlighted as examples of gay/lesbian representation in mainstream film:

• Wilde (1997, dir. Brian Gilbert)

In the Wilde trailer, gay men are represented (through the characterisation of Oscar Wilde) as emotional, passionate, stylish, creative etc. attributes that wouldn't ordinarily have been associated with straight males in the Victorian era and this therefore makes Oscar Wilde's homosexuality appear as abnormal or foreign to what would have been expected.

• Philadelphia (1993, dir. Jonathan Demme)

It's clear from the Philadelphia trailer that gay men are definitely represented as 'the other' or as someone to avoid/fear. This is especially clear when it's made apparent that Tom Hanks's character has AIDS and other characters behave irrationally around him, despite common knowledge that AIDS isn't contagious outside of sexual contact.

• The Wedding Banquet (1993, dir. Ang Lee)

• The Kids are Alright (2010, dir. Lisa Cholodenko)

It's clear to see that while there are some subtly apparent stereotypes of lesbians e.g. short hair, minimal makeup, 'masculine' clothes, I don't think their representation as an entirety is entirely based on stereotypes and I think that much of their representation is an attempt to portray the normality of lesbian relationships and to discard the ideology of lesbian relationships being 'abnormal'. If anything, I think there's a stronger stereotypical representation of straight men, especially when Mark Ruffalo's character says "I love lesbians" which reinforces the idea that straight men find lesbian relationships attractive. I think one way that audiences are encouraged to respond to these representations is in acknowledging that gay parents can raise a family just as well as straight parents and that their way of parenting mirrors that of the majority of straight parents.

• Pride (2014, dir. Matthew Warchus)

In the trailer for Pride, due to the stereotypes that society has enforced for decades, it is not difficult to identify the lesbian characters as they are dressed/styled in such a way that would generally be associated with lesbians. The short/unusual hair, no makeup and baggy clothes all contribute to what we have learnt is the archetypal depiction of lesbians. We also see the protagonist, Mark, whose image resembles that of a stereotypical gay man, including tight clothing and pierced ears. 

How are LGBT identities constructed in the trailers and how are audiences encouraged to respond to these representations?

5) How have representations of LGBT issues changed in recent years? What examples from across the media (not just film) can you provide to support this view?

I think one of the major ways in which LGBT representations have changed is through the advertisement of worldwide Pride celebrations, especially via social media. Although Pride has existed for many years, it's not had the commercial promotion it gets now. London Pride has its own Instagram and Twitter accounts and members of the LGBT celebrity community tweet their support and involvement. Celebrities have also played a further part in LGBT representation, especially in terms of 'coming out' via social media. In a world where the LGBT community has not always been accepted or welcome in society, having people of strong influence raise their voices on such a public platform helps bring that community together, giving people a sense of belonging.