The journey of the dissemination of cultural works on same-sex themes has been a tortuous one.
In 1915, state and local governments in the United States began to set up censorship committees to delete and ban "bad" content in movies.
In 1930, Catholic priest Daniel Lauder publicly declared that the film was corrupting people's moral values, and drafted a film censorship code, the main content included: no immoral sexual relations; no black and white sexual relations; no nude scenes are allowed; kisses on the lips of men and women are not allowed, etc. The code was quickly adopted by the giants of the film industry and entrusted to the Producers and Distributors Association of America (renamed the Motion Picture Association of America in 1945).
But ironically, for the marketplace of capital, the practical effect of an act that stands on the values of past legislators becomes minimal when it affects the returns of most stakeholders in the present. In other words, this bill greatly interferes with the interests of filmmakers, it gradually loses its meaning.
It was only with the film "Brokeback Mountain" in 2008 that the market for gay films began to be accepted and valued by mainstream social capital. At the same time, the success of the film was in part the beginning of an initiative by the entertainment industry to change the world's perception of homosexuality.
With the development of the times, mainstream culture has become increasingly tolerant towards gays and lesbians. In recent years, the theme of “homosexual” has been gradually opened up, providing a splendid and unique perspective for the film industry. From "Brokeback Mountain" and "Milk" and other gay-themed films sweeping mainstream awards ceremonies, to the current "Moonlight" winning the first prize, this is undoubtedly a significant leap of the American film industry in terms of politics and humanities.
Author: TT Gong
Reviewed & Revised & Published & Typeset by Lyn Liu