From Victim to Philadelphia and Brokeback Mountain: Evolution of Pride in Hollywood cinema
coded gay subtext between troublemaking James Dean’s Jim Stark and Plato (played by Sal Mineo)?Mineo was one of the first Hollywood actors to publicly come out, and went on to suggest Plato as the first queer teenager on film.Managing to skirt the Hays Code through some subtle hints, it’s believed Plato’s longing glances at Jim and the fact he has a picture of Alan Ladd inside his locker were signs Plato was queer.Victim, 1961While the censorship and pearl-clutching was strong with this one at the time of its release in 1961, British director Basil Dearden’s noir thriller is regarded as one of the most important films focusing on the LGBTQ+ community, and held a mirror up to British homophobia.Dirk Bogarde portrayed closeted, gay lawyer Melville Farr, who’s blackmailed by threats of exposure, in what has been branded now as a vital queer text.While it’s not shocking to hear the word homosexual in a Hollywood film now, Victim was the first English-language film to use the word and has been credited with helping trigger the decriminalisation of sex between men in the Sexual Offenses Act in 1967.The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975This 1975 classic is widely considered to be part of the queer cultural canon for its depiction of sexual fluidity and gender transgression – with a whole load of camp.
The Tim Curry-fronted romp, with Curry playing iconic pansexual, trans scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter, was a critical and commercial failure when it was first released, but was soon wholeheartedly taken in by a cult following amid late-night, costumed screenings, with the LGBTQ+ audience embracing its messages of sexual freedom.
Plus, Rocky was literally created behind a rainbow.Making Love, 1982This 1982 romance is heralded as being.
