As
Brokeback Mountain rides into the sunset, a new battle over the hearts and libidos of Americans is on the horizon. No, I am not talking about our president’s opportunistic call for a Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. Rather it is Superman, that man of steel in super cute tights. Defamer.com has been doggedly covering the gay aspects of the new Superman. Back in September Defamer’s entry
”Inside The Bulge, Part II: Superman's Package Will Be Safe For Kids” cites a
Newsweek piece in which costume designer Louise Mingenbach says the following on the Super subject:
There was more discussion about Superman's 'package' than anything else on the suit," she says, laughing. "Was it too big? Was it not big enough? Was it too pointy? Too round? It was somebody's job for about a month just working on codpiece shapes. It was crazy." And the final verdict? "Not big," she says, and laughs again. "Ten-year-olds will be seeing this movie."
But according to Alonso Duralde, the Arts and Entertainment Editor for
The Advocate in his cover article
”How Gay is Superman”, 10-year-olds won’t be the only ones checking out Superman’s package. He succinctly explains why in a sub-title: “Superheroes — let’s face it — are totally hot.”
Citing Duralde’s piece, John Horn in his June 2, 2006 article
”How Will A Gay Icon Fly at the Box Office” in
The Los Angeles Times reiterates the traditional fabulousness of fab crime fighters:
No one suggests that Superman in "Superman Returns" is, in fact, gay. But, as several entertainment and cultural writers have noted, superheroes hold obvious — and growing — gay appeal. In addition to being strikingly good-looking, the characters often are portrayed as alienated outsiders, typically leading double lives. In the case of Superman, the beefcake character historically has struggled with romance, all the while running around in a skin-tight suit.
Horn also considers the business and marketing challenges inherent in bringing gay issues to popcorn movies:
…four of the movie marketing executives, all of whom declined to speak on the record, said gay "Superman Returns" interest presented two potential box-office problems. First, teenage moviegoers, especially those in conservative states, might be put off by a movie carrying a gay vibe; among some teens, these executives agreed, saying something "is gay" is still the ultimate put-down. Second, the attention threatens to undermine the film's status as a hard-edged action movie, making it feel softer, more romantic, and thus less interesting to young ticket buyers who crave pyrotechnics.
After letting the gay issue slide, the Warner Brothers publicity department seems to be now spinning this potential gay headache with a 1950s tactic – he’s not gay, just sensitive. In Joseph Gross’s
”It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's the Man of . . . Feelings!” in yesterday’s
New York Times, the new Superman is more catch than hunk. Director Bryan Singer (who is for the most part out as a gay man) speaks to/for the ladies when he describes the new man of steel: “He's virtuous, he doesn't lie, and he's handsome! And I think these are, these are idealistic qualities in the male that you, in someone that you'd want as a husband, I'd imagine." I'd imagine too.
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posted by Peter Bowen @ 6/06/2006 02:36:00 PM
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