The New "Beauty And The Beast" Features Disney’s First Gay Character

[Queen2PrincessG]

I'm sure you all have seen the "mom blogger" who has suddenly decided that this is the last straw and is boycott the movie and is canceling her trip. And for what? Her words, "They are banking on corrupting the purity of a child’s mind for the 1%. They are no longer making watching a choice, but by forcing it to become mainstream, Disney is telling the conservative family, the Christian public, that they’re views hold no worth. In jest, they’re subtly encouraging you to conform your ways." WHOA Just whoa! We could have this argument all day but bottom line. Anyone opposed to Disney officially announcing ,not just hinting, at a character being gay because of God, is crazy. Not to mention the insanity that is the idea that children are being corrupted. This has nothing to do with PC and everything about representation. Its why I enjoy seeing strong african american female leads in sci-fi and comics. I just want to be represented, I do not want you to become a black female. The only word for people who think like this woman is "DUMB". So yes, please stop coming to the parks and do not attend shows or movies. It will leave more room for people who are not bigots.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I want to be excited by this, but as a gay man I know how often the "promise of representation" is either broken or under-delivered. The Once Upon a Time romance is a perfect example. The episode was sold as not being "a very special episode of OUaT," but that's exactly what we got - a gay love story shoe-horned into one episode, and that couple never being heard from again, their romance having no bearing on the overall plot. Yes, it was a step in the right direction, but would have been so much more powerful if the two women in question actually stuck around and had their relationship showcased, like is currently happening in Supergirl.

I also know some LGBT people are upset that the first gay character in a Disney movie is the villain's sidekick, because that means he almost assuredly won't have his affections returned, and is also just poor representation, having a dumb, daffy bad guy be our first bit of cinematic representation. That's not to say gay characters can't be the villains, but it feels a bit too easy to have their first gay character be one the audience is not supposed to like. I'll have to wait to see this "exclusively gay scene," which I think is a terrible way of selling it, but I'm not expecting much more than leFou looking on longingly as Gaston runs off to fight the beast, no words being said.

So what if he doesn't have his affections returned?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm sure you all have seen the "mom blogger" who has suddenly decided that this is the last straw and is boycott the movie and is canceling her trip. And for what? Her words, "They are banking on corrupting the purity of a child’s mind for the 1%. They are no longer making watching a choice, but by forcing it to become mainstream, Disney is telling the conservative family, the Christian public, that they’re views hold no worth. In jest, they’re subtly encouraging you to conform your ways." WHOA Just whoa! We could have this argument all day but bottom line. Anyone opposed to Disney officially announcing ,not just hinting, at a character being gay because of God, is crazy. Not to mention the insanity that is the idea that children are being corrupted. This has nothing to do with PC and everything about representation. Its why I enjoy seeing strong african american female leads in sci-fi and comics. I just want to be represented, I do not want you to become a black female. The only word for people who think like this woman is "DUMB". So yes, please stop coming to the parks and do not attend shows or movies. It will leave more room for people who are not bigots.

I am also not a fan of when people speak as if they are the spokesperson for a group.

As a fellow member of the "Christian public" I disagree with her stance so would prefer she not speaking for me in the future

And just representing something doesn't mean you are asking people to come before to it. Even if you have an anti-LGBT stance doesn't mean they don't exist

 

[MikeTaylor]

People/Business Owners who make it a point to do something to exclude potential customers that correlate with hot button issues are just hoping the story gets picked up by the media, and for that, they are scum (who obviously don't have a good business model or they would not have to resort to these kinds of marketing tactics), plain and simple. It reeks of the loud-mouth, aggressive, hyperbolic instigators that take extreme positions just to sell their books or appearances.

My position is that giving it/them the attention for these actions is exactly what they want... a twisted form of control or power and we need to stop giving them a soapbox to dispense their garbage (let me point out-even if their beliefs are stated to be genuine, that's inconsequential). I'm not saying that we should ignore the deplorable behavior or to neglect the merit of a conversation about the issue at hand, but only the players on the stage. Sharing and liking posts only exacerbates that behavior, which is evident in this story in particular since the "1300+ comments on their FB page" and the "mostly positive feedback" was expressly noted.

We'd like to believe we live in a civilized society, but people fear what they do not understand. This Bronze Age form of thinking prevents progress and we all know Walt hated things getting in the way of progress (had to tie this back into Disney somehow)!

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I just don't understand the announcements by anyone. Why does the Alabama couple just not show the movie? Why make a fuss? And Disney and the actors doing promotion interviews, just release the film, do you make press releases about your other characters' sexual orientation? Shall we expect a full rundown for Star Wars in December?

Let the story unfold in the cinematography, character development and dialogue. I have a feeling it would have been better received in meaningful context and also a pleasant surprise to many. Personally, I would have preferred they not spoil it and enjoyed experiencing it as the story was told, having an authentic reaction to the character and their story.

 

[pjweaver]

Other studios have done this before, recently Star Trek 'announced' Sulu was gay. It's all normal press to fuel movies, and any press is good press. Even if 100 theaters refused to show it this movie will make money. Face it, Disney doesn't need to do this to lure the gay community, and this will hardly be Brokeback Mountain where theaters need to lure the straights.

 

[AlohaNow]

I was lucky enough to attend an advance screening of the film earlier this week. There is no big 'gay scene' and absolutely nothing that any parent would have to explain to their child. This is a PG rated Disney movie people! Is there subtext? Of course. There was in the animated original as well. And as folks have stated upthread, and on the other now locked threads, any boycott will not hurt Disney in any way. The movie hasn't even opened yet and it is doing phenomenally well at the box office!

 

[disneyvoice]

I was lucky enough to attend an advance screening of the film earlier this week. There is no big 'gay scene' and absolutely nothing that any parent would have to explain to their child. This is a PG rated Disney movie people! Is there subtext? Of course. There was in the animated original as well. And as folks have stated upthread, and on the other now locked threads, any boycott will not hurt Disney in any way. The movie hasn't even opened yet and it is doing phenomenally well at the box office!

I am so excited to see it!!! Haven't been this excited about a movie in quite a while!!

I have been perplexed by comments I have seen where parents say they are angry because they don't believe that Disney should have anything sexual in a kid's movie. Uh, I agree . . . I wouldn't want to see sex in a kid's Disney movie either. Why do some people assume that just because there is a gay character in a movie it will be sexualized? I don't find the romantic relationship between Belle and the Beast to be presented sexual in nature. After all, those same parents were initially planning to take their kids to see a movie that focuses on a blossoming romantic relationship between Belle and the Beast yet they don't see anything sexualized about the main romantic interaction in the movie? I wouldn't find it appropriate for the movie to contain a heavy make-out session between Belle and the Beast, or Belle and the Beast in his human form, OR a heavy make out session between two gay characters.

Let's face it - there have been several "adult" jokes that fly right over kids' heads in Disney movies in the past so why do some parents think THIS is suddenly going to be something that kids are going to fixate on?

 

[k8Davies]

I'm sure you all have seen the "mom blogger" who has suddenly decided that this is the last straw and is boycott the movie and is canceling her trip. And for what? Her words, "They are banking on corrupting the purity of a child’s mind for the 1%. They are no longer making watching a choice, but by forcing it to become mainstream, Disney is telling the conservative family, the Christian public, that they’re views hold no worth. In jest, they’re subtly encouraging you to conform your ways." WHOA Just whoa! We could have this argument all day but bottom line. Anyone opposed to Disney officially announcing ,not just hinting, at a character being gay because of God, is crazy. Not to mention the insanity that is the idea that children are being corrupted. This has nothing to do with PC and everything about representation. Its why I enjoy seeing strong african american female leads in sci-fi and comics. I just want to be represented, I do not want you to become a black female. The only word for people who think like this woman is "DUMB". So yes, please stop coming to the parks and do not attend shows or movies. It will leave more room for people who are not bigots.

Anytime I read about people getting this worked up over something like this, I always think if this Irish advert -

and then I think, quietly to myself, people need to get a grip.

 

[pjweaver]

Anytime I read about people getting this worked up over something like this, I always think if this Irish advert -

and then I think, quietly to myself, people need to get a grip.

Wait a tic, it happened in Ireland too? Next thing you know the Queen might catch gay.

 

[Jim Shuler]

LeFou is the perfect choice for that sort of plot.

But seriously, good on Disney for finally making that leap into the 21st century.