Gay character in Beauty and the Beast causing uproar in Russia

[En_Sabah_Nur 9,366]

OP:

 

[DeMoreWoods 61]

8 hours ago, Born To Slay said:

America changed 

yeah idk if you noticed but we're kinda going backwards atm thanks to trump so.

[John Slayne 4,154]

love wins, haters seethe

[Katharine Hepburn 4,607]

13 hours ago, Seeka said:

No one likes this.

No one should like this.

LeFou's homosexuality was uneeded and has been blown out of proportion and in turn has caused more trouble than it's worth.

Well gay people did exist in the time period and it works with the character but they should have kept it sub-textual like with scar, elsa, merida, dory, etc where audiences can read into it but its not confirmed by the studio. I dont think the world is ready for LGBT representation in childrens films.

[Whispering 18,865]

13 hours ago, Seeka said:

Honestly, I actually don't care about it. Like people do all sorts of things to sell movies or whatever.

They just know not to half-ass it.

Like honestly, if Lefou was a well-developed character with his own arc we woldn't be talking about this.

Instead, he comes off as comedic relief and plays up to teh cliched trope of gay men falling in love with straight men.

like honestly, people will always use a tool to sell something, whether it be trends or audiences.

But they deserve all the fall-out when they approach something in such a way.

Beauty and the Beast didn't need a "gimmick" to make it sell tickets. It is, no doubt, a highly anticipated live action musical movie. 

You have to remember that the Disney machine is stocked full of gay writers, lyricists, producers, directors etc. In fact, the executive producer and main lyricist of Beauty and the Beast was a gay man who died of AIDS shortly after the movie was completed. Howard Ashman wrote the songs for Beauty and the Beast when he was very sick and was dying. He wanted to keep working, so Disney flew people to his home to work with him. 

(Something to keep in mind, when you listen to the songs)

Beauty and the Beast is dedicated "To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950–1991."  

[Whispering 18,865]

Some more info, in case anyone is interested:

The film's director Bill Condon, who is openly gay himself, points out that the gay community has a long history with this Disney princess tale in particular. Howard Ashman, the brilliant lyricist who co-wrote the first film’s songs with his creative partner Alan Menken, was fighting a losing battle with AIDS as he worked on Beauty and the Beast. As Ashman was battling for his life, the stigma of being both gay and sick in the early 90s crept into his work. “It was his idea, not only to make it into a musical but also to make Beast one of the two central characters,” Condon explained. “Until then, it had mostly been Belle’s story that they had been telling.”

Specifically for him, it was a metaphor for AIDS,” Condon continued. “He was cursed, and this curse had brought sorrow on all those people who loved him, and maybe there was a chance for a miracle—and a way for the curse to be lifted. It was a very concrete thing that he was doing.” Ashman wrote the film’s now-famous lyrics while he was dying in his home, attended by a private nurse paid for by Disney studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. Ashman died before Beauty and the Beast was released in theaters, and the end credits of the animated film pay homage to his legacy.

According to Beauty and the Beast’s producer Don Hahn, the pitchforks-and-torches song “Kill the Beast” was a chance for Ashman to write about his disease and feeling ostracized. “Howard was struggling with AIDS at the same time, [and] the ‘Kill The Beast’ song was almost a metaphor for that,” he told Den of Geek in 2010. “He was really dealing with a debilitating disease, in an era when it was stigmatized. And so, there were so many of those underpinnings to the movie that people may not have seen.”

Knowing that context, the lyrics—“We don't like what we don’t understand / in fact it scares us / and this monster is mysterious at least / Bring your guns / bring your knives / save your children and your wives / we’ll save our village and our lives”—take on an even more tragic cast.

 

 

[Seeka 12,372]

1 hour ago, JoanneMonster said:

I don't see why it's uneeded. On the originial movie, they don't tell if Lefou is gay or straight, so making him gay is not like making Gaston gay (because he likes Belle). So I don't know why it's uneeded to explore the stories and feelings of the characters in a deeper way. And it's not like making him gay will change a thing in the movie or smth, it will be just the same.

Dumbledore was also gay, and no one knew till the end of the movies.

But here's the thing: They're marketing it as if it does.

Not only does Lefou meet certain stereotypes, they're marketing as if it was some big deal. Doesn't "exclusive gay moment" just leave a bitter taste in your mouth?

It's all about context.

2 hours ago, Trepadation said:

Are you upset there's a gay character?

If gays aren't being represented then how do you think the gp will be expose to gays and realize that they had a bad perception of gays and they're people as well not sins?

When the gay character is a ridiculous stereotype that has no background besides being a stereotype, then yes. If a studio is going to sell it like it matter, then yes.

This situation is all about context, and unfortunately, Disney made the context awful.

[Trepadation 5,566]

1 hour ago, Seeka said:

But here's the thing: They're marketing it as if it does.

Not only does Lefou meet certain stereotypes, they're marketing as if it was some big deal. Doesn't "exclusive gay moment" just leave a bitter taste in your mouth?

It's all about context.

When the gay character is a ridiculous stereotype that has no background besides being a stereotype, then yes. If a studio is going to sell it like it matter, then yes.

This situation is all about context, and unfortunately, Disney made the context awful.

Stereotype how? especially when he wasn't gay before (from what we know) so how can he be a stereotype now? Having a gay moment doesn't mean he'll start sleeping with every male character. I think they said exclusive so people don't think there is more than 1 gay character. Therefore what's the problem, the movie didn't come out yet so how will there be context? And it's a good thing for them to say they have a gay character so it can expose what kind of world we're living in, a world were straights don't want to see gay people at all. 

[Blueskye 1,087]

Get with the times Russia 

[Delusional Aura 5,129]

2 hours ago, En_Sabah_Nur said:

You can always count on GGD for a bunch of highly sensitive, butt hurt, SJW snowflakes to be offended by anything & everything!!!  SMH  🙄

They'd be offended if it wasn't anything to be offended about!  

 

THIS!!!!! 

[Petie Estie 5,705]

omg it's not even gay, it's two straight dudes being embarrassed to be hugging. It should be right up russia's alley. 

[Claymore 671]

13 hours ago, PartySick said:

I feel bad for Disney tbh

They do include LGBT characters:
 - LGBT and allies: "Stop using us/our loved ones to promote your movie!"
 - Bigots: "Stop including these queers in your movies!"

They don't include LGBT characters:
 - LGBT and allies: "Why don't you ever have a gay protagonist or character?"
 - Bigots: *finds something else to complain about*

If you're always expecting them to exploit us (gays) then that's all you'll ever see  Let them have a gay moment and Russia can either get with the times or drive itself further into a hole that it'll eventually have to crawl out of one day.

 

Preach it!

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

I was outside the red carpet this past week, and some people were like "Theyre making a huge roar over a small gay scene, while the movie is about bestuality."

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

But.. hes a very minor character  Like, yeah his story is kind of a gay stereotype, but I don't think its actually been made that way specifically to garner favor with liberal viewers, like literally hes almost entirely unimportant. I see it as more normalizing the existence of that kind of character Maybe I'm overly optimistic though.

[Omar Vela 2,745]

On 6/3/2017 at 0:19 AM, Seeka said:

Like honestly, if Lefou was a well-developed character with his own arc we woldn't be talking about this.

Instead, he comes off as comedic relief and plays up to teh cliched trope of gay men falling in love with straight men.

I was a kid who liked Gaston very much, I found him very attractive and I would probably will be rotting for him if I was a character in the movie. It's not a cliché  it's sorta real life hahahaha