the politics of kissing on TV/in movies
Jan. 17th, 2008 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elionwyrIt is often the case that horror and sci fi can get away with taboo images in a way most genres cannot, because the venue is fantasy, or the creatures breaking the taboos are going to be killed off as non-spoken punishment for doing something that Simply Is Not Done.
Hammer horror films could feature full frontal female nudity because hey, the nudity in question was coming from vampire chickies that were slated to be staked or otherwise killed off. Sexually active teenagers were punished for their premarital bliss by being hacked apart by an assortment of homicidal maniacs. (...As Freud continues to shake his head in dismay.) Kirk and Uhuru could kiss because heeeeey, this is science fiction, it's not real, don't get your panties in a bind. (....Though I know people that were very upset when Worff and Troi kissed years later. Maybe the wrinkled forehead was too much for them. *shrug*)
As a teenager, I was nudged into an awareness of how kissing could be, and often was, used for shock effect. One could tell a TV show was looking for ratings by watching for who was featuring a same-sex kiss during sweeps week. Rarely were such kisses believable, and more rarely were the homosexual or bisexual relationships that inspired those kisses believable. The relationships were traditionally kept to an almost platonic level. Characters could touch their lips together, or be seen holding hands, but whether one was talking about the big screen or the little one, finding a realistic non-heterosexual relationship being portrayed by Hollywood was difficult to impossible.
(Movies like Personal Best were must-see viewing, and landmark snapshots of what exactly I'm talking about.)
We have, of course, come a far way, and I'm doing this post a huge disservice in not listing out the history of the evolution from Personal Best to Will and Grace. This is mostly because my purpose in writing now is to express how incredibly moved I am by the Doctor Who episode, "Bad Wolf." In this, Capt Jack (a very blatantly bisexual character) tells Rose goodbye, and cups her face between his hands and kisses her. He then turns to the Doctor and does the same thing. It is a believable moment, in a way most of those other ratings-focused scenes never were. Just as Jack's flirting throughout his scenes is always completely natural, this kiss scene is (IMO) a landmark moment. The kisses are not about shock value. They are simple, honest moments, and they resonate as such.
Are the three of them having a polygamous relationship? That's up to the viewer's interpretation. Emotionally, it is alluded to; the interest and acknowledgment of said interest is not denied. And it is for moments such as these that I am so impressed with the new Who, for as much as I really love the way the writers are (mostly) embracing the history of the show, the relationships are radically different , more developed and explored. Which is a fabulous bit of evolution.
Hammer horror films could feature full frontal female nudity because hey, the nudity in question was coming from vampire chickies that were slated to be staked or otherwise killed off. Sexually active teenagers were punished for their premarital bliss by being hacked apart by an assortment of homicidal maniacs. (...As Freud continues to shake his head in dismay.) Kirk and Uhuru could kiss because heeeeey, this is science fiction, it's not real, don't get your panties in a bind. (....Though I know people that were very upset when Worff and Troi kissed years later. Maybe the wrinkled forehead was too much for them. *shrug*)
As a teenager, I was nudged into an awareness of how kissing could be, and often was, used for shock effect. One could tell a TV show was looking for ratings by watching for who was featuring a same-sex kiss during sweeps week. Rarely were such kisses believable, and more rarely were the homosexual or bisexual relationships that inspired those kisses believable. The relationships were traditionally kept to an almost platonic level. Characters could touch their lips together, or be seen holding hands, but whether one was talking about the big screen or the little one, finding a realistic non-heterosexual relationship being portrayed by Hollywood was difficult to impossible.
(Movies like Personal Best were must-see viewing, and landmark snapshots of what exactly I'm talking about.)
We have, of course, come a far way, and I'm doing this post a huge disservice in not listing out the history of the evolution from Personal Best to Will and Grace. This is mostly because my purpose in writing now is to express how incredibly moved I am by the Doctor Who episode, "Bad Wolf." In this, Capt Jack (a very blatantly bisexual character) tells Rose goodbye, and cups her face between his hands and kisses her. He then turns to the Doctor and does the same thing. It is a believable moment, in a way most of those other ratings-focused scenes never were. Just as Jack's flirting throughout his scenes is always completely natural, this kiss scene is (IMO) a landmark moment. The kisses are not about shock value. They are simple, honest moments, and they resonate as such.
Are the three of them having a polygamous relationship? That's up to the viewer's interpretation. Emotionally, it is alluded to; the interest and acknowledgment of said interest is not denied. And it is for moments such as these that I am so impressed with the new Who, for as much as I really love the way the writers are (mostly) embracing the history of the show, the relationships are radically different , more developed and explored. Which is a fabulous bit of evolution.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 12:47 am (UTC)(As for love for all races/species/genders...heh! I have to admit to giggling when he caresses the female robot in "Bad Wolf". Equal opportunity, indeed!)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 02:50 am (UTC)The one where Jack and (?) end up trapped in WWII and Jack meets his namesake.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 12:41 am (UTC)EXACTLY!
Bugs, Daffy and Woody Woodpecker...all crossdressers . Was there ever an uproar about that?
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 01:44 am (UTC)