Scott Pilgram vs the World - Gay representation.

[Invert]

Scott Pilgram vs the World is a movie that was just released in UK cinemas (not sure when it was released in North America). There are a few instances of not straight characters. Namely Wallace, the main character's room mate, who is a gay man, and Roxy, a female evil ex of the main female character.

I was excited when I found out one evil ex in this film was a girl, as same sex female relationships are so uncommon in mainstream films, particularly if its not central to the storyline. And I do like how they in the run up to the female ex didnt make a big deal out of it (simply correcting 'ex bfs' to 'exes'), and that they acknowledged the two girls had sex... but I dont know, it kinda bothered me how the female evil ex was talked about compared to the men, as at least the men had some form of good comments mixed with the insults.

Here's a brief clip of where the main male works out their is a girl ex, if you havent seen it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4a6GijnDmE

I suppose its a step forward, but I it left me slightly disappointed.

The male gay character isnt really camp, however they do make her fairly bitchy and a massive whore. With suggestions he was a whore simply because he was gay, and gays have to be (though it was probably a bit tongue in cheek).

Basically I cant tell if Im impressed, offended (about this bit, I enjoyed the film as a whole, I'd admit), or what. Have any of you guys seen this film? what do you think about how gays are shown in this film?

[Briana]

I have not seen it but just from that clip you shared, I don't like how she said it was just a "phase". :/

[Invert]

I don't like how she said she 'thought it didnt count'. A relationship is a relationship at the end of the day.

[Briana]

yeah, its bad exposure (not sure if that is the right word) of the gay community. Makes it seem like it isn't as real as a straight relationship.

[Jack]

Eh, I don't think you can say it reflects badly on the gay community. I know plenty of people who are stuggling or have struggled with their sexual identity and often they've claimed that their same sex experiences or relationships have been "just a phase" or that they "didn't count" because it was just experimentation. I think that's a rather realistic depiction of how some people would react when faced with explaining a same sex relationship that they wish to put behind them.

I just want to say, I've not seen the film, but I can't really see anything wrong with the clip there,

[Work_In_Progress]

From the main female's point of view, perhaps she did think of her relationship with another female as a phase. I mean, she DOES end up with a guy in the end, correct? The clip that you linked even had the girl say that she thought she was a lil "bi-curious". So naturally they might think it counts or it doesn't.

I actually have a friend who is now very happy in a relationship with a woman, he hooked up with her while we were still in high school but it didn't last because she was from another country. After she left I noticed that he started going for guys, and he even had sex with men, the last time we talked about his homosexuality he did in fact refer to it as a phase. From MY point of view I believe it was more than a phase, that he was "bi-sexual" or "homosexual", solely because he actually asked me if he could give me a blowjob one time and right then and there I was convinced. But my point of view is irrelevant, because it was about HIM, and he says he was simply "bi-curious", therefore it was just a phase. But like I said, my point of view of his sexuality was fairy different than his, I found him to be "bi-curious" for the longest time.

I honestly think the writers didn't even think about their movie possibly representing the Gay community at all. Judging from reviews and trailers; To me, they just decided to add that the female character would have a lesbian affair instead of solely heterosexcual ones purely for comic relief(or something like that). You have to admit, it would've been much less entertaining of an idea if all of the exes were boys.

[darkxdreamer13]

I saw it a couple days ago. I think it was cool that they had her say how she was at one point bi-curious, and to have a gay roomate. It made it more realistic and interesting I thought. I mean, I can see how some could be offended, but it is a step up for all of that to be in a mainstream movie as you said.
Over all, I thought that movie was prettty good, but not amazing as I thought it would be...

Also, in another movie that have Michael Cera as a star, Nick&Norah's Infinate Playlist (one of my all time favorites!) they make a reference to the female star dating a girl in 3rd grade, implying that she is or was at some point bi. That's such a great movie though, I recommend it.

[Invert]

What made me slightly uncomfortable wasnt the use of the term phase, because of course I know people have phases. And Im not talking about some 'oh lets sanction' the film, but from a gay perspective how far the inclusion goes. Why? Because female same sex relationships are not common in Hollywood, and are not often on par to male- female realtions. The thing that made me a bit uncomfortable was not the issue of it being a phase, or that she was bicurious, but I think the attitude it didnt count (even if it were a phase, and she is actually straight, it is very disrespectful, particularly infront of the ex to say something like that shouldnt count. It belittles it). The ex gf was made to look like much more of an obsessive freak than the guys, unlike the guys that were accompanied by a description of how the relationship was great unti she got bored and left, she basically gave no positive comments about it was kinda disappointing, in relation to my queerness. I suppose its also entangled by the fact I quite liked the main female character until about this scene (before during and after) where she totally showed herself as a bitch, so I guess it left me unsettled anyway.

These are subtle issues, but to be honest thats why I posted it in this forum to hopefully mostly get LGBTQ+ people's views. I think straight people are less likely to get why there may be any unrest about the idea, because they dont have the background. Im particularly interested in queer female type people's opinions as well. Also I wouldnt put it in Current Events, because its not really a debate, but dialogue within this community about how people are left by it.

[Furubasu]

I haven't yet seen it, so I can't really comment, but...

From what it sounds like, it probably is a fairly bad representation of the gay community, which sucks. However, it is a comedy as far as I know, so I don't think (or at least I hope) most people won't take it too seriously.