Why Do We Have ‘Gay’ Films?

I’ve been wondering recently why when it comes to films do we have ‘gay films’ and not just films?

It is easy to see why some films get lumbered under this specific category of movie; it may be theme, especially if it’s dealing with LGBT issues, the leading actor or actress if they have a large gay following or are gay themselves. The director who may have a history of directing these so called ‘gay films’ or even the studio/distributor – Peccadillo is well known for its LGBT orientated movies.

So yes, there may be films that do cater more towards the gay community, which in itself is a good thing for gay people who sat and watched films for decades before someone was able to depict something well known to them. But it isn’t just gay people who enjoy these movies, the same way that gay people don’t just enjoy ‘gay movies.’ It appears that every movie with the slightest hint of a gay narrative is automatically classed as a gay movie, but you don’t see every other film in Hollywood that concentrates on the relationship between a man and woman classed as a straight movie, do you?

Films such as Brokeback Mountain and My Own Private Idaho are often considered to be LGBT films due to the storylines involved. In those cases it’s the gay romance between the two leading characters in Brokeback Mountain and the presence of gay hustlers within My Own Private Idaho.

But in the equal society that we now supposedly live in, where gay people are treated the same as straight people – with the same rights and the same representation in the media (supposedly, at least) – it is surprising that these films can’t be seen for what they are, before they are lumbered into the LGBT category. After all, Brokeback Mountain is the story of unrequited love that we see all the time in films and My Own Private Idaho is another narrative that we regularly see on the big screen and on television, a story about a young person coming of age. However, due to the presence of gay people within these narratives they automatically become ‘gay films.’ Any other film harbouring these narratives wouldn’t be labeled so quickly.

It feels as though it is about time that Hollywood wasn’t so black and white when it came to their movies – after all we’ve had colour for over 70 years. It’s about time that films like these stopped being categorised by the slight difference in their plotline and were recognised for the films that they truly are.

Writer: Lewis Shepherd