A popular gag in parodies of the western was to insert a flamboyantly effeminate pansy into the world of the macho cowboy ('Wanderer of the West,' 'The Soilers'). In 'The Florida Enchantment,' two women dance off together, leaving their bewildered menfolk to shrug, and dance off together themselves. In early comedies of the teens and twenties, the possibility of homo behavior was a common joke. One of the earliest surviving motion picture images is a primitive test made at Thomas Edison's studio, in which two men dance together while a third plays the fiddle.įrom the very beginning movies could rely on homosexuality as a surefire source of humor. In fact, homosexuality, or the suggestion of it, has been with us since the movies were born. (Passages in italics are excerpts of narration from 'The Celluloid Closet' ) and gay people what to think about themselves.
Hollywood, that great maker of myths, taught straight people what to think about gay people. These were fleeting images, but they were unforgettable, and they left a lasting legacy. When it did appear, it was there as something to laugh at - or something to pity - or even something to fear. In a hundred years of movies, homosexuality has only rarely been depicted on the screen.
