Friday, November 05, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - The Birdcage

The Birdcage (1996) is an Americanized version of the 1978 movie La Cage aux Folles. La Cage aux Folles was a huge hit and spawned a very successful Tony-award winning 1983 Broadway play.

The Birdcage was also a huge success, but not without controversy. From the Internet Movie Database:

A gay cabaret owner (Robin Williams) and his drag queen companion (Nathan Lane) agree to put up a false straight front so that their son (Dan Futterman) can introduce them to his fiancé's (Calista Flockhart) right-wing moralistic parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest).

The Birdcage got some criticism because of Lane's character, Albert. Albert can be seen as the stereotypically flaming, emotional gay. He screeches, squeals, and cries a lot.

Some lgbts gave Lane's performance a lot of criticism, while others praised the movie in general.

But I say that I saw nothing wrong with Lane's performance. Let me explain. Part of the problem with stereotypical portrayals of lgbts is that they usually represent how we are seen by some heterosexuals - one dimensional and weak.

Albert is not one dimensional and he is not weak. And this is because of Lane's peformance. While Albert is flaming, emotional, and highly paranoid, he is also talented, warm, friendly, and very loving to his partner's son.

You can't help but to love him and his moxie. If I knew someone like Albert, I would love to have him as a friend:




Past Know Your LGBT History posts:
 
Know Your LGBT History - Maude

Know Your LGBT History - That Certain Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Boat Trip

Know Your LGBT History - Staircase

Know Your LGBT History - Beautiful Thing

Know Your LGBT History - Armed and Dangerous

Know Your LGBT History - The Proud Family

Know Your LGBT History - Suddenly Last Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Gay TV Now

Know Your LGBT History - Stewardess School

Know Your LGBT History - Up the Academy

Know Your LGBT History - Don't be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Know Your LGBT History - A Different Story

Know Your LGBT History - Victim

Know Your LGBT History - The Color Purple

Know Your LGBT History - Making Love

Know Your LGBT History - A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

Know Your LGBT History - Noah's Arc

Know Your LGBT History - Ode to Billy Joe

Know Your LGBT History - Adorable Adrian Adonis

Know Your LGBT History - The Night Strangler

Know Your LGBT History - All in the Family

Know Your LGBT History - Tongues Untied

Know Your LGBT History - The Celluloid Closet

Know Your LGBT History - Querelle

Know Your LGBT History - Theatre of Blood

Know Your LGBT History - Strange Fruit

Know Your LGBT History - Designing Women

Know Your LGBT History - The Children's Hour

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

Know Your LGBT History - Once Bitten

Know Your LGBT History - The Boys in the Band

Know Your LGBT History - Christopher Morley, the crossdressing assassin

Know Your LGBT History - Midnight Cowboy

Know Your LGBT History - Dracula's Daughter

Know Your LGBT History - Blacula

Know Your LGBT History - 3 Strikes

Know Your LGBT History - Paris Is Burning

Know Your LGBT History - The Women

Know your LGBT History - Soul Plane

Know Your LGBT History - The Player's Club

Special Know Your LGBT History - Fame

Know Your LGBT History - Welcome Home, Bobby

Know Your LGBT History - Barney Miller

Know your lgbt history - The Jerry Springer Show

Know your lgbt history - Martin Lawrence and that 'gay guy' on his show

Know your lgbt history - The Ricki Lake Show

Know your lgbt history - Which Way Is Up

Know your lgbt history - Gays in Primetime Soaps

Know your lgbt history - Boys Beware

Know your lgbt history - The Boondocks

Know your lgbt history - Mannequin

Know your lgbt history - The Warriors

Know Your LGBT History - New York Undercover

Know Your LGBT History - Low Down Dirty Shame

Know Your LGBT History - Fortune and Men's Eyes

Know your lgbt history - California Suite

Know your lgbt history - Taxi (Elaine's Strange Triangle)

Know your lgbt history - Come Back Charleston Blue

Know your lgbt history - James Bond goes gay

Know your lgbt history - Windows

Know your lgbt history - To Wong Foo and Priscilla

Know your lgbt history - Blazing Saddles

Know your lgbt history - Sanford and Son

Know your lgbt history - In Living Color

Know your lgbt history - Cleopatra Jones and her lesbian drug lords

Know your lgbt history - Norman, Is That You?

Know your lgbt history - The 'Exotic' Adrian Street

Know your lgbt history - The Choirboys

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Know your lgbt history - The Killing of Sister George

Know your lgbt history - Hanna-Barbera cartoons pushes the 'gay agenda

'Know your lgbt history - Cruising

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Know your lgbt history - I Got Da Hook Up

Know your lgbt history - Fright Night

Know your lgbt history - Flowers of Evil

The Jeffersons and the transgender community     




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1 comment:

glendenb said...

I know the term is loaded but when I first saw The Bird Cage, I thought Nathan Lane's character in much of the show was nothing more than the gay minstrel. Later in the show, the writers gave his characters some depth and actual characterization but in much of the show, he played the drag queen as a minstrel show and . . . frankly that's one of the stock characters in modern entertainment - the flaming faggy-ass cross dressing queer. As a gay man, it drives me crazy. But I also get that that character is non-threatening for lots of viewers and that's why he keeps coming back.