Whether we like to admit it or not, society still puts a lot of pressure of people to fit with gender norms. That can be particularly true for those trying to hide their sexuality, where internalised homophobia combines with external homophobia to create pressure to conform to a set of social cues that they hope will ensure no one would ever thing they were anything other than heterosexual.
The short film American Male takes a look at this, with a frat bro living an outwardly incredibly masculine life, while in voiceover he dissects the way society tells men and women to be and how he’s altered himself to fit with how he thinks he’s supposed to behave. Underneath it runs a current of homoeroticism, and well as a taste of the ugliness of masculine behaviour taken too far.
Michael Rohrbaugh’s film was one of the winners of MTV’s Look Different Creator Competition. You can take a look at the haunting short film below. If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here.
Be aware though, there is some violence towards the end.
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