I Get Bitch Slapped By The Cliche
Those of you who’ve seen the film Primary Colors should click below. Those of you who haven’t but want to–which you should, it’s miscast in a key part but well-written–and don’t want to be spoiled should move on to my next unpaid commercial endorsement.
Ok, as a few of you have seen me talk about in the past, there’s this thing called The Lesbian Cliche. That link leads to an extensive FAQ on the subject both generally and as it applies to a storyline on Buffy, but basically (and cribbing liberally from the FAQ authors definition, edited for clarity and brevity), it refers to the fact that:
“In film & television, [and to a lesser extent] literature and theater, lesbians and specifically lesbian couples can never find happiness and always meet tragic ends. One of the most repeated scenarios is that one lesbian dies horribly and her lover goes crazy…The impression that these films and TV programs leave, through blatant moralizing and/or thoughtless exploitation, is that lesbian relationships end in death and misery. There are no happy endings. This is the image that has been driven into the psyche of gay people.”
So I’m watching Primary Colors on DVD. A major supporting character played by Kathy Bates is a lesbian. Her arc in the story seemed to be winding up, and I was just thinking, “well, she was certainly presented as being crazy–in an over the top, gun-toting, southern gal, good way–but at least they didn’t–” Literally at that moment, it was revealed that her character has committed suicide.
Her lover didn’t go crazy, but she is seen at the end of the film congratulating the man whose moral failure we know, though she presumably doesn’t, precipitated Bates’ action.
And I sat there bitch slapped by The Cliche. It’s the kind of thing you may not be aware of, especially if you’re used to seeing your life and experiences reflected on TV, etc, in a positive manner, as most straight people are. But once it’s pointed out to you, boy will you be surprised at how many times it comes up.
