Queer media was heavily underrepresented in the past but has come to be more accepted in the recent years due to a cultural shift that has seen rise of inclusive media. Representation of the visual queer media in modern media and pop culture is still facing criticisms because it is believed that most artists in the 21st century actually produce content inclusive of queer media for financial gains and public approval. This causes us to question the representation of the true queer lifestyles in today’s media and the influence it has on the consumers. I think more credit should be given to the earliest representations of queer media for example the German classic “Anders als die Andern” which literally translates to different from others and was one of the first movies ever to address the matter of same sex love at a time it was considered to be illegal and immoral in Germany and various parts of the world. I think these representations of queer media in such difficult times are responsible for the huge cultural shift that has led to more production and consumption of queer media throughout the years. While comparing early and modern representations of queer media, more credit can be given to modern media which has a lot more inclusivity of all kinds of queer lifestyles. Top tier actors taking on the roles of queer characters for example Jared Leto acting a trans-woman with AIDS in Dallas Buyers Club challenging the norm of male actors taking on female roles and also representing the problems facing the queer community at the same time has an overall positive effect on the consumption of queer media
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
I think popular heterosexual actors taking on queer roles in mainstream film is important in normalizing the depiction of queer people. This helps heterosexual mainstream audiences start viewing queer life as less different than their own. Another example of this I can think of is Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. In this movie, Freddy Mercury, a gay man, has his life and struggle to come to terms with his sexuality depicted. This gave me a queer lens into the band queen that I had never considered before watching the film.