Shawnee Gilbert

Film 1070 Tuesday 5:30-9:20

Lesbians on Film
Lesbian our society has made associated this word with shame and sin. When you hear the
word lesbian many different things come to mind. Not many of which are normal or accepted by
many people. Although times are changing and people a becoming more open to the many different
ways humans life, there is still a stigma surrounding ways of life outside the norm. This paper is
going to explore the way the lesbians are and have been portrayed on film. Some ways are fairly good,
and some not so much, but most follow along with the ideal stereotype something that fits into the
comedic patterns needed for the film. Being homosexual is has been considered for a long time to be
taboo, and not real. It is seen as a way of rebelling, or that the affected person is in some way
mentally ill. So naturally the way homosexuality is portrayed upon the big screen is going to follow
suit. There are hardships and challenges in every story, but when it involves a gay couple it is seen as
worse, being homosexual leads many to wrongly believe that all of the issues that individual is dealing
with directly stems from their homosexuality. By watching two very different films about the lives of
homosexual women, it has only reinforced this belief that homosexuals are portrayed poorly and
unjustly on film. If it wasn't such a socially controversial topic there wouldn't even be a need to look at
it in this way. It would be like analyzing a traditional relationship completely normal and un-unique.
The first film this paper is going to focus on is called Heavenly Creatures. This film was
directed by Peter Jackson, it is set in New Zealand in the early to mid 1950's. It follows the friendship
between two 14 year old girls who bond over being sickly children and as they enter their young adult
lives learning to deal with being outcasts. Feeding off of each others wildly outlandish imaginations
they create their own world (their own heaven, if you will) in which they rule and make the rules. The
two end up becoming so depended upon each other that living life without the other is completely out
of the question and impossible. They have so much more than love and need for companionship, they

are what keeps the other alive. When presented with the upcoming separation (one girls parents are
separating and she and her father will be leaving the country indefinitely) they decide to murder the
other girls mother, as she will not sign for a passport so they may leave together. They end up following
through with the brutal crime, they are caught and put into prison.
Although this movie follows the true story of the Parker-Hulme case and according to Jackson
the details were followed meticulously (some taken straight from Pauline Parker's own diary about
the events). The way these young women are portrayed is that of insane. The feelings evoked from the
film are subtly creepy and rather shaky, like any moment they will fly off the handle. The goal was to
tell a story about a true crime, which is done very well, but the way you think about how lesbians are
after watching this film is scary dangerous and crazy. The way they became so depended upon each
other is not the fault of mental illness but that of necessity. They have no other friends, and both pairs
of parents seem to have had no time for their daughters, nor the decency to communicate how
important they are and how much they are loved. These young girls become mentally disrupted when
they are told that their relationship is unwholesome and they will no longer be able to see each other.
Neither girl really understood why the relationship they had going was wrong or why is upset their
parents so much. Going through your teenage years is hard enough, but then having your very best
friend and in this case your lover taken away, it's no wonder a resentment grew. As Janet Maslin
from the New York Times puts it; They were genteel schoolgirls who fell in love with each other and,
goaded by that love, committed a terminally unladylike crime. Still, even love does not justify murder,
that is just a really poor choice the girls made together out of desperation.
Society throughout many many years has placed such importance on the idea of having a
lifelong companion. What society has failed at and completely missed altogether is that companionship
doesn't need to be male and female, because two people can click and connect on a much deeper level
in either gender. It doesn't matter the combination. Physical attraction and genitalia isn't what bonds
humans and keeps them together, it is all about chemistry and how one person can compliment the

other and vice versa. Companionship can come in many different forms, and because the conversation
is just now being started the ban on same sex couples is something that just shouldn't happen that is
where our society is wrong and has failed.
The next film this paper is going to discuss is called The Kids Are Alright. Directed by Lisa
Cholodenko, it was released in 2010. This film is completely different than the previous film talked
about, being a modern view of a suburban family, the head of the family unit being two moms, Jules
and Nic. The film follows the women's two children meeting and developing a relationship with their
biological father whom donated sperm 18 years earlier. Nic is a busy doctor and has been slacking on
connecting emotionally with Jules like can happen any relationship. Jules feeling unimportant is
taken aback by the way her children's biological father shows interest in all their lives and wants to get
to know each of them. He gives her the attention she is seeking and not receiving from Nic. An affair
starts between them and when all is revealed Nic and Jules decide to work it out and stay together. This
film portrays a lesbian couple in a refreshingly normal way as it should be. Other than the hurdle they
have to work around together, they are a rather perfect couple. The issues in the relationship still stem
from the fact that they are gay and had to have children in an untraditional way. But the rest of the
portrayal is that of any other suburban family. They love their children, they nag their children, they'd
do anything for them. Behind the scenes Nic and Jules have hit a rough patch and are a bit scattered but
as this review by A. O. Scott from the New York Times puts it; Which is to say that they are loving,
devoted, responsible and a bit of a mess. Some of this is midlife malaise: not quite a crisis, at least not
at first. Nic (Annette Bening), an OB-GYN, is the breadwinner and principal worrier. Jules (Julianne
Moore), who has dabbled in various careers while taking care of the children, is restless and maybe just
a little flaky. They are comfortable with each other, more or less content, but also frustrated, confused,
a bit out of sorts. As I said: normal.. This couple faces challenges that many heterosexual couples face,
infidelity, hardships of raising children, and just life's curve balls in general. But the director did a
really good job of making the relationship as if it was any other regular relationship.

Viewing both of these films and trying to pull out comparisons is incredibly tricky. First off
there is a 16 year gap between release dates a lot involving the rights and equality of homosexuals in
our society has changed and been brought to light since 1994. Another stark contrast being one follows
a true story while the other is completely fabricated. The young girls involved in Heavenly Creatures
are 14 and just beginning to learn about their sexuality and explore what they are attracted to. Mix that
with raging hormones and it makes for a rather unstable and extreme character. Whereas the women
involved in The Kids Are Alright are middle aged with some life experience under their belt, these
characters are somewhat more stable and have direction and responsibilities they must attend too.
Sex is portrayed in both films, a typical stereotype that lesbian sex falls into is basically porn. It
is seen as dirty, and done simply to get someone viewing it off. The way it is shown in Heavenly
Creatures is both girls are lost in their made up world and they know they are about to lose each other
so it becomes very passionate, giving a sense of a final closeness before all is lost. They are gentle and
happy just being with each other. Whereas it is portrayed in an almost comedic way in The Kids Are
Alright. They are in bed together trying to mentally get themselves into the right place when the
television remote is bumped and the TV begins blaring, putting both women into a frenzy to turn it off.
Both of these portrayals of lesbian sex breaks the stereotype and shows a completely new side that is
comparable to heterosexual sex. Sometimes conditions are perfect and other times not so much and you
have to work at it.
One of the biggest issues observed in general, not just film but also television, is that of trying
to portray the perfect lesbian. People are people, they have flaws and problems. Like the typical gay
man portrayal, they should be witty and funny. Never shown actually dealing with real life and real
problems. The Kids Are Alright is a film that can stand alone in such a category because is does show
two women dealing with life and real problems. If you look at lesbians in the popular television show
Orange is the New Black, the sexual undertones pour out of the television being anything but subtle.
Sex is shown as aggressive and dirty understand it is made for TV, pure entertainment but there is

never anything real, like passion and real feelings. There have been so many other movies and
television shows depicting gay men in a much better light.
Ultimately this paper only really looks at two very different depictions of lesbians on film, there
are many other avenues to take and look at. For example, asking a homosexual woman to talk about
how she thinks gay characters should be portrayed. They too go home to families, lovers, and spouses.
They to have one night stands and long standing relationships. Heartbreak and pain is not something
foreign to a gay woman. Does seeing these types of portrayals upon the big screen bother them or are
they done well? Like heterosexual people criticize film, homosexuals have opinions on what could
have been done better, what is complete crap, and what was done well.
A lesser known portrayal of lesbians on film is done in 1974's Blaxploitation film Foxy Brown.
One scene in particular really stands out, the bar fight. There are all sorts of lesbian characters in this
scene. The lipstick lesbian, the really pretty type who likes typical feminine style. The dyke lesbian
who dresses more like a male and has a tougher persona. This type of film is overacted and really
unrealistic but it was done in the 70's before both of the previously talked about films.
Films will continue to be made, there will always be characters we like and characters we don't.
Hollywood will continue taking real stories and bending them to fit the mold of what sells, and in the
long run, what makes the most money. Right now what achieves both of those goals is sex, especially
sex involving the female body, it will continue to be exploited and bent into unrealistic views.
Sometimes a character will be portrayed in a good normal way and other times they will be portrayed
in a stereotypical and hurtful way. However it is put onto the big screen there will always be flaws, but
sometimes you can catch a refreshing glimpse of reality, and if not? Well at least you were entertained
for a couple of hours.

Maslin, Janet. "Heavenly Creatures; Fantasies and Love That Led to Murder." New York Times. New
York Times, 16 Nov. 1994. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.
Scott, A. O. "Meet the Sperm Donor: Modern Family Ties." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 08 July 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.