Newsweek and the debate about gay actors playing straight

Right after I wrote a piece praising Newsweek and looking at the decline of print journalism I saw the story that has lit up the blogosphere about whether the issue of gay actors playing straight characters. This piece appeared as an online exclusive on April 26th and has received much attention, especially after actress Kristin Chenoweth defended her co-star Sean Hayes (who the article referred to) and denounced the article which was written by Ramin Setoodeh  on Friday 7th. What comes as a surprise is that the author of this article is himself a gay man and that the writing seems to be homophobic in suggesting that a straight man can easily play a gay man but when it comes to a gay person playing straight he believes that so far there have been no credible cases.The main argument from Setoodeh article (which is entitled 'Straight Jacket') regarding Hayes is that his character plays "like he's trying to hide something, which of course he is". This assumption that because of his real life sexual orientation he cannot play straight and make an audience believe it seems utterly preposterous, I can name many examples of other actors and incidents in their real lives that don't distract me from their performance, one would be the recent stories of David Boreanaz's infidelity which don't then make me think that his character in Bones is a cheat as well, as a viewer I can distinguish between the real world and the fictitious world and I'm sure that most other people can as well. There are probably some that this might be an issue for but really in the 21st Century should we be playing to the mind set of the bigoted? In her reply to this article Chenoweth succinctly wrote that

 "Audiences aren't giving a darn about who a person is sleeping with or his personal life. Give me a break! We're actors first, whether we're playing prostitutes, baseball players or the Lion King."

Another incredulous point in this article is that the examples he gives of gay actors who play straight characters is that they playing broad caricatures and so don't seem to matter in this debate, here he is talking about Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Better Off Ted). This point is absurd because even though these characters are part of comedy shows and some of their actions and storylines could be considered exaggerations their portrayals deserve to be counted (the writer counters with the examples of Up in the Air and The Proposal as such solid non-caricature portrayals, think of that what you will). Surely one of Barney's main attributes is his womanising and at no point do I ever think that his actions aren't believable. In this argument does he think that Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf or Magneto doesn't count as believable because they are characters who are in the realm of science fiction and fantasy?

There are many other examples of openly gay actors playing straight parts in film, television and on the stage and surely the issue should not be about whether some one is gay or straight as to whether they can play a role, but it should be about the quality of the acting, surely that is the benchmark. Maybe Setoodah just thought that Hayes' performance was bad and just decided to make it a question of sexuality rather than just acting. This antiquated idea of openly gay actors having trouble convincing an audience that they can play straight may be a reason why there are supposedly so many actors still in the closet and articles like this one really do not help with the idea that they can come out and be comfortable with their sexuality and who they are which in 2010 seems like such a ridiculous idea but really still is an issue. I will leave it Krisitn Chenoweth to sum this up:

"Lastly, as someone who's been proudly advocating for equal rights and supporting GLBT causes for as long as I can remember, I know how much it means to young people struggling with their sexuality to see out & proud actors like Sean Hayes, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris and Cynthia Nixon succeeding in their work without having to keep their sexuality a secret. No one needs to see a bigoted, factually inaccurate article that tells people who deviate from heterosexual norms that they can't be open about who they are and still achieve their dreams. I am told on good authority that Mr. Setoodeh is a gay man himself and I would hope, as the author of this article, he would at least understand that. I encourage Newsweek to embrace stories which promote acceptance, love, unity and singing and dancing for all!"

   

The decline of the print media, can it be saved?

This is something slightly different to what I normally write about, but is something that I am also passionate about, inspired by The Daily Show interview with John Meacham.

I love magazines. I love newspapers. My love for print media is not reflected in sales which have been in decline for some time in this age of instant news making some publications seem irrelevant in this digital era. After seeing Newsweek editor John Meacham on The Daily Show last week on the day that it was announced that the 71 year old magazine was for sale it is clear that this is an issue that will not go away. He spoke of how the magazine needed to refocus the style of its content, to use the Newsweek website as the main focus for the output of stories with the magazine being an accumulation of those weeks stories so for anyone who would still like the magazine it is available but so is the web content. There was an overhaul of the style of Newsweek a year ago to combat the problems that digital media presents. He also spoke of the problem that people no longer want to pay for their news which will be reflected in the quality of this news; the decline of the print media will in theory show a decline in the quality of the content.

In this era of Twitter, Facebook and blogs where everybody can have an opinion that can instantly be accessed by millions it is easy to see why print media is having such problems.  Reporters are still needed to report the news for people to have something to comment on, which is important, though with these social networking sites, unpaid people rather than reporters can report the news first and have photos and video instantly uploaded on to the web to show what is going on. I have a blog, a Twitter and a Facebook account, though I would not call myself a journalist. I have a Masters degree and I am still trying to find my footing in this environment that I would like to work in and because of blogs and Twitter my voice can be heard by a larger audience. However, if this means that this will lead to the decline of the print media it is not a good evolution for the dispatch of information. It is somewhat of a catch 22, the advances of online writing are leading to the decline of the print media but is there a way that the two can be happy bedfellows?

The introduction of the iPad is being touted as the saviour of the magazine industry by some as magazine content will be available for a price to be read on the iPad (there are iPhone apps available for several magazines at the moment as well). However not all commentators believe this to be the case; detractors such as Paul Michelman for the Harvard Business Review claim that this is far from a reality as they don’t seem to be thinking of the reader but looking only to serve a business model which will look like circulation numbers are improving. By ignoring the reader the numbers will surely only improve to a certain amount and then will no doubt see a downturn again.

I’m not sure what can save the print media, I don’t know if I am archaic for wanting the physical item; magazines, newspapers, books, DVDs, CDs I want the actual thing, not a copy on my computer. I want to hold it, have the case, look at the art work, flick through the pages. It is because of this that I still buy and subscribe to magazines such as Entertainment Weekly (thought the nightmare that I have had with the delivery of this subscription is severely testing my patience- another story to be told one day), Vanity Fair, Vogue, Marie Claire and many others. I like looking at the adverts and reading from cover to cover so I would not be satisfied with a digital copy, but am I that common in this respect, would most just like the digital version?

I think what needs to be done and is definitely being explored by those currently working in this industry is a marriage between the two, so each kind of reader can get what they want, so the quality writers behind publications such as Newsweek can still produce excellent work and so the regular people on Twitter can also have their say. I sincerely hope that Newsweek gets a buyer soon and as Meacham said on The Daily Show, they are still open for business, the magazines doors are still open and I hope that this remains the case for this magazine and many others that are also struggling.

The Pacific: approaching the conclusion

Last night part 9 of The Pacific aired and whilst I really didn't think that it was possible for this mini series to visit darker and more brutal territory it once again raised the bar for the hell that was witnessed and suffered in this war for both those fighting it and those civilians caught in the crossfire. I have not written much about this mini series which is no reflection as to how I feel about it, in fact I intended to write about the completed version of the show, however after yet another superb instalment I feel that it is fair that I begin my appreciation of this extensive series now.

Band of Brothers it is isn't which is not a bad thing. With Band of Brothers we were taken on the tour of Europe with the same company of men throughout and this worked with the type of story they were telling for that show, Band of Brothers is one of my favourite all time programmes so I really did not want The Pacific to be a redraft of this in a South Pacific setting as it would not have done service to those who had fought in this war to rehash the same story twice. Instead we have been shown the journeys of three very different men and how this war was for them and this method of storytelling has been successful overall. At times at the start of the series it felt perhaps too fragmented, especially when Sledge was still at home in Alabama, however with this minor gripe aside I thought this narrative device worked. Where the first half of the series belonged primarily to Leckie (James Badge Dale), the latter half has mostly been Sledge's and this has been exemplified by strong performances by Joseph Mazello as Sledge and his partner in battle Remi Malek as Snafu who week by week have delved in to the madness and desperation of war with utter conviction.

The final instalment looks like it will be focusing on what happens to the men who fought and lived when the war is over, was Sledge's father right to think that his 'soul would be ripped out' by everything that he would see? 

  

Photo courtesy of HBO

Lost finale news

No finale spoilers here of leaked pages, just the awesome news that the finale is now a whopping 2 and a half hours. This with a pre show 'previously on Lost' plus the post show Jimmy Kimmel special 'Aloha to Lost' means that Sunday the 23rd on ABC is going to be an all Lost night. I'm going to be watching at friends in Baltimore area and I'm very excited for this night (though I am sad that I'm not going to be watching the show with my usual Lost friends as I will be on holiday on the East Coast of the US) but I think that it will be a great night and I am looking forward to the group festivities. Lost for me has always been a show that I watch with friends and the few occasions that I have watched the show solo have never been as good as when a group is together. But it's almost over now and after the heartbreak of this weeks episode and next weeks 'Across the Sea' being an episode that will apparently be very special (that is all I know and want to know at this point) I am very excited (and sad) as to how it will end.
Also kudos to Lost for making Jack really likeable this season, I really did not think that was possible. You lose points for all the casualties this week, even if it was inevitable that some of the majors were going to bite it.

True Blood promo poster 7: Vamp Stamp

Poster number 7 has been unveiled:

This poster campaign has been spot on so far, exploring many facets of the show and those characters that inhabit this world, this time looking at the so called 'fang bangers'. Though I'm not sure if that plaster would be all that effective with a vampire wound, might need something a bit bigger.

Photo courtesy of HBO.

Twitter and Lost

A few weeks back I wrote about how Twitter has had an impact on television and how the writers of shows now have another platform to communicate with fans. This is no more evident than last night when both Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse tweeted in regards to the Lost finale:

"We're done. Amen."

I've not much to say on this other than thanks to outlets such as Twitter there is now a way for information to be passed between the creative forces behind these TV shows and those people that watch in a way that has not existed before. Also this tweet has made the end of Lost feel as close as this is; in under three weeks it will be done. Can't believe it will be over soon. 

Conan on 60 minutes

Last night Conan O'Brien appeared on TV for the first time since he left The Tonight Show back in January. The interview took place on CBS's 60 minutes and can be viewed in full below. It is both the portrait of a man who is still deeply hurt by the whole affair and of someone who is aware that his situation though bad wasn't the worst thing that could have happened and unlike his audience who believe that he was screwed over by Jay Leno he doesn't see it this way (though his reaction to the notion that Leno thought they were both screwed over is priceless). It is good to see him back on TV, showing both humility and comedic thoughts about what went on at NBC during this period of change and that he still is not a cynical man. I look forward to when he is back on television in November on TBS.

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