Gays in the media; TV programs and movies Hiroki FUJITA (12/06/04) “I love you, honey.” “I love you, too.” How do you guess their relationship from this conversation? Are they a married couple or just friends? Many people might assume the conversation is between a married couple. In addition, we could see “an unspoken agreement” that they are a heterosexual couple ? a husband and a wife. However, can we seriously prove the hypothesis? Is the “married” couple limited to the heterosexual couples? I will strongly disagree with this hypothesis. There is no specific and persuasive evidence that concludes that this conversation is for heterosexuals. Definitely, the same thing happens in the homosexual couples. Many people have become more accepting of homosexual couples. In Massachusetts, the same-sex marriage was legalized in this May. Hundreds of people got married. We can also see homosexual couples in daily life; we can see gays in TV programs and the movies. In this essay, I would like to talk about the gays in a TV program and a movie. At first, I will tell you the general idea of gays in the media. And then, I will examine a TV program and a movie in which gays appear. Finally, I am going to discuss how the gays appear in the media. The word “gays” is defined as the idea that means all the homosexuals; not only gays but also lesbians. Homosexual couples and same-sex couples are used in the same definition. The appearance of the gays in media is deeply related to the social image of them. By observing media, we can see the writer’s idea. Then, once it is broadcast, it creates the “common sense.” In addition, it could be either fair or unfair easily. Therefore, it could be assumed that the prejudiced images against homosexuality are partly created by the media. In order to see the social consciousness, at first, I observed a TV program. According to the website, gay.com, over 500 TV shows of GLBT are broadcast all over the United States (2004). “Will & Grace” is one of the famous and popular TV programs. It won the three Emmy Awards in 2001. In the show, two gay men appear; Will and Jack. Unlike the stereotypical “weird” image of the gays, this comedy doesn’t look like a “queer show.” I could see many positive aspects of the gays. There was no negative comment. Nobody thinks it strange. Both Will and Jack have a “gal pal” as their best friend. They won’t have any sexual relationship; they sleep separately. To have a gay friend is described as a “usual” and “normal” situation. However, according to the Gairola’s article (2001), the show too much exaggerates the specific characteristics. In his words, it focused on “Jack’s femininity or Will’s bourgeois materialism.” As for me, it is true that Jack more looks like gay, especially from the stereotypical view. But I don’t think it is the exaggeration. In my observation, the show reduces the stereotypical homosexual characteristics more than other programs. Although viewers will recognize the actors as the gays soon by listening to their lines, behavior is not always stereotypically. In addition, it isn’t emphasized the homosexual characteristics on purpose as many other comedies do. In the end of his article, Gairola suggests the program to challenge something new more than now such as dealing with black lesbians or Hispanic bisexuals (2001). He assumes that it would give the viewers “more to laugh with” the comedy “rather than laugh at” them. This is an ideal goal of any TV programs. Since TV programs surely give some ideas to the viewers, the contents should be informative and helpful. Will & Grace presented rather positive figures of the homosexuality different from the public prejudice. Therefore, viewers would receive non-prejudiced image by watching this program unconsciously. On the other hand, in the movie “American Beauty,” I could see a “typical” model of the hate crime. Two gay men appear on this movie as well, but most parts of the story are going without the gays. Occasionally, we can see the character’s conservative ideas. A new family recently moved to the neighborhood. One day, a gay couple visited their house and greeted them. It was really a short usual conversation. They introduced each other. It is easy for me to assume that they are a same-sex couple, but as for the father, it seemed unthinkable. Then, he asked their occupation. One answered that he is a tax attorney, the other answered a flower designer. Both had different jobs, so that he looked so confused. This is because as for him, “partner” meant that a job partner. In another scene, he saw them running together. Then, he muttered “faggot,” and wondered why they are not “shameful” about their sexuality. His career as a marine corps influenced his attitude. Obviously, he has a prejudiced idea against homosexuality. At last, he misunderstood that his son had a sexual relationship with a man, then, he abandoned his son. He tried to understand the homosexuality (he kissed a man), but he wasn’t able to do it. As a result, he killed the man whom he assumed that his son had a sexual relationship with. This is a “typical” hate crime. He was not homosexual, but he was considered homosexual, as a result, he was killed. It was a complete and obvious misunderstanding. The picture gives a message to the viewer that the homophobia is a wrong idea. In addition, it implies that in the United States the hate crimes still could happen commonly. Let me conclude this essay. As I talked above, in the United States, we can see gays on the media comparatively often. Although the description is different depending on the program or movie, gays are recognized and homosexuality is accepted by many people. In contrast, the public acceptance of the homosexuality still has a difficulty; hate crimes still happen as it is seen in the movie. Some people have homophobia, sometimes it could be a reason of the homicide. Because both TV programs and movies do have educational effects for the audience, so that these should be produced fairly in order to give messages clearly. Unlike United States, in Japan, we hardly see the gays on TV programs or in movies. In precisely, there are some people who could be assumed gays; however, most of them are comedian, so that it is doubtful if they are truly homosexuals or not. The situation is rather different. Therefore, most people got a stereotyped image; in addition, sometimes they are not aware of the existence. This is ignorance. It could be violence against gay people. Recognition is most important for the first place. Then, it is what gays need. Works cited DreamWorks Pictures. (Sam Mendes). (2000). American Beauty [Videodisc]. Universal City; DreamWorks LLC. Gairola, R. (2004). Watching with Ambivalence. Dec 05, 2004, from http://popmatters.com/tv/reviews/w/will-and-grace.html Gay.com. (2004). Gay.com Arts & Entertainment. Dec 5, 2004, from http://www.gay.com/entertainment/