Bisexual Characters in Film: From Ana's to Zee (Haworth Gay and Lesbian Studies)

How far have we progressed from the days when showing a film such as Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures landed the cinema’s programmer, projectionist, and ticket taker in jail? What are some of the hidden clues modern audiences are overlooking in older films that suggest a character’s bisexuality? Which famous actors, actresses, directors, and screenwriters were attracted to people of both sexes? In Bisexual Characters in Film, the first book to focus on the role of bisexual characters in film, you’ll find answers to these questions and many more as you explore, analyze, and celebrate 80 years of bisexual movie characters (and the people who have created them) from around the world. A lively, entertaining, and informative commentary, this book examines the treatment of bisexual film characters and shows you how that treatment has been affected by societal forces such as censorship, politics, religious prejudices, homophobia, and sexual stereotypes. Bisexual Characters in Film looks at the contribution of bisexual people (and others who have had lovers of varying sexes) to the body of work available on film today. These include the directors, writers, actors, composers, and designers whose sexual orientation has informed their work. An analysis of the Motion Picture Production Code and its devastating effect on bisexual and homosexual screen images forms an important part of the book. You learn how, specifically, it eradicated gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters from Hollywood films as well as the role of bisexual, lesbian, and gay filmmakers in finally defeating it. Other questions you’ll find answers to include: Who, or what, is a bisexual? How were bisexual characters represented in silent film, before the forces of censorship banned them from the screen? What bisexual myths and stereotypes are portrayed on film? What is the role of “camp” in bisexual film? Bisexual Characters in Film is a unique resource for researchers; librarians; film festival planners; the queer media; professors and students of lesbian, gay, and bisexual studies; bisexual activists; and general bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered readers. It provides a much-needed view of bisexual representations in a major segment of our popular culture.

How far have we progressed from the days when showing a film such as Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures landed the cinema’s programmer, projectionist, and ticket taker in jail? What are some of the hidden clues modern audiences are overlooking in older films that suggest a character’s bisexuality? Which famous actors, actresses, directors, and screenwriters were attracted to people of both sexes? In Bisexual Characters in Film, the first book to focus on the role of bisexual characters in film, you’ll find answers to these questions and many more as you explore, analyze, and celebrate 80 years of bisexual movie characters (and the people who have created them) from around the world. A lively, entertaining, and informative commentary, this book examines the treatment of bisexual film characters and shows you how that treatment has been affected by societal forces such as censorship, politics, religious prejudices, homophobia, and sexual stereotypes.

Bisexual Characters in Film looks at the contribution of bisexual people (and others who have had lovers of varying sexes) to the body of work available on film today. These include the directors, writers, actors, composers, and designers whose sexual orientation has informed their work. An analysis of the Motion Picture Production Code and its devastating effect on bisexual and homosexual screen images forms an important part of the book. You learn how, specifically, it eradicated gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters from Hollywood films as well as the role of bisexual, lesbian, and gay filmmakers in finally defeating it. Other questions you’ll find answers to include:

• Who, or what, is a bisexual?
  
• How were bisexual characters represented in silent film, before the forces of censorship banned them from the screen?
  
• What bisexual myths and stereotypes are portrayed on film?
  
• What is the role of “camp” in bisexual film?

  Bisexual Characters in Film is a unique resource for researchers; librarians; film festival planners; the queer media; professors and students of lesbian, gay, and bisexual studies; bisexual activists; and general bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered readers. It provides a much-needed view of bisexual representations in a major segment of our popular culture.

Library Journal

This work serves as a who's who of the genre, although a truly thought-provoking critique still must be written. A boardmember of the Bisexual Resource Center in Boston, Bryant examines more than 200 international films with a groundbreaking focus. As Bryant points out in his preface, almost nothing has been written specifically about bisexuality in movies. However, most of Bryant's selections have been discussed elsewhere, and Bryant's survey does not offer the deep critical analysis found in such lesbian and gay film monographs as Vito Russo's seminal The Celluloid Closet (LJ 6/1/81) and Chris Straayer's Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies (LJ 1/15/97). Still, its unique approach recommends this work for academic queer studies and film collections.Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Houston, Tex.

Cover 1 Original Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1. Who is Bisexual? 16 Similarities and Differences of Real and Celluloid Bisexuals 18 Chapter 2. In the Beginning 24 A Survey of Bisexual Representation in Silent Film 25 Early Activism 32 Chapter 3. Breaking the Code 34 The History of the Motion Picture Production Code 36 Independent Filmmakers Challenge the Code 55 Chapter 4. Lost in the Translation 60 "Sanitizing" Bisexual Characters 60 Rewriting Biographies 64 The Case of No Sexuality 68 Chapter 5. Killers and Psychos and Queers! Oh My! 74 Lunatic Killers and the Mentally Ill 74 Other Bisexual Criminals 80 Chapter 6. Bisexual As Victim 82 No Rest for the Wicked! 82 Chapter 7. Wedded Bliss 88 Stereotypes of Bisexual Husbands 88 Why Wives Turn to Other Women 92 Chapter 8. Anything That Moves 98 Promiscuity Among Screen Bisexuals 98 Chapter 9. Do the Hustle 104 Bisexual Male Prostitution 104 Runaways 108 Chapter 10. Bi Camp 114 Chapter 11. The Butt of the Joke 124 Chapter 12. Oil and Water? 128 Lesbians and Bisexuals Together on Film 128 Chapter 13. In Their Own Image 136 Historical Definitions of Bisexuality 136 Bisexual Entertainers: Making a Difference 137 Chapter 14. By the Bi 150 The Bisexual Influence Offscreen 151 Bisexual Writers 157 Chapter 15. Conclusion 168 Bibliography 170 Film Index 176 General Index 186 From Ana's to Zee