http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaxoQfryRpw
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2410/1500270071_69b6f6d1c1.jpg
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2372750&searchid=e9ef8fee-5b2c-4ce6-ac41-f2c48f928751
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a7HXgYou-8&feature=related
This week we discussed sexual otherness and the socially constructed "norm." In our culture, there are specific boxes that one can fit into and if you don't fit into the "heterosexual box," you are considered weird, different, strange, and often discriminated against. I will not go into great detail on each of the five artifacts presented here, however I will go in depth about the similarities in themes that they address.
We have briefly discussed beastiality in class; the sexual desire to be intimate with animals. The first artifact I chose was from a CSI episode entitled "Fur and Loathing." In this clip we see an interview with a suspect regarding a murder that took place during a fur-ries convention. You can see that during the interview, Catherine Willows, one of the main characters, is completely disturbed by what she is hearing. Human beings dressing up in animal costumes and having an orgy with each other is too much for her to handle, and her distaste for this fetish is apparent. It is obvious that this man does not fit into the heterosexual box that society has created and he is rejected because of it.
In Dennis' article (Signifying same-sex desire in television cartoons) he discusses how "homoerotic desire is acceptable as long as it does not lead to a gay identity" (138). He also discusses several different cartoons from the '90s and how they showed these homoerotic desires. I chose the image of Batman and Robin because I remember growing up there was a time when boys refused to dress up as Batman or Robin because they were "gay." Granted, there is no evidence to support or disprove that they are gay, but I found the image to be striking.
Lastly, the idea of transgender and transexual individuals. I chose the clip from Rocky Horror Picture Show and the trailer for the movie Transamerica as examples. In the Rocky Horror Picture Show clip, when Tim Curry, the transexual transylvanian, appears in front of Janet, she is so frightened by the sight of him she lets out a scream and faints. Talk about rejecting anything beyond society's norm. Also, I chose the trailer from Transamerica. In the trailer, there is a clip from the movie where Huffman's character goes back to her parents house and they tell her that she can't be there. They make it clear that her freakish lifestyle is not acceptable and therefore, she is unwanted, even by her own family.
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