Column Fodder: The Queer Eyes Have It
Aug. 15th, 2003 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eggwardsFive guys take over a person's life and make it over. It's Fabulous!
That might have been the sales pitch for the Bravo show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The question was, did the pitch come with the word "gay" or not? How important was that to the whole scheme of the show? Very important. It makes the difference between being a talked-about show and a show left to the doldrums of cable television hell (which is still known as the rest of Bravo's programming).
Gays on television are being talked about. When Ellen's coming out a few years ago was seen as scandalous, Will and Grace has been widely accepted. When the Loud family appeared in the first reality TV show, PBS' An American Family, it was a shock to find out the son was gay. Now reality TV shows regularly feature a gay person. Billy Crystal played one of the first openly gay characters on television and stations were pre-empting Soap for less controversial programming. Strangely enough, a prime-time showing of Queer Eye last night was also pre-empted by several stations in the South, almost 30 years later.
As the Queer Eye theme song says, things just keep getting better.
There's been several stories lately highlighting the number for shows with gay themes are on television, or in production. Television has found it's gay voice. The question becomes, what are the straights seeing in us?
One of the biggest lighting rods has ben Queer Eye's fashionista, Carson Kressley. Kressley is well educated and well heeled, but the show makes him look catty and vain. Is he really like that in real life or just on the show? We may never know. While the show comes off as genuine and the "Fab 5" seem dedicated to making life better for their chosen project, the clips of carson seem to be trying to drive home the differences between him and the straight man.
Another show, also on Bravo that seems to try to make a dividing line between gay and straight is Boy meets Boy. The gay dating show features several straight men, posed to fool the guy who is just trying to find a date. This is a twist that has never been tried on other dating shows. ABC's The Bachelor has never had to worry that there's a lesbian lurking behind that cheerleader facade. What's the thrill? to try to sort out the straights from the gays? To laugh at him if he picks the straight boy? There's a cash reward if the straight "boy" is chosen but the star, but a date is enough for the gay guy?
One more question, do the other gay suitors know they are competing with the straight guys? form the episode the other night, it didn't appear so.
Is this the face the gay community wants? Is the important part that gays are on TV, being seen, and the perceptions can be fixed? Strangely enough, the most "normal" view of gay life may have come from Fox's Normal, Ohio which came and went in the matter of days, not weeks. The problem with the show wasn't Actor John Goodman's portrayal of a big, hairy gay man living in Ohio, or the fact that the character didn't come off as stereotypically gay. The problem with the show was that it was so poorly written with wacky characters surrounding Goodman. While some might have seen it as a failure to bring a gay show on the air, the fact was it was poor quality that doomed the show.
The image that seems to be portrayed most often is the slightly, but not to much of a queen, effeminate male. Is it the fact that the stereotype is so identifiable? One would think that its a kind of shorthand, here's a character, we need viewers to know in ten minutes that he's gay. What can we do without him kissing a guy? There seems to be a lack of actual intimacy, or dating (see Will of Will and Grace). Did Matt on Melrose Place ever have a date? lacking this, there has to be other hints to the viewer that he's gay, especially if he's not out.
People wonder if the normal gay man is truly portrayed. Is it just a fear that a "straight acting" guy would scare viewers? "He's just like us! He could infiltrate our communities!" Perhaps there's something wrong with a gay man who looks like he could be your plumber. Perhaps people don't perceive gays as having normal lives, that every-thing's a cabaret, my friend.
Shows with gay themes can make it on the air, and do succeed. There are several more planned for the upcoming TV season. While Christian groups are rabble-rousing and lamenting that these shows might be ruining their standards of decency, the fact is, nothing stays on the air if it doesn't bring in revenue. if these shows aren't being watched, they will disappear. The fact that NBC put Queer Eye in prime time at the end of the Thursday block, replacing reruns of ER (which fair poorly in reruns anyway) doesn't mean that they are pushing an agenda, or they are fighting for acceptance, it means there was advertising revenue to be made. Any show with as much buzz as Queer Eye would have gotten on.
The Revolution will be advertised!
That might have been the sales pitch for the Bravo show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The question was, did the pitch come with the word "gay" or not? How important was that to the whole scheme of the show? Very important. It makes the difference between being a talked-about show and a show left to the doldrums of cable television hell (which is still known as the rest of Bravo's programming).
Gays on television are being talked about. When Ellen's coming out a few years ago was seen as scandalous, Will and Grace has been widely accepted. When the Loud family appeared in the first reality TV show, PBS' An American Family, it was a shock to find out the son was gay. Now reality TV shows regularly feature a gay person. Billy Crystal played one of the first openly gay characters on television and stations were pre-empting Soap for less controversial programming. Strangely enough, a prime-time showing of Queer Eye last night was also pre-empted by several stations in the South, almost 30 years later.
As the Queer Eye theme song says, things just keep getting better.
There's been several stories lately highlighting the number for shows with gay themes are on television, or in production. Television has found it's gay voice. The question becomes, what are the straights seeing in us?
One of the biggest lighting rods has ben Queer Eye's fashionista, Carson Kressley. Kressley is well educated and well heeled, but the show makes him look catty and vain. Is he really like that in real life or just on the show? We may never know. While the show comes off as genuine and the "Fab 5" seem dedicated to making life better for their chosen project, the clips of carson seem to be trying to drive home the differences between him and the straight man.
Another show, also on Bravo that seems to try to make a dividing line between gay and straight is Boy meets Boy. The gay dating show features several straight men, posed to fool the guy who is just trying to find a date. This is a twist that has never been tried on other dating shows. ABC's The Bachelor has never had to worry that there's a lesbian lurking behind that cheerleader facade. What's the thrill? to try to sort out the straights from the gays? To laugh at him if he picks the straight boy? There's a cash reward if the straight "boy" is chosen but the star, but a date is enough for the gay guy?
One more question, do the other gay suitors know they are competing with the straight guys? form the episode the other night, it didn't appear so.
Is this the face the gay community wants? Is the important part that gays are on TV, being seen, and the perceptions can be fixed? Strangely enough, the most "normal" view of gay life may have come from Fox's Normal, Ohio which came and went in the matter of days, not weeks. The problem with the show wasn't Actor John Goodman's portrayal of a big, hairy gay man living in Ohio, or the fact that the character didn't come off as stereotypically gay. The problem with the show was that it was so poorly written with wacky characters surrounding Goodman. While some might have seen it as a failure to bring a gay show on the air, the fact was it was poor quality that doomed the show.
The image that seems to be portrayed most often is the slightly, but not to much of a queen, effeminate male. Is it the fact that the stereotype is so identifiable? One would think that its a kind of shorthand, here's a character, we need viewers to know in ten minutes that he's gay. What can we do without him kissing a guy? There seems to be a lack of actual intimacy, or dating (see Will of Will and Grace). Did Matt on Melrose Place ever have a date? lacking this, there has to be other hints to the viewer that he's gay, especially if he's not out.
People wonder if the normal gay man is truly portrayed. Is it just a fear that a "straight acting" guy would scare viewers? "He's just like us! He could infiltrate our communities!" Perhaps there's something wrong with a gay man who looks like he could be your plumber. Perhaps people don't perceive gays as having normal lives, that every-thing's a cabaret, my friend.
Shows with gay themes can make it on the air, and do succeed. There are several more planned for the upcoming TV season. While Christian groups are rabble-rousing and lamenting that these shows might be ruining their standards of decency, the fact is, nothing stays on the air if it doesn't bring in revenue. if these shows aren't being watched, they will disappear. The fact that NBC put Queer Eye in prime time at the end of the Thursday block, replacing reruns of ER (which fair poorly in reruns anyway) doesn't mean that they are pushing an agenda, or they are fighting for acceptance, it means there was advertising revenue to be made. Any show with as much buzz as Queer Eye would have gotten on.
The Revolution will be advertised!
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Where is the Michael?
Date: 2003-08-15 08:57 am (UTC)Fiction writers frequently use stereotypes for incidental characters (the Irish priest, the snobbish heiress, the hoity-toity starlet). One of your commentors rightly observed that in the 22 minutes of actual program in a 30-minute sitcom, cutting to the chase in a character is essential. Are the gay men in QEftSG victims of this shortcut? How does that impact their portrayal? Is race or baldness enough diversity from Carson's iconic flamboyance, or does the show really "need" a paunchy carpenter with plumber-butt?
As I said, this is a nice piece of writing. You should be proud. If you put some of yourself into it, the piece will be essential reading.
Re: Where is the Michael?
Date: 2003-08-15 09:50 am (UTC)Instead, in QEFTSG, what you have is 5 personalities and sets of talents. They are not representative of anything other than themselves. Did Bob Vila change? Did he have a character? No, he had a presence, a stable and performed countenance that was necessary. He had to be somewhat authoritarian to be seen as an expert and at the same time warm enough to allow us to follow him. He wasn't a person, just a figment of the show.
Same thing in QEFTSG. Carson and the 5 other folks are experts in their fields. And their flamboyance varies with personalities, not an enforced view. Carson is catty, the food guy is very Ted-like in his calm, Jai is smooth, the designer is a little neurotic. I feel that these personalities are as authentic as reality television can be. (which isn't all that much since its all performed, but its a performance of themselves mostly, not of a stereotype). They are playing themselves, not a gay character that they can craft up like Queer As Folk.
So, why not Bears/chubs as the designers. Why did they need these thin boys and their stuff. One is photogenic, the other reason is telegenic. The superhero image that they push, 5 guys in suits walking down an empty street to their next job, 5 guys all reacting to the summons, it may not work without a certain type of male. *ding ding* It isn't a question of gay queen versus regular gay, its a question of male. Television has one image of males. John Goodman is the exception and even then he's marginalized. Who you gonna have host a show? Ted Danson or George Wendt? I think George is hysterical, but Danson is the host.
Would anyone want to take styling tips from an un-stylish man? And these men are stylish.
Re: Where is the Michael?
Date: 2003-08-17 12:24 pm (UTC)I thought of the piece as one where I wouldn't write in the first person, so I didn't appear so much in the proceedings. That doesn't mean that I can't take a stand, but it prevents you from making the statement "I think these shows are only showing one facet of the community, but I think it is a way to open the door for more diverse characters that won't necessarily be written off as a stereotypes."
It's much harder to say that without directly telling your audience this.
Something I've noticed lately, is the backlash from other gay men that the Queer Eye guys make them look bad, since they don't have perfectly decorated apartments and great hair and clothing sense (I know I don't). It's funny that we're concerned about not appearing as good as a thing that we're criticizing as being too stereotypical.