Better representation is needed in all aspects of cinema. Studio movies need more women, more people of color, and more LGBTQ people involved-both in front of and behind the camera. Sexuality isn't Hollywood's only diversity problem. “It’s about looking at Star Wars and those other franchises and seeing where they can be more inclusive, and then there’s also building more dimensional storylines around LGBTQ people,” Ellis says. It’s a step in the right direction, undoubtedly, but a very small one. There’s a lot to be said for films seeking to normalize LGBTQ life by treating queer relationships just like any other, but when the visibility is so brief-often just a few minutes or seconds-each of these instants feels like a studio saying “Look, we did it!” without doing much at all. But again, his big gay moment is just a moment, a brief glimpse of Sulu with a man perceived to be his partner.
Meanwhile, in another far-away galaxy, last year’s Star Trek Beyond depicted Sulu as a gay man-an homage to original Sulu, George Takei, who came out in 2005. (Despite the rumors, Moff Mors never made it into Rogue One.) The Lucasfilm cinematic universe expands every day-but each time it does so without including a member of the LGBTQ community, a queer kid feels less worthy of wielding a lightsaber. Abrams has said that LGBTQ characters are a must in the effort to make the galaxy far, far away more diverse, but so far one hasn’t surfaced. *Star Wars: * The Force Awakens director J.J. That’s a lesson that could carry over to Disney's other properties as well. “Now they’re starting to dip their toe in it and they’re starting to see a positive reaction-both culturally, from people not boycotting or dismissing the film, and also at the box office.” “It’s been a very long road, especially because there’s so much perceived risk for ,” says Ellis. It also didn’t hurt the movie’s bottom line: Beauty and the Beast made more than $350 million worldwide in its opening weekend.
For that to happen in a family Disney movie is unprecedented-and, like Trini’s revelation, it stakes out space for queer identities where they hadn't traditionally existed. Josh Gad’s character LeFou, according to director Bill Condon, featured in the studio's first “exclusively gay moment,” a brief dance-floor twirl between LeFou and one of Gaston’s henchmen. In addition to the Yellow Ranger's mighty moment, Disney-which received a “failing” rating from GLAAD in 2016 for its track record with LGBTQ characters-also included a gay character in last week’s record-setting Beauty and the Beast. More importantly, it's a step in the right direction, and one that provides Hollywood its own power boost. As director Dean Israelite told The Hollywood Reporter, it's a “pivotal” scene for the film. The moment is short, but genuine she's a teen, after all, and she's still Figuring Stuff Out. She doesn't respond fully, but does say she's never talked about her identity with anyone. "Boyfriend problems?" Zack (Ludi Lin) inquires.
During a bit of squad bonding, Yellow Ranger Trini (Becky G) reveals that she doesn't want her strait-laced family involved in her relationships. Despite the headlines, Power Rangers skips any dramatic "yep, I'm gay" admission, and instead opts for nonchalance. The words “first” and “gay” have a Pavlovian effect on many queer fans of pop culture, and even more so for queer fans of superhero stuff. But then I heard it had a queer superhero, and I got in line for the Thursday-night previews.
I hadn’t planned to do so aside from some well-placed Kanye West in the film’s trailer, nothing about the movie spoke to me and I was never a fan of the TV show.