By Coleen Ramos
If you haven’t watched the latest trailer of Finding Dory released last week, then you probably haven’t heard that the Disney Pixar tandem might have just introduced its very first lesbian couple in the big screen.
Watch the trailer and hit pause at the 1:07 mark. Their inclusion in a film such as Finding Dory, the highly anticipated sequel to the much beloved 13-year old flick Finding Nemo, would be a groundbreaking progress for greater LGBT-inclusive content in Disney films. Disney has 0% LGBT-inclusive content in all its studio releases, coupled with the company having the weakest historical record when it comes to LGBT-inclusive films according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a non-governmental organization that focus on media monitoring founded by LGBT people in media. The presumed Finding Dory lesbian couple would also signify Pixar’s first gay couple in its film history.
So, you see, it’s a pretty big deal.
But although the two characters look like a lesbian couple, as Nico Lang said in his article in Salon, fans, critics, and the LGBT community are “perhaps jumping the gun in anticipation… because queer people are desperate and hungry for more than we’ve been given in the past.” Considering Disney and Pixar target a very young age group, it’s still, in its very core, a representation of our society’s experiences, culture and lifestyle. It’s not uncommon to see a gay or lesbian couple with a kid (in America, though, not so much here yet) and a white picket fence to signify their undying love against bigotry. The presence of the LGBT community has never been so strong and empowered than it was 20 years ago. Nothing’s an impossible notion anymore unless people decide it should stay that way.
However, it’s still too vague for anyone to confirm the couple’s relationship and sexuality without watching the film first. Exciting as it may be for others, some are not thrilled. Reactions were mixed; some say why, some say why not. Some say people are just taking things out of context like how Elsa’s solo hit “Let It Go” became a coming-out anthem just because the lyrics strongly resonate a double meaning: conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know, well now they know! Of course, everything’s taken into subtext, and through Lang’s words and thoughts that has always been the case for LGBT-inclusive content, they can only be identified through the tedious effort of analyzing subtext and taking things out of context.
Media today presents a real-time comprehension of cultures in a diverse and fast-paced environment. What most see is what most will believe. A studio as big as Disney and Pixar can influence the younger age group through their films and projects, in improving the quality of life for the LGBT community where the beginning doesn’t always have to start with rejection and hostility but with acceptance and kindness. Isn’t that the message that has always been envisioned and embodied by our favorite Disney and Pixar films?
As it was sung on Frozen, love is an open door. Whether if this speculation is real or not, we can’t know for certain without watching the film. Finding Dory comes out in theaters on June 17.
Image from Slashfilm
Comments