Posts Tagged ‘gay’
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There’s no reason on Earth to assume that Road to Perdition was indirectly based on a comic-book. Watching the film, you certainly don’t get that feeling. None the less, it’s the truth. It’s just one of those little bits of trivia you whip out during polite conversation to prove just how “inside” you are when it comes to the behind-the-scene stuff. I’ll be my left nut there wasn’t a single person who watched this movie thinking “This looks like a comic book!” without some advance knowledge.
Of course, the term “comic book” tends to have negative connotations in this country. Chalk it up to the medium’s seedier pulp noir days. In Japan, the stuff is a friggin’ art form! All revered and stuff. They consider it actual literature. Now there’s a country I wouldn’t mind trading notes with.
I seriously don’t understand why comic books are dismissed so readily in the states. Something about their perceived youthful demographic makes them like books-with-training-wheels to most adults. But that’s simply not the case. There are tons of great stories being told with pretty pictures.
Let me ask you this: Why is it cool for someone over the age of… oh, let’s say 25, to dis a comic book, but then turn around and read some trash “novel” by Danielle Steel? Why is it acceptable to look down your nose at TV shows like Smallville, but that black hole of stereotypical dreck My Big Fat Greek Life gets a prime time spot behind 60 Minutes? Why do some people look down their nose at a film like Daredevil, but insist on seeing Maid in Manhattan twelve times?
I’m sure some would argue that the production values of comic book properties eternally ties it to the realm of low-grade cheese. But that’s less and less the case anymore.
Hmm… ran out of “rant power”… I guess all I’m saying is quit being such elitist snobs. Yeah. There you go.
In sad, sad, SAD news, I’m taking Cami to the airport this morning (VERY early – 4:00 AM – Yech!) so she can catch her flight to New York for a conference she’s attending. I’ll catch up with her on Saturday, but I don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself for three days. Probably laundry. Best not to think about it.
If you’re interested in participating in next week’s guest strip marathon, there are still spots available, so drop me a line. Comic dimensions should be no wider than 525 pixels (to keep the site layout from going all wonky). Funniest stuff goes to the fore. Try to include the TH characters if you can.
I gotta go to bed. Long day ahead of me tomorrow. My job is like, 15 minutes from the airport, so once I drop Cami off, there’s really no reason to go back home just to turn around and fight rush hour traffic. Oh, the things we do for those we love…
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I’m trying to decide if this is the most controversial comic I’ve ever done or not. Some people really got up in arms about the Fahrenheit 9/11 comic from a while back, but I think this one may have trumped it. People tend to take religion pretty seriously.
Well, hopefully you all know how to take a joke and realize that I’m not implying Jesus was gay or anything like that. I’m just having fun with all of the ridiculous comparisons the media has been making to Superman now that Superman Returns is in theaters.
By in large, you hear more about the gay thing and the Christ thing more than the immigrant thing – but it all applies. Intrinsically, that’s the appeal of Superman. He’s the EVERYman. As a superhero, since he can DO anything, so he can BE everything to everyone. The fact that only certain facets of what Superman can potentially represent are being talked up in the media in order to stir up controversy I think is really lame.
After all, for every gay man living in the closet who identifies with Clark Kent and the dual life he leads, there is a 5 year-old kid out there who is just as enamored with The Man of Steel for the amazing feats of strength he performs – wishing someday he could grow up to be like him. I know that was certainly the case for me when I was growing up.
But no one talks about the aspirational qualities of Superman. It’s far more interesting to point out the gay thing or the religion thing or the immigrant thing because those are all hot-button topics in the “real world.” Was anyone talking about this kind of stuff when the original Superman movie came out back in 1978? Or even when he came back to television in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman? Of course not.
You don’t need to associate the latest controversy de-jour to make Superman relevant. He’s always been relevant and always will be all on his own.
I know a lot of you have already seen Superman Returns. I haven’t be able to make it out to the theaters since it arrived on Wednesday and it’s killing me. But Cami and I are going to see it in IMAX on Saturday afternoon and it’s going to be great. I’m chomping at the bit to see the “bulletproof eyeball” sequence on a 70 foot tall screen. I’ll tell you if the Big Blue Boy Scout flinches!
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It’s hard to say if I’ll get in trouble for this joke or not. The last time I made jokes with a homosexual connotation, some of you weren’t very happy about it. Of course, I was contrasting it against Jesus Christ and Superman. So maybe that’s what put it over the top.
I know it seems a little outlandish that I would assume that the producers of 300 were courting the homosexual male demographic. In all truth, I have nothing to support the claim except for small article I came across at Hollywood Elsewhere weeks ago. Actually, the original observation was made by Variety critic Todd McCarthy and I don’t know if it’s really picked up any steam elsewhere. But I felt it was an interesting, if somewhat comical observation that might rankle the comic book faithful. So I thought it was fertile territory for comedy. I may be a comic book geek myself, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to have fun!
In regards to 300, I was originally kind of neutral to the idea. I saw the trailers and thought to myself “Oh, that looks cool. But didn’t Sin City mine this territory a few years ago?” Obviously 300 wouldn’t have been made without the success of Sin City paving the way. So I don’t fault Hollywood for returning to the well and adapting more of Frank Miller’s vision to the big screen. I’m sure for most producers, it looks like a pretty sweet deal. Use Frank’s comics as the storyboards, shoot the whole thing on a green screen in 28 days, toss it over to an effects house and wait a few months for the money to roll in.
Still, for the most part, it looked like director Zack Snyder was reheating Sin City director Robert Rodriguez’s sloppy seconds.
But as time goes by and I absorb more and more of the television commercials, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of 300. The Nine Inch Nails song that plays over the commercials that used to annoy me now invigerates me. Whereas I used to snicker at Gerard Butler’s ridiculous beard, I now think he looks pretty bad ass. I mean, this was the guy who played the Phantom in the big-screen adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Okay! Impressive!
Of course, I can’t get too excited about it. Obviously, since we’ve had Henry, that limits our free time for going to the theater. Cami and I have our 7th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and I’m sure we’ll be able to get out of the house for a few hours then. My parents can watch Henry. But I doubt I can talk her into seeing 300. I’ll have to wait for video.
That said, I feel a little behind the curve when it comes to the hype surrounding 300. The commercials are making some pretty bold claims about how visually arresting it is and how it’s “the best movie in 10 years!” (I swear I saw that one somewhere.) So I put it to you guys – How excited are you for this movie? How long have you been anticipating it? Do you think it will live up to the hype? And – more importantly – do you think that is director Zack Snyder cand maintain faithfulness to Miller’s original graphic novel what will that mean for his interpretation of the long-awaited film version of Watchmen?
Leave your comments below!
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Hey, guys. I gotta make this quick. It’s late, I just put Henry down to sleep and I have to get up early Wednesday morning for an all day training session.
Admittedly, today’s comic is kind of a flip from Monday’s comic. Same joke – different perspective. Of course, I can’t allude to anyone being gay without bringing Victor into the mix and crediting Brandon J. Carr for inventing one of Theater Hopper’s favorite running gags in a guest strip he gave me lo, those many moons ago. I wouldn’t mind getting Victor back to the place where he’s a credible threat to Tom and his zany antics. I’m talking from a purely authoritative perspective, of course. His crush not withstanding. But I also enjoy stretching out Tom’s cluelessness. I have two great character traits in Victor and they’re fun to take out of the toy chest from time to time.
Of course, if you had tuned into The Triple Feature talkcast on Monday, you would have known that. Gordon, Joe and I got to talking about 300 and I mentioned that I was doing a themed week of strips. Joe asked me what readers could expect and I hinted at Victor’s return. Incidentally, Gordon guessed correctly. We had a great show Monday night. Maybe a little less structured than in shows gone by, but I think the three of us had a good time riffing. You should download it and take a listen. It’s only an hour long. You’ll enjoy it!
It was interesting to read some of the comments from Monday’s comic. A few gay readers wrote in with their support for the gag – which they understood as perceptional humor. I’m glad. I would never go out of my way to deliberately offend anyone. I think part and parcel to that is to be equal opportunity when it comes to sending up stereotypes. Equality among the masses means everyone has to be able to take a joke sometimes, right?
It was also interesting to read the comments that people left with a historical perspective. Many people commented that homosexuality was encouraged among Spartan warriors to instill a sense of family and unity. So to them, the whole gay question was almost moot. Call me crazy, but I don’t really look to 300 for any sense of historical accuracy. This movie is eye candy all the way. I doubt we’ll get into any of the finer points of Spartan life.
Gotta close here, I’m afraid. Henry is crying his head off upstairs and I need to console him! Leave any comments below, if you like. Expect another 300 themed comic for Friday!
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You think that girl crying was just a sniffle before it was over with. Oh, no. She’s just getting started! Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics to see the water works in full effect!
Sorry for the delay on Monday’s comic. I know I promised it to you late yesterday, but the Memorial Day holiday kind of got in the way. I thought I was going to have an opportunity to draw and ink the strip while Henry was napping, but it didn’t work out that way. Then, despiteGordon’s upset stomach, Joe and I decided to go through with recording last night’s The Triple Feature podcast and that pushed my time line back further. When it was all said and done, I said to myself, “This is going to have to be a Tuesday comic instead.”
Incidentally, regarding last night’s The Triple Feature, I strongly suggest you check it out. I think Joe and I had a really good show. We were really clicking. We talked about Angels & Demons and Terminator Salvation and I spent a little time discussing Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
Regarding the latter, I saw strong>Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and liked it. The movie is certainly better than the first because it’s smart enough to put the “divorced Dad just trying to do right by his kid” angle into the background and focuses on what people really came to the theater for – classical sculpture preening like a Brooklyn pigeon for statues of antiquity.
“BOOM! BOOM! FIAHPOWAH!”
Amy Adams plays Ben Stiller’s love interest in the film as aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. I found Adams winning in the role, even if she was using some kind of clipped 1920’s vocal affectation not entirely dissimilar from Katherine Hepburn (I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe everyone from the 20s and 30s talked with that way).
I do have to admit that the question of Earhart’s sexual orientation crept into my head while watching the movie. Later, when I was discussing today’s comic, Cami did have to correct me as to her marital status, which I was totally oblivious to.
Doing research for the comic, rumors of Earhart’s sexuality were never confirmed. Truthfully, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was an ugly rumor created to discredit her as being “butch” or some such nonsense for entering into the field of aviation – an arena many men of the period did not feel women belonged.
Ultimately, it doesn’t mater. It matters even less within the context of the movie. It’s Earhart’s Spirit of Adventure that Stiller’s character is meant to fall in love with. It’s his wake up call to leave the corporate world he went on to establish himself in and reconnect with his true passion – being a night guard at a magical museum.
Aside from Adams, Hank Azaria is effective as the slapstick villain Kahmunrah. Again, putting on an usual accent, I found his Karloff-esque lisp funny the first few scenes he was in, but distracting later on.
Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan and Robin Williams show up and get a few good lines. Coogan as the Roman General Octavius probably gets the funniest bit in the movie as he charges toward the White House in an attempt to notify the President of the situation at the Smithsonian. Bill Hader also gets in a few funny moments early on as the vain and self-important General Custer. His hair care regimen alone will leave you ROFLing in your popcorn.
There are a ton of cameos in the movie too many to mention. Truthfully, I wouldn’t want to tell you. I think you’d be better off surprised. But nearly every up-and-coming comedic performer of the last 5 years shows up in this thing and it’s fun to go “Hey, I know that person!”
At least it was fun for me. I’m simple like that.
Between all this comedic talent, you can tell there was room left in the script for improvisation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Some bits go on a little too long – as if the performers are purposefully trying to push an idea from funny to unfunny an back to “funny” again. They don’t always salvage the effort. But the exchanges are refreshing in the sense that the characters just and spewing boilerplate “Now I will do THIS!” / “No, you can’t!” dialogue at each other.
The last little gripe I’ll make about the movie is that despite the fact it’s promoting history, it’s historically inaccurate. There is a chase sequence inside the Air & Space Museum where Stiller and Adams’ characters dislodge the Wright Brothers plane from it’s ceiling mount and fly it out of the building. Not only do they fly it out of the building, they fly around inside the building for a while. Not only do the fly around inside the building for a while, they make a series of impossible maneuvers, dipping and diving around the other aircraft on displace before launching into the skies over Washington D.C. for a languid, romantic moment.
I’m sorry – but wasn’t this the plane that was only able to maintain flight for about 12 seconds?
I don’t mean to be a milksop. I recognize that the movie is fantasy and has to bend the rules a little bit to be entertaining. After all, if I’m going to nit-pick the aerobatic prowess of the world’s first airplane, there’s probably something I should say about a magical Egyptian tablet that brings wax sculptures to life, right?
But intentionally or not, a movie like this will generate an interest in history. It’s basically on big commercial for the Smithsonian. Shouldn’t the producers be a little bit more responsible with what they are portraying on screen?
Or, considering the audience the movie is targeted toward – young kids – is it acceptable to tell a small lie to foster interest in the larger truth? Personally, I’m not a fan of the idea that kids deserve dumbed down entertainment. Kids are capable of understanding much more than we give them credit for. But I suppose if it get’s them away from video games, I’m okay with the idea that the Wright’s plane can perform loops…
I feel like there is more I can be blogging about. I also caught Terminator Salvation this weekend and have some opinions on that. But I think I’ll wrap things up for now.
Did anyone here catch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian this weekend? What did you think? Did you find it better than the original? Are you able to look over some of the more fantastic elements if it serves the entertainment value of the movie?
Leave your thoughts below!
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I wasn’t planning on doing another comic about Bruno, but it was very interesting to read the comments from Wednesday’s comic. So I decided to ride this wave a little longer. Victor was the perfect character to provide an outsider’s perspective and deflate the situation some.
Generally, people seem conflicted about the characters Sacha Baron Cohen creates. I think everyone can see what he’s trying to accomplish in terms of social satire, but there is something about the persistence of his performances that makes people a little uneasy. Are people having a homophobic reaction to Bruno or are they just reaching a boiling point when confronted with a highly abrasive personality? Cohen doesn’t make that distinction, but he leads people to believe it’s homophobia at work.
In a pro-Bruno piece by Slate’s David Lim, Lim addresses the criticism that Cohen has been “indulging in gay minstrelsy” and suggests that the character is “a button-pushing social experiment in locating the tipping point of tolerance.”
“For his merciless ambushes to work,” Lim continues. “Bruno needs to be this flamboyant — and this moronic.
“The most discomfiting — and incongruous — aspect of Bruno’s pinkface masquerade is the character’s over-the-top sexual voracity… Bruno is a far cry from the prim and prissy old-school sissies, who were all innuendo and no libido. We have long been conditioned to regard effeminacy as a neutered, negative stereotype, but there are moments when Baron Cohen’s extravagant prancing… seems not grotesque but defiant, forcing his foils… to recognize the screaming presence of Otherness.”
Personally, I don’t know if I buy into this kind of analysis. Because the depiction of a sexually voracious homosexual is EXACTLY what some people fear most. In my opinion, it sounds like Cohen is trading in the winking, coy, guffawing Paul Lynde effeminate stereotype for another.
Granted, I could be accused of playing into the sexually voracious homosexual with the way I’ve written Victor. At times I’ve depicted him as a sadomasochist. But at the same time, this is in keeping with the authoritarian nature he projects – established early in the character before it was revealed he was gay. By equal measure, I have depicted Victor as lovelorn and pining from a distance.
I like to think that I am writing more than one facet of Victor’s personality with the limited amount of time that I use him. I don’t think Victor is a walking cliche like Bruno is and I think there is an interesting dichotomy between his strength, his heritage and his sexual orientation – all of which were effectively wrapped up in this one comic.
Cohen is almost a method actor in the sense that he often doesn’t drop character even while promoting the movie. I don’t think I saw him in an interview as himself once while promoting Borat. A few weeks ago he showed up as Bruno on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. But recently (and conspicuously) showed up as himself on Late Night with David Letterman.
What I’m getting at is maybe there is a little too much slight of hand or misdirection in Cohen’s satire and I kind of prefer to be in on the joke a little bit more.
Fundamentally, I think it goes back to the humor of embarrassment, which I have never been a big fan of. Whether Cohen is playing a gay Austrian fashion reporter or a socially clueless representative of Kazakhstan, I have difficulty settling in and enjoying the end result because I can’t laugh at people put in those situations. I can only wince.
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I’ve been having a hard time coming up with follow-up jokes like I normally do with the incentive images, so I drew a profile of Victor for this week’s comic. Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics if you’d like to see it.
Incidentally, last night I noticed I had a stack of incentive images – maybe 50 to 100 – and took a picture for the Theater Hopper Facebook page. I’m not quite as attached to these as I am the original artwork for the comics and was thinking about selling them through the Theater Hopper store.
What’s you’re take on that? Would you be interested? How much do you think I should sell them for? Should they all be the same price or should they be priced differently? Admittedly, the quality of some of these is much better than others.
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
While we’re talking about the store, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that I’ve still got my sale going on – buy two books and get the third one free, but two shirts and get the third one free!
I could really use your support. I’m going to C2E2 on April 13 and it’s coming up fast. I need to make a little money to help cover expenses. You can read more about it on the Theater Hopper Farewell Tour page.
If you already own all of the Theater Hopper merch you can stand, I’m also taking donations. Every little bit helps. We’re making progress toward our $1,000 goal! Thanks to everyone who has chipped in so far!
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about today’s comic. I don’t want to say that this is Victor’s “coming out” comic. We’ve all known for a long time that Victor’s gay. But he’s never really admitted it to the other characters. So, in a way, he’s actualizing himself here.
Granted, his answer to Tom’s question is slightly cagey. But it’s not exactly false, either. Don’t worry. It’s all going to get sorted out in the next comic or two. But I’m not going to make a big deal about it. Because, frankly, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Let me amend that statement. Coming out IS a big deal – especially if you’re the person that’s coming out. It’s stressful. You don’t know how the news will be received or if you’ll be accepted by your peers after that.
I’ve had friends come out to me in the past and I’ve found the best way to react to that news is to hardly react to it at all.
Not to be dismissive, mind you. Obviously I’m aware of the struggle these individuals have faced leading up to those moments. But, fundamentally, it doesn’t really change what you know or appreciate about that person. If you valued them before, news like that shouldn’t really change anything.
I’ve only ever been on one side of that conversation. I can’t imagine what goes through the mind of someone who is coming out. But what matters is that the person coming out knows that they’re supported, that nothing will change and they can go about their life without carrying that horrible weight on their shoulders.
That’s pretty much how you can expect things to play out in the comic as well.
I’m not trying to lecture or impart some kind of wisdom. I’m just sharing my experience. I know there are people out there who are uncomfortable and even outwardly hostile to these issues. All I’m saying is that’s not my perspective.
Anyway, that’s my little moment for the day. Thanks for checking out the comic. Share it up through social media using the links below if you’re so inclined. I’ll see you next week!
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