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07/09/2009
Video: Love him, hate him, Lauer him
The suddenly ubiquitous Brüno addresses Matt, GLAAD, velcro suits, and gubernatorial closets:
Does he entertain those who "get" the joke, or does he give a pass to those who want two hours to laugh at the expense of gays? Is this season's most fashionable gay debate.
::sigh:: Why can't butter/no butter be the extent our summer movie-going conflictions?
Bruno's quest to be uber-famous [Today]
**RELATED: Out magazine's new cover story on the polarizing Austrian: Über Gay [Out]
**MORE: Why "Brüno" is bad for the gays [Salon]
Your thoughts
I never understood getting offended about a movie like this. Yes it has every gay stereotype ever dreamed up, just like Borat is every 'foreigner' stereotype ever thought up. Anyone who considers Bruno an accurate portrayal of gays would also think Kazakhstan actually crushes people for pirating movies and has town rapists. In other words, to dumb to be saved.
Posted by: penguinsaur | Jul 9, 2009 1:07:16 PM
Well the main fear I'm hearing, PS, is that many people will fail to see the joke. It's the same fear we've heard with Sarah Silverman and some of the Judd Apatow-type movies: That while the jokes are meant to mock the racism/homophobia/sexism/whatever, there are considerable popluation swaths who will accept the jokes at face value.
Whether or not that argument is valid is the great debate. But I don't think we can just write it off because *we* might "get" the point.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Jul 9, 2009 1:20:22 PM
I agree with you Penguinsaur.
Humor has always been a great weapon against intolerance. The Daily Show does a lot more to get young people involved with politics than CNN does. When we are able to make racism and homophobia something that is mocked and laughed at, we take away the power that those people have. Everytime our groups get all up in arms over a word or joke, it just makes us look reactionary and petty. In no way should we write off the debate, but by demanding people boycott movies or make apologies for their words, we are effectively doing the same thing.
Besides, if Bruno is bad for gay people because it enforces gay stereotypes... then lets get rid of Pride. Pride is a thousand times more offensive to gay stereotypes than Bruno ever will be, but if you say that as a gay man who are branded a bigot and homophobe instantly.
When I stop seeing PFLAG and GLAAD booths next to ID Lube vendors, on a street full of bikini clad men, I will take this stereotype talk serious. I may never watch Bruno, but I know for sure that I will never attend a Pride again.
Posted by: Justice Wainwright | Jul 9, 2009 3:31:37 PM
Just got back from the midnight showing. As we were leaving the theatre, quite a few groups were complaining how gay the film was.
I don't really worry about it. I really worry about how the hell they could have expected Bruno *not* to be stereotypically gay.
Posted by: Name must not be blank. | Jul 10, 2009 1:59:31 AM
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