Thursday, March 9, 2017

The representation of the LGBT community in Hollywood movies

When I read Abby's post about Disney's first gay character, I became interested in how the LGBT is portrayed in the movies, did some google research and found the GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index. http://www.glaad.org/sri/2016

Similar to the famous "Bechdel Test," which examines the representation of female characters in films, the organization developed the Vito Russo Test. 

To pass the Vito Russo Test, the following must be true:
1. The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender.
2. That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. they are comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another).
3. The LGBT character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect, meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character must matter.

"The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in films released by seven major motion picture studios during the 2015 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Sony Columbia, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers, as well as films released by four major subsidiary studios. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT film representations."

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