Divergent is currently taking the US box office by storm and making a star of Theo James. The actor has been chatting with The Advocate and suggesting that the movie the movie could be a bisexual allegory, and also that he hopes to see a gay superhero on-screen soon.
The movie is about a society where young people are sorted into groups based on their personality traits – however if they fit into more than one category they are ‘divergent’ and considered a threat to the social order. It could certainly be seen as a bisexual allegory, while the idea of those not fitting in being shunned relates to most LGBT people.
James agrees, saying “Yeah, that’s an interesting parallel to make. I hadn’t connected those dots myself, but there’s definitely truth in there.”
He adds, “The five factions represent the basic levels of conformity and a divergent fits into not one of them, but multiple. Yeah, I can see it. That’s interesting.”
Theo would also be interested in seeing a gay superhero on-screen, but he’s aware that it might be a while until Hollywood feels the same. “It’s very hard to tell,” he says of when it might happen. “Because today there are great shows like Looking, poignant pieces of work that revolve around a central cast of characters that happen to be gay. But I remember when Queer as Folk came out and thinking, ‘Things are changing. Maybe there will be more [shows like this]’. And then suddenly there was a drought. Hopefully the day [we have a gay action hero] isn’t far away.”
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