Module Identifier MC30320  
Module Title BENT SCREENS  
Academic Year 2003/2004  
Co-ordinator Dr Daniel G J Chandler  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   10 x 1 hour lectures following  
  Other   10 x 2 hour screenings  
  Seminars / Tutorials   5 fortnightly 1 hour seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment For information on due dates for submission of assessed work, please refer to the departmental web pages at http://www.aber.ac.uk/tfts/duedates.shtml 
Semester Assessment Assigment 1, 2500 words50%
Semester Assessment Assignment 2, 2500 words50%
Further details http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30320/  

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
to reflect critically on the representation of gays in the media

to identify and evaluate audience responses to gay representations

to offer critical perspectives on the ways in which gay people represent themselves

Brief description

This is an optional third year module reflecting the cross-media focus of the MCS (Media and Communication Studies) degree, including film, television and the world wide web. It explores onscreen representations of gays and how gay viewers interpret these. Going beyond this, it also investigates how gay people seek to represent themselves online. Representation is thus seen as a process and not just as a matter for purely textual analysis. Students should take due notice that the primary focus is on the onscreen representation of gay men and women - which some viewers may regard as shocking (though our focus is not on pornography). Some may concur with Mae West's observation that 'those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often'. This is an opportunity to dissect some deep-seated prejudices.

Content

The lectures are based on topics such as:

-Queer Theory and gay identities
-Homoerotic photography and the representation of the male body
-Gay readings of mainstream films
-Gay stereotypes onscreen
-The 'coming-out' theme onscreen
-The queering of advertisements
-Gay homepages, chatrooms and webcams

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Barrios, Richard (2003) Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall London: Routledge
Bourne, Stephen (1996) Brief Encounters: Lesbians and Gays in British Cinema 1930-1971 London: Cassell
Burston, Paul (1995) A Queer Romance: Lesbians, Gay Men and Popular Culture London: Routledge
Capsuto, Steven (2000) Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930's to the Present New York: Ballantine
Chandler, Daniel (2002) Semiotics: The Basics London: Routledge
Clum, John M (2002) He's All Man: Learning Masculinity, Gayness and Love from American Movies London: Palgrave
Daniel, Lisa & Claire Jackson (Eds) (2003) The Bent Lens: A World Guide to Gay and Lesbian Film London: Alyson
Darren, Alison (2000) Lesbian Film Guide London: Cassell
Dawson, Jeff (1997) Gay and Lesbian Online Reading, MA: Addison Wesley
Deangelis, Michael (2001) Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom: James Dean, Mel Gibson and Keanu Reeves Durham, NH: Duke University Press
de Lauretis, Teresa (1991) How Do I Look? Queer Film and Video Seattle, WA: Bay Press
Doty, Alexander (1993) Making Things Perfectly Queer Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press
Doty, Alexander (2000) Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon London: Routledge
Dyer, Richard (Ed) (1977) Gays and Film London: British Film Institute
Dyer, Richard (2003) Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film London: Routledge
Dyer, Richard (1993) The Matter of Images: Essays on Representation London: Routledge
Ehrenstein, David (2000) Open Secrets: Gay Hollywood 1928-2000 New York: HarperCollins
Farmer, Brett (2000) Spectacular Passions: Cinema, Fantasy, Gay Male Spectatorship Durham, NC: Duke University Press
Gamson, Joshua (1998) Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
Gever, Martha, Pratibha Parmar & John Greyson (Eds) (1993) Queer Looks: Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Video London: Routledge
Gross, Larry (2002) Up From Invisibility New York: Columbia University Press
Hadleigh, Boze (2001) The Lavender Screen New York: Citadel
Hanson, Ellis (Ed) (1999) OutTakes: Essays on Queer Theory and Film Durham, NH: Duke University Press
Jackson, Earl (1995) Strategies of Deviance: Studies in Gay Male Representation Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
Kabir, Shameem (1998) Daughters of Desire: Lesbian Representations in Film London: Cassell
Keller, James R (2002) Queer (Un)Friendly Film and Television Jefferson, NC: McFarland
Lang, Robert (2002) Masculine Interests: Homoerotics in Hollywood Film New York: Columbia University Press
Mann, William J (2001) Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 New York: Viking
Murray, Raymond (1998) Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video London: Titan
Russo, Vito (1987) The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies (companion video also available) New York: HarperCollins
Straayer, Chris (1996) Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies: Sexual Re-orientation in Film and Video New York: Columbia University Press
Tropiano, Stephen (2002) The Prime-Time Closet New York: Applause Theatre
Tyler, Parker (1993[1972]) Screening the Sexes: Homosexuality in the Movies New York: Da Capo Press
Waugh, Thomas (1996) Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Erotics in Photography and Film from Their Beginnings to Stonewall New York: Columbia University Press
Wilton, Tamsin (Ed) (1995) Immortal, Invisible: Lesbians and the Moving Image London: Routledge
Weiss, Andrea (1993) Vampires & Violets: Lesbians in Film New York: Penguin

Web Page/Sites
** Essential Reading
Module website http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30320/
** Recommended Text
Gay Interest Films http://users.aber.ac.uk/dgc/Gay/
Semiotics for Beginners http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/
Chandler, Daniel 'Personal Home Pages and the Construction of Identities on the Web'. Paper for a conference of the Aberystwyth Post-International Group on the theme of Linking Theory and Practice: Issues in the Politics of Identity (9-11 September 1998 University of Wales, Aberystwyth)
http://users.aber.ac.uk/dgc/webident.html

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6