Dear Disney,
From before I was born, you have been a master at manipulating my emotions. From Mufasa, to Bambi's mom, to The Fox and the Hound, with its deeply dissatisfying ending and surprising nuance that was totally lost on me as a child, you have been toying with my feelings. And don't even get me started on the beginning of Up (I'm not crying YOU'RE crying). I've loved it. I've grown up on your ideals of who I should be as a woman, I've always played princess. I owned a beautiful collection of VHS tapes as a child, and still watch your new releases. When you merged with Pixar I was ecstatic that two amazing powerhouses were joining artistic forces, and you did not disappoint. However, you have begun one type of emotional manipulation that I do not appreciate, cannot stand, and will not accept: queerbaiting. I was going to see your new live-action Beauty and the Beast. That was my absolute favorite movie as a young child. As an extremely nerdy brunette, who always had at least two fiction books in my backpack and another six under my pillow, who was shunted to the fringes of the cool kids' social circles, I totally identified with Belle. I still get chills and tear up when I watch the gorgeous opening sequence. This movie means a lot to me. Then, it came out that one of the characters was gay. "Finally," I thought, "Cogsworth will have his day." Haha nope. It turns out that LeFou is the gay one. "Okay," I thought, "that could make sense. I wish it wasn't one of the villains, though." As more and more details and statements leaked, I became more skeptical. Vague statements about a "moment" were circulating. A "moment" is about the smallest amount of time one can devote to a subject, so that was the biggest red flag, and the terminology surrounding the whole thing did not make me feel better, since "gay moment" is an actual trope. Queer people have been seeking out "moments" in entertainment since time immemorial, so that's a pretty minimal commitment, since the community was bound to find a gay moment anyway (for example in the original, when Gaston talks about his DEEEEcorAAAting, or any glance between Kirk and Spock in the Star Trek franchise). Then the movie actually came out. Everyone who saw it said that the moment was literally a moment, and that the gayness was cliche. I was so disappointed. I knew the hype was for publicity, but I was hoping to be proved wrong. I still might see this film, but I'm no longer in any hurry. I don't expect you to be progressive on this front; I know better than that. But please don't pretend. Sincerely, Me
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AuthorMaayan is a Manhattan-based opera singer. Archives
January 2019
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