Suddenly, Last Summer
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writer: Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal. Based upon a play by Tennessee Williams.
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, Gary Raymond
Overview
An ugly mess. In spite of being written by two prominent gay writers (Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams) Suddenly, Last Summer somehow manages to include almost every last queer bashing technique ever dreamed up by Hollywood.
Synopsis
Dr. Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) is asked by Mrs. Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn) to perform a lobotomy on her niece, Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor). However, when Dr. Cukrowicz interviews Catherine, he suspects that she is in fact perfectly sane, albeit severely traumatized by mysterious events surrounding the death the previous summer of Sebastian (Mrs. Venables' son). He also suspects that Mrs. Venable has an ulterior motive for wanting Catherine lobotomized.
The Queering
(This is an older film but I plan on discussing explicit details of the ending. For those who hate SPOILERS, you are now warned.)
If there is a gay bashing trope used by Hollywood that Suddenly, Last Summer does not somehow use, I am unaware of its' existence. The relationship details that Mrs. Venable shares with Dr. Cukrowicz show she and her son had a creepy, bordering on incestuous, relationship. Mrs. Venable also describes her son as being "fastidious" and other details reveal him to have been what could be described as a "nancy boy" (not that I think there is anything wrong with that). Catherine also, apparently justifiably, describes Sebastian as being an emotionally manipulative user.
For added bonus, Sebastian is suggested to not only have been an active pedophile, but the ending reveals that he was eaten alive by the same boys that he had preyed upon sexually. Yay!
How two gay writers were able to create such a homophobic crapfest is a little difficult to explain but not entirely. After all, 1959 was the same era that had the Mattachine Society attempting to argue that gay men were in fact mentally ill and that criminalizing homosexuality was pretty much the same thing as outlawing wheelchairs.
Suddenly, Last Summer is flawed in other ways besides being homophobic. The characterization of Catherine Holly is just awful. Catherine should be demonstrating symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but more frequently simply displays an amalgamation of Hollywood stereotypes about the mentally ill. To top it off, both Catherine's mother and brother are among the more irritating characters that I can recall having witnessed on the silver screen. Both ma and bro Holly suffer from what I shall call "Jar Jar Binks Meets Nails on Chalkboard" syndrome.
On the plus side of things, Katherine Hepburn gives a riveting performance as the Mrs. Venable. There is also some nicely composed cinematography. Make note of how a painting of Saint Sebastian is shown before being explicitly referenced by Mrs. Venable. I would also like to point out that there are several intriguing shots of skeletons (or statues of skeletons) which may or may not be intended as simple metaphors for death.
Unfortunately one good performance, a few nicely composed shots, and a couple of stabs at complex visual symbolism are not enough to undo the overall awfulness that is Suddenly, Last Summer
Recommendation
Only for those with a strong interest in the history of queer cinema. Everyone else would best serve themselves by suddenly seeing something else, be it summer or any other season.
The Rating
*1/2 out of ****
Trailer
Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.
Showing posts with label Gore Vidal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gore Vidal. Show all posts
August 10, 2012
On Censorship, Rape Culture, and the New Comments Policy.
Generally speaking, I tend to like to pretend that there is no topic too offensive that it could not be discussed by reasonable adults. Censorship is evil I tell you! EVIL!
There are of course moments when reality hits and I find myself forcing to take a hard look at my positions on free speech. A few days ago was one such day.
It came when I found a comment on the post Gore Vidal, Rape Apologist that basically defended Vidals' statements. Among other lovely little dripplings, the comment included the sentiment that somehow determining whether or not a rape victim was a virgin at the time they were sexually assaulted was somehow relevant.
Yeah, I too hate it when I've been conned into thinking this is now the 21st century.
In any case, I deleted the comment. I realize that I have now invited scores of people to decry my position as hypocritical. So be it. If someone out there wants to start a blog and pontificate about how morally upright rapists are, and how their slutty victims were asking for it, go ahead. But I will not allow such poison on Queering the Closet.
For the record, I have now updated the About page to include a section outlining the new commenting policy.
There are of course moments when reality hits and I find myself forcing to take a hard look at my positions on free speech. A few days ago was one such day.
It came when I found a comment on the post Gore Vidal, Rape Apologist that basically defended Vidals' statements. Among other lovely little dripplings, the comment included the sentiment that somehow determining whether or not a rape victim was a virgin at the time they were sexually assaulted was somehow relevant.
Yeah, I too hate it when I've been conned into thinking this is now the 21st century.
In any case, I deleted the comment. I realize that I have now invited scores of people to decry my position as hypocritical. So be it. If someone out there wants to start a blog and pontificate about how morally upright rapists are, and how their slutty victims were asking for it, go ahead. But I will not allow such poison on Queering the Closet.
For the record, I have now updated the About page to include a section outlining the new commenting policy.
August 2, 2012
Gore Vidal, Rape Apologist.
For those who were unaware, Gore Vidal, American author, and stringent anti-imperialist passed away this week.
I will admit to having been a little upset about the news when I first heard it. Vidal after all was an extremely quotable writer. I found the following quote from him to be particularly incisive:
However, that quote took on a decidedly ironic overtone, when I came across the following statement that Vidal had made in an interview with The Atlantic (published in 2009) in response to the question the interviewer had asked regarding Roman Polanski raping a 13 year year old girl:
Honestly, I am not sure where to begin on this one. The facts of what Mr. Polanski had done were well established at the time of this interview.
First off, the individual in question was 13 years old at the time of the incident. A little young to be engaging in sex work, one might think.
Second, I must have forgotten to read the memo that says that sex workers give up their right to refuse consent when they are working.
Third, the thirteen year old victim was drugged by Polanski before he raped her. The victim was with Polanski, as Polanski had promised her mother that she (the victim) would be photographed for an edition of Vogue. Which is another memo I must have lost, the one that argues that getting photographed for a non-pornographic magazine is the equivalent of engaging in sex work.
What makes Vidal's defending Polanski so reprehensible is that Vidal makes it very clear that this comment was not simply off the cuff, he genuinely believes in what is saying.
As the interview in question proceeds, Vidal goes on to claim that Polanski's persecution was motivated by antisemitism and had nothing to do with, you know, Polanski raping a 13 year old.
I am reminded here, of when I doing research on Harry Hay and finding out that he had, at one point defended NAMBLA (North Atlantic Man Boy Love Association) an organization that essentially promotes pedophilia. And while doing research for this article I found out that Allen Ginsberg had also defended the organization.
It seems as if you can't knock too hard on the door of anybody's closet, without knocking out a skeleton or two. There is a line between defending sexual activity between consenting adults and defending sexual activity with those too young to give consent. Too bad there are pro-queer activists who were unable to make that distinction.
I am also reminded here of the response to the Sandusky scandal at Penn State and the revelation that many members of the Penn State elite -- such as Joe Paterno -- had covered up for Sandusky. Consider also, the cover ups that occurred within the Catholic Church over numerous incidents of sexual assault by priests against children.
Coming back to Vidal, it is worth noting that he was not the only celebrity who had defended Polanski. Over a hundred of Hollywood's elite signed a petition to demand the release of Polanski following his arrest in Switzerland while he was traveling to a film festiveal.
It seems that as a species, few of us are immune to the desire to stick our head in the sand and ignore any problem that is shoved in front of our faces. But a problem cannot be solved through ignorance, nor by blaming the victims.
While Gore Vidal may have been a talented and progressive author (he did after all write one of the first major pro-queer novels in the United States) I cannot defend, his slut-shaming, rape defending, comment. Nor do I think it should be dismissed. By claiming that a 13 year old, who had been drugged and raped by a man in his 40's, was a "hooker" who had simply felt she had been taken advantage of, Gore Vidal committed a sin too ugly for description.
I will admit to having been a little upset about the news when I first heard it. Vidal after all was an extremely quotable writer. I found the following quote from him to be particularly incisive:
At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation, and prejudice.
However, that quote took on a decidedly ironic overtone, when I came across the following statement that Vidal had made in an interview with The Atlantic (published in 2009) in response to the question the interviewer had asked regarding Roman Polanski raping a 13 year year old girl:
I really don’t give a fuck. Look, am I going to sit and weep every time a young hooker feels as though she’s been taken advantage of?
Honestly, I am not sure where to begin on this one. The facts of what Mr. Polanski had done were well established at the time of this interview.
First off, the individual in question was 13 years old at the time of the incident. A little young to be engaging in sex work, one might think.
Second, I must have forgotten to read the memo that says that sex workers give up their right to refuse consent when they are working.
Third, the thirteen year old victim was drugged by Polanski before he raped her. The victim was with Polanski, as Polanski had promised her mother that she (the victim) would be photographed for an edition of Vogue. Which is another memo I must have lost, the one that argues that getting photographed for a non-pornographic magazine is the equivalent of engaging in sex work.
What makes Vidal's defending Polanski so reprehensible is that Vidal makes it very clear that this comment was not simply off the cuff, he genuinely believes in what is saying.
As the interview in question proceeds, Vidal goes on to claim that Polanski's persecution was motivated by antisemitism and had nothing to do with, you know, Polanski raping a 13 year old.
I am reminded here, of when I doing research on Harry Hay and finding out that he had, at one point defended NAMBLA (North Atlantic Man Boy Love Association) an organization that essentially promotes pedophilia. And while doing research for this article I found out that Allen Ginsberg had also defended the organization.
It seems as if you can't knock too hard on the door of anybody's closet, without knocking out a skeleton or two. There is a line between defending sexual activity between consenting adults and defending sexual activity with those too young to give consent. Too bad there are pro-queer activists who were unable to make that distinction.
I am also reminded here of the response to the Sandusky scandal at Penn State and the revelation that many members of the Penn State elite -- such as Joe Paterno -- had covered up for Sandusky. Consider also, the cover ups that occurred within the Catholic Church over numerous incidents of sexual assault by priests against children.
Coming back to Vidal, it is worth noting that he was not the only celebrity who had defended Polanski. Over a hundred of Hollywood's elite signed a petition to demand the release of Polanski following his arrest in Switzerland while he was traveling to a film festiveal.
It seems that as a species, few of us are immune to the desire to stick our head in the sand and ignore any problem that is shoved in front of our faces. But a problem cannot be solved through ignorance, nor by blaming the victims.
While Gore Vidal may have been a talented and progressive author (he did after all write one of the first major pro-queer novels in the United States) I cannot defend, his slut-shaming, rape defending, comment. Nor do I think it should be dismissed. By claiming that a 13 year old, who had been drugged and raped by a man in his 40's, was a "hooker" who had simply felt she had been taken advantage of, Gore Vidal committed a sin too ugly for description.
September 23, 2011
Queer Review: Myra Breckinridge (1970)
Myra Breckinridge
Director: Michael Sarne
Writers: Michael Sarne and David Giler. Based upon the novel by Gore Vidal.
Cast: Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, John Huston, Mae West, Tom Selleck, Roger C. Carmel, Roger Herren
Overview
Based upon the controversial novel by Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge is widely considered to be one of the worse films of all times. However, this appears to be due primarily to bad publicity combined with conservative standards at the time regarding human sexuality, as the final product is more of a muddled mess than an outright disaster. I am not going to defend Myra Breckinridge by any means, but Michael Sarne's film is nowhere near as bad as it's reputation suggests.
Synopsis
Myron Breckinridge (Rex Reed) has just undergone a sex change operation to become Myra Breckinridge (Raquel Welch). Her next course of action is to approach Buck Loner (John Huston), who heads the acting school that Myron owns half of. Pretending to be Myron's widow, Myra attempts to persuade Buck to buy the half of the school that she now technically owns while Buck attempts to prove her claims wrong. Meanwhile, now a professor at the school, Myra falls madly in love with one of the students, Rusty Godowski (Roger Herren) and makes every attempt to destroy his masculinity.
The Queering
Myra Breckinridge is not only listed on Wikipedia's List of films considered the worst but it is also the only film from the 70's on the list. Furthermore, Myra Breckinridge was also included in Harry Medved's book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way). Gore Vidal also distanced himself from the movie adaptation of his book.
By no means am I going to defend Myra Breckinridge but I will say that it is nowhere's near being among the worst films of all time. I can think of plenty of films that are a million times worse, such as Another Gay Movie or Half Baked where the experience of watching becomes so intolerable that one will very quickly wish to be doing something more pleasant, such as undergoing Chinese water torture. In fact, if forced at gunpoint I would not hesitate to choose Myra Breckinridge over watching any lame rom com such as Latter Days or Imagine Me and You.
This is not to say that Myra Breckinridge is flawless. On the whole, it would be charitable to label Michael Sarne's direction and writing as "muddled". This is backed up by reports that Sarne would spend up to 7 hours at time alone "thinking" while the production crew was forced to wait around. Too bad that given the evidence at hand that "thinking" does not appear to be among Sarne's strengths.
The one thing that makes Myra Breckinridge enjoyable or at least watchable, was the frequent use of clips from old movies, inserted at appropriate moments, often to provide an exclamation point to the humour. This sort of creativity is something I would like to see a lot more of in films. Also, Raquel Welch's performance is worth a look, as is Mae West as a talent scout who only wants studs due to the fact that she sleeps with all her clients. John Huston also manages to generate a few sparks as the fake macho buck who spars with Breckinridge. All of the other performances are mostly forgettable.
In the end, Myra Breckinridge was doomed by bad press and the conservative standards of the day turned the explicit sex related humour into the films albatross. Toss in the fact that the final product was not all that great and it is easy to see why this universally panned by critics.
Recommendation
While not even remotely close to being a candidate for one of the worst movies of all time, this is still pretty much only for those with a tolerance for experimental films or a very strong interest in the history of queer cinema.
The Rating
Trailer
Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.
Director: Michael Sarne
Writers: Michael Sarne and David Giler. Based upon the novel by Gore Vidal.
Cast: Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, John Huston, Mae West, Tom Selleck, Roger C. Carmel, Roger Herren
Overview
Based upon the controversial novel by Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge is widely considered to be one of the worse films of all times. However, this appears to be due primarily to bad publicity combined with conservative standards at the time regarding human sexuality, as the final product is more of a muddled mess than an outright disaster. I am not going to defend Myra Breckinridge by any means, but Michael Sarne's film is nowhere near as bad as it's reputation suggests.
Synopsis
Myron Breckinridge (Rex Reed) has just undergone a sex change operation to become Myra Breckinridge (Raquel Welch). Her next course of action is to approach Buck Loner (John Huston), who heads the acting school that Myron owns half of. Pretending to be Myron's widow, Myra attempts to persuade Buck to buy the half of the school that she now technically owns while Buck attempts to prove her claims wrong. Meanwhile, now a professor at the school, Myra falls madly in love with one of the students, Rusty Godowski (Roger Herren) and makes every attempt to destroy his masculinity.
The Queering
Myra Breckinridge is not only listed on Wikipedia's List of films considered the worst but it is also the only film from the 70's on the list. Furthermore, Myra Breckinridge was also included in Harry Medved's book, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way). Gore Vidal also distanced himself from the movie adaptation of his book.
By no means am I going to defend Myra Breckinridge but I will say that it is nowhere's near being among the worst films of all time. I can think of plenty of films that are a million times worse, such as Another Gay Movie or Half Baked where the experience of watching becomes so intolerable that one will very quickly wish to be doing something more pleasant, such as undergoing Chinese water torture. In fact, if forced at gunpoint I would not hesitate to choose Myra Breckinridge over watching any lame rom com such as Latter Days or Imagine Me and You.
This is not to say that Myra Breckinridge is flawless. On the whole, it would be charitable to label Michael Sarne's direction and writing as "muddled". This is backed up by reports that Sarne would spend up to 7 hours at time alone "thinking" while the production crew was forced to wait around. Too bad that given the evidence at hand that "thinking" does not appear to be among Sarne's strengths.
The one thing that makes Myra Breckinridge enjoyable or at least watchable, was the frequent use of clips from old movies, inserted at appropriate moments, often to provide an exclamation point to the humour. This sort of creativity is something I would like to see a lot more of in films. Also, Raquel Welch's performance is worth a look, as is Mae West as a talent scout who only wants studs due to the fact that she sleeps with all her clients. John Huston also manages to generate a few sparks as the fake macho buck who spars with Breckinridge. All of the other performances are mostly forgettable.
In the end, Myra Breckinridge was doomed by bad press and the conservative standards of the day turned the explicit sex related humour into the films albatross. Toss in the fact that the final product was not all that great and it is easy to see why this universally panned by critics.
Recommendation
While not even remotely close to being a candidate for one of the worst movies of all time, this is still pretty much only for those with a tolerance for experimental films or a very strong interest in the history of queer cinema.
The Rating
Trailer
Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.
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