GLBT - Four letters not found in CSI:NY

Discussion in 'CSI: New York' started by Faylinn, May 12, 2008.

  1. hotspot

    hotspot Hit and Run

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    Yeah, I watch southland just becuase of the gay cop. But I was dissapointed, becuase the whole time I thought it was ben mckenzie's character that was gay and not the older guy. I thought it was strange that the older guy was in a bar full of guys and ben's character wasn't, it also explains why ben's character was making out with a girl. I really would have liked it if it was the other way around like I thought it was.

    There's a gay character on Caprica, haven't seen him yet though becuase I only saw two episodes. But this guy is tough, and he fights too.
     
  2. talkingtocactus

    talkingtocactus Coroner

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    this is pretty much my take on it too, and it's true that violence is less acceptable than sex over here in europe - we like to make love not war, apparently ;)

    the way i see it, america is deeply puritanical. obviously the roots are in religion but it's more about the nature of the religion. someone said the ROI, as a catholic nation, was less "backward" in these matters than the us, but the us is, on the whole, very very protestant, and protestant christianity tends to be far more puritanical than catholic - although obviously catholicism has its moments!

    the other difference is the politics - nowhere in the world has religious lobbies in government in the same way that america does. and since legislation affects things like the entertainment industry, those factions have to be kept happy. sadly, the LGBT community is still in the minority and until legislation makes it more mainstream by legalising gay marriage in more states and similar measures, tv will reflect that it's a minority community.

    as for the victim thing, that really bothers me - it's really sad when gay people are only shown as either victim or suspicious (or both). what is really needed are some good, strong gay characters who also happen to be just as principled, dedicated, whatever else as the straight characters, so they can be judged on their merits as characters, not as orientation. also less of the stereotypes, how many shows are there where the gay people are overly camp and a bit silly? that's got to be balanced with something!

    over here we get a few decent gay characters on tv, even in soaps - although i remember the first gay kisses on prime time soaps (beth jordache in brookside was the first, in 1993, and the first male one was on coronation street, but not until 2003! maybe people found lesbianism more palatable?) caused major hoohah - we don't have that many gay characters, and they're often subjected to victimisation (gay bashing etc) but at least they're there, they're visible, prominent, and generally well accepted. it really does need to happen in the states, i happen to think tv is a great medium for getting people to accept things like this - it can show how things really are, that gay people aren't freaks and are just ordinary people like the straight people.

    as for csi, i'd love to see an openly gay main character, i think it would be an interesting dynamic, i think it'd open up possibilities for storylines, and i think it'd be a big step forward on the equality issue. sadly i also think it's unlikely.
     
  3. csinynut

    csinynut Hit and Run

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    Yeah ! I guess it would have been a totally different story if it was the younger guy who had been gay. But i find it interesting that the least likeable character (at first contact, because after we get to know him, he's a pretty interesting character) is the one who's gay.

    I'll check Caprica. I did the see the movie Last year (2 hour pilot). Didn't much care for it, tho
     
  4. Chaos79

    Chaos79 Police Officer

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    There was a post in Afterellen.com on CBS' Nina Tassler's say on GLBT characters on their shows weeks ago and I found it unbelievable. Simply unacceptable.
     
  5. Faylinn

    Faylinn Adam Fangirl Super Moderator

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    Do you mean this:

    On the one hand, I guess encouragement is great and all, but let's be honest - most leading characters are established in a show's pilot, so not to put LGBT characters (or other diverse characters) in the pilot but include them 'later' pretty much means they'll probably be recurring at best, and ultimately disposable either way.

    I don't have a problem with diverse characters being used on a recurring/guest star basis, but when that's all they are, it's frustrating. Looking at the entirety of the lineup on a network and seeing so little diversity gets tiresome. Yes, LGBT individuals are a small fraction of the general population, so sure, on a cast like CSI:NY, the odds of one of them being gay might be small - but when you look at all three CSI shows, plus the other crime dramas, plus the rest of the shows...it adds up, and not in a good way.
     
  6. roximonoxide

    roximonoxide Lab Technician

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    Not only does it seem unreasonable from a population point of view that of ALL these characters there are so few examples of minorities in leading roles, but consider for a moment where these shows are located. Miami, New York, Las Vegas... Other cop shows I watch take place in Philly, Boston, LA, and Chicago. All of these cities have substantial GBLT communities, MASSIVE pride parades and vocal citizens. Of all the cities in the US these metropolises are where the largest and most vocal GBLT populations are found and yet the biggest nod these communities seem to get from crime dramas, shows that claim to explore the social niches of these cities, is the occasional episode about victimized drag queens. Nice.
     
  7. Faylinn

    Faylinn Adam Fangirl Super Moderator

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    ^^Seriously. Most of these shows are set in major cities with huge populations and a significant gay presence. Hell, Trauma takes place in San Francisco of all places, and the biggest concentration of gay characters was in the Castro on Halloween (when our gay character had his big Coming Out scene to his straight, religious partner). Other than that episode, I don't think there have been many (if any) gay people featured outright - and of course, our gay character has mentioned dating a guy, but we have yet to see said boyfriend. (Meanwhile, four of the other main characters are schtupping each other, the gay character's partner is married and his wife is shown sometimes, and even if the female helicopter pilot hasn't gotten a lot of focus, she did get at least one episode where she had a featured romantic relationship.) IN SAN FRANCISCO. I know every random character's sexual orientation isn't going to be spelled out, but it starts to look suspicious at some point.

    But I digress. That's a different type of show on a different network, but it's a pattern.

    Even if CSI:NY only solves crimes in Manhattan these days (which they may or may not do, I can't remember) - I'm supposed to believe they've never had to solve a crime in a predominantly gay part of town, where not only the victim and/or suspect would be gay, but also innocent suspects, witnesses, etc? Maybe a case where the person's sexuality was irrelevant to their cause of death? (As with fat people, gay people are usually killed because of What They Are. "The Lying Game", anyone? But at least they used an actual transgender actress for the role, so they get a point for that.)

    In any case, a handful of gay people sprinkled here and there over the course of six seasons in New York City is kind of ridiculous. LGBT characters aren't the only minority underrepresented on the show, but they are definitely underrepresented. (I'm sure I'm repeating myself, but I don't remember everything I said in this thread back in 2008. ;))


    Or perhaps the CSI version of the NYPD has a special Gay Division. All of the cops are equipped with portable gaydars, and whenever their spidey senses tell them that gay people are involved, they call up Gay Division Headquarters and let them take it from there. (I demand webisodes at the very least. I'll even cast it.) :p
     
  8. csinynut

    csinynut Hit and Run

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    Yessss...Gay Casting Couch...you need a production manager ...cough-enabler-cough... for the CSINY-GCC...???
     

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