Fans have more power than they know. After all, without fans there is no one to watch the film. It is the pressure and expectation of fandoms that coerce film makers into providing what their consumers wish to see happen on the screen. For years, Hollywood films have been criticized for their lack of diversity. Recently fans have taken it upon themselves to request more inclusiveness in cinema.
Twitter campaigns such as #GiveElsaAGirlfriend and #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend are proof that fans want to see characters that better represent them. Intentional or not, Disney created a story that the LGBT community identified with heavily. Elsa’s struggle to be accepted for who she is and to come to terms with her powers is seen as having strong parallels with a coming out story. As “Frozen 2” is beginning production fans have taken to social media to beg for Elsa to be given a girlfriend. This would be the first Disney character to be openly gay and plainly stated so. LGBT fans and straight supporters see the importance in having a gay character to represent the community and portray a more realistic and diverse population in family films.
Having a gay character in a film doesn’t necessarily have to be a political statement, however. Gay people exist in real life so why should they not be present in film? Being gay does not have to be the entire plot point of a character. A character’s sexuality is just another part of them, and is not something that should completely define them. When J.K. Rowling announced that Dumbledore was gay the world was stunned. Although it was never mentioned in the book Rowling said that that was something she always knew about Dumbledore. It didn’t define his character, but it was a part of who he was. This did though, give LGBT readers someone with whom to identify.
The inclusion of gay characters in films will combat the heteronormativity and cis oriented nature of Hollywood cinema. Viewers are beginning to question why there are no LGBT characters and actors. When Eddie Redmayne played a trans woman in “The Danish Girl”, people asked why they don’t cast trans actors to play trans people. The push for diversity in film is not a new issue and includes not just sexuality alone, but also race. When Emma Stone was cast in “Aloha” to play a part-Asian character, people asked why they don’t cast an actual Asian person.
Minorities are overall underrepresented in film. The current highest grossing film of all time, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, features a woman and a black man as the main protagonists. Clearly the fans have no qualms about seeing minorities up on the screen and yet the majority of directors are still whitewashing their casts. J.J. Abrams, director of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, has even stated that he would be happy to include a gay character in the next star wars film. In response to fan questioning about a possible romance between characters Finn and Poe, he is stated saying, “To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world.”
The need for inclusiveness in films is about sharing diverse human experiences and normalizing the existence of people of varying race and sexuality. That is something that is currently just not present in cinema. The fans have spoken and they want to see some changes in who Hollywood chooses to represent in their films. The pressure is on.
