Ben Neuberger Student# 20186467 February 11, 2020
Reelout Film Festival Review: Queering the Script
While attending the Reelout Film Festival, at the Kingston Screening Room, I viewed a documentary film titled “Queering the Script.” It was written and directed by accomplished Canadian filmmaker, Gabriella Zilkha. The film used a variety of methods in order to explore and address the misrepresentation and lack of representation of queer characters in television. By looking at the history of queer representation in televison, the affects of this lack of queer representation, as well as imparting my own opinion on how successful Gabriella Zilkha was at expressing these problems within her film, I hope to analyze and assess the film by drawing on the film’s main message of misrespresentation of queer characters in film, in order to display the film’s message as accurately as possible.
Queering the Script begins by looking at ‘ClexaCon,’ which is an annual fan convention focused on female members of the LGBTQ+ community. Within this convention, the techniques of “queerbaiting” and “dead lesbian syndrome” are discussed. Queerbaiting is when in a work of fiction, a same sex romance is hinted to exist, but is never fully depicted on-screen. PinkNews, an online LGBT-centric newspaper, released an article on queerbaiting which explores how writers often bait people from the LGBTQ+ community into watching their show by hinting at a same-sex relationship, but never end up fully portraying the relationship on-screen . Meanwhile, dead lesbian syndrome is another commonly used trope, which sees most LGBTQ+ television characters meet unhappy endings. Queering the Script looks at how these stereotypes have been used throughout history, in order to further the misrepresentation of LGBTQ+ individuals. For example, the television shows Xena Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer gained a following from the queer community due to their depictions of same-sex romances. However, true to the dead lesbian syndrome trope, the subtext relationships in Xena Warrior Princess, and the multi-season relationship between two female characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all lead to catastrophic or unpleasant endings. In 2014, perhaps the most high-profile lesbian of all time, Ellen Degeneres released a list of the 35 most horrifying lesbian/bisexual deaths on screen. This was another example of how queer characters and their relationships were being depicted inaccurately and unfairly. ClexaCon, the aforementioned site of the beginning of the documentary, was started as an homage to the fan favourite couple, Lexa and Clarke, from the popular television show The 100. One of the strongest reactions Director Gabriella Zilkha uses in her film was the reaction viewers had to Lexa’s death in the show. In Queering the Script, this was an especially important part of the film as Lexa and Clarke were a fan favourite couple due to their fierceness as warriors, as they did not conform to the standards set by television. When Lexa was killed off there was a massive outburst from the LGBTQ+ community, which was a key component of the film’s message of misrepresentation throughout (recent) television history.
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The affects of this negative and stereotypical of representation of queer characters in television, has had many adverse affects on the LGBTQ+ community. Queering the Script used the death of Lexa and the live reactions that people recorded on social media, as a way to show the tangible impact this type of misrepresentation can have on society. The queer community had a craving for a relationship which they could emphasize with, and the decision to kill off this LGBTQ+ character was extremely controversial and polarizing, with many questioning if the right decision was made. When looking at representation, it is important to highlight the idea of fandom. In his book, Negotiating Fandom, H enry Jenkins highlights the disconnect felt between Hermione Granger and a bi-racial girl named Alanna Bennet, who fails to see herself in Hermione, the way other caucasian girls could see themselves. This is the exact same gap that is experienced and displayed in Queering the Script a nd is a perfect example of how alone someone can feel if they have no one to identify with on television. This issue of representation is explored in the documentary as television can provide young members of the LGBTQ+ community an avenue to feel accepted and normalized, by seeing characters who reflect themselves. The importance that these characters serve in a queer person’s life is identical to that of a straight person. Yet still, there is a lack of characters in television that accurately project an authentic queer character. It is extremely hard and misleading for someone to feel comfortable with their identity when it is consistently being misrepresented and manipulated in unsavoury manners.
Finally, this brings me to my opinion on the film and how I felt about its effectiveness in creating awareness about the misrepresentation of queer characters. I believe that Gabriella Zilkha, when making Queering the Script had a fully thought out plan of how she was going to address the problem of misrepresentation in the queer community. She decided to start the film at ClexaCon and from there, used regular individuals attending the event to share their struggles and opinions on queer misrepresentation. I believe that Queering the Script was a fantastic documentary on an important issue, which is pertinent and relevant today. By interviewing and showing actors that played some of the queer roles, the film was able to speak with the audience and express how important it was to portray these character’s in the best possible way. Furthermore, the film used queerbaiting and dead lesbian syndrome to explain the common mischaracterizations that were going on in television, and it was easy for me as a spectator to realize what a profound effect that the absence of an authentic queer character on tv had on society and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Seeing Queering the Script at the Reelout Film Festival helped me to realize how much the misrepresentation of queer character’s impacts LGBTQ+ individuals. Having personal experience with family members struggling with their sexuality, I was able to relate to this film on a personal level. Because this misrepresentation is being discussed, through documentaries such as Queering the Script, shows like Black Lightning have surfaced and people are taking notice of this issue and hopefully will make changes to the film industry to include and represent all types of people. This is a welcome change, that will spark a positive effect on the world.
Reelout 2020 Review 