 Our discussion of feminist analysis in a previous video mentioned how we've gone from a very simple view of sex and gender meaning male Or female and that's it and we added in this we took this huge leap to embrace androgyny Which is you know masculine personalities embracing some feminine Perspectives and and vice versa right that was a huge leap right and eventually we even came to the understanding that Women have as much value in society as men do right go figure this led to the development of what we called Feminist analysis from a critical perspective and that process Was really rapid it only took about 200 years to unfold here in the United States for us to come to that understanding that you know Men women hold the same value as men in our society Really though in a relatively short period of time since then we've come to recognize that The differences in sex and gender really exist on a spectrum that is much wider than just male or female masculine or feminine right and as such a new critical lens is needed to examine the role of media in advancing deterring and framing this evolving perspective of sex and sexuality So with that we are going to take a look at what is known as queer analysis Which does just that it broadens our definition and our exploration of the impact of media on these things Now note that our purpose here as I talked about in feminist analysis is not to debate the politics or the the personal Truth of whether or not this contemporary view of sex and gender is correct or right But rather to consider the impact that those views have on media Yeah, as Aristotle pointed out it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought Without accepting it. So we're not asking you to accept that this is true that this is right This is the way things should be we're just saying that this is a Construct through which we need to examine media be aware of this and have this tool in our tool belt So whether or not you personally subscribe to this view of sex and sexuality Is less important than that we be able to use this as a critical perspective. Okay, so Let's look at queer analysis, which is just queer analysis examines artifacts using a framework that considers how human understanding of gender Sex and sexuality are affected by media. It's as simple as that. How do these things affect the way that we that we Create media the way that we view media the way that we use media and all of those types of things So let's take a quick look at the history of these things first of all Queer analysis is really an offshoot of feminist analysis So it stems from and came out of feminist analysis once we started looking at, you know we need to examine the world from a sense of masculine and feminine how that's impacted by the media then as we started to Broaden our understanding of or thoughts about what may be involved in gender It made sense to develop something as a result of that then looked at things more broadly than just masculine or feminine and Looked at it in broader ways. So that's what queer analysis does it focuses on those in-betweens The in-betweens and the outside ofs and those types of things that exist Near and next to and around masculine versus feminine But it's much less binary than the feminist criticism. Okay, that's what we're gonna be talking about This is not a binary approach as in masculine or feminine or something in between those things or you know Some combination of those things but something that exists near and around but outside of those two categorizations So the major premises of queer analysis are first of all that a binary view of sexuality is too narrow As I was just saying that that this idea of either masculine or feminine is too narrow And we need to think about things that exist outside of just those two things or some combination of those two things And that the definition of these concepts and terms is constantly changing within a culture Which also defies attempts at binary classification. So first of all our culture is constantly evolving constantly changing things are Are coming to light things are our new old things are coming back again So our culture is constantly changing in every way all the time right and our culture also really does not like Binary things we like to to use that for the sake of argument to try and You know make our arguments stand out as it's either a or b option a or option b That's the only two possibilities, but the reality is we live in a complicated complex world where almost Everything has more than just two possibilities So including these things so and so queer analysis really says that that is true in sexuality Just like it is anywhere else in our culture in our society and in the world So we need to look at media in more than just a More than just terms of masculine or feminine in a contemporary sense from a contemporary perspective This starts by looking at things like sexual stereotypes So we have lots of sexual stereotypes including things like well sexes are natural or deviant depending on your view and Well, you know some sex is natural other sex types of sexes are deviant and so That's really a binary approach and there are lots of things between there Anogamous or promiscuous You're either one of the other and one is right one is wrong depending on your perspective and and the truth is there's lots of things First of all again outside of those two time two options are more than just those two options But even within those two there's some debate about at some room for Exploration in terms of what's right. What's wrong minutes, you know, it's culturally defined and gender clarity versus gender ambiguity in terms of Does someone have to be either masculine or feminine or something close to that or is there some fluidity there? There's there's views that say, you know each of those things with the truth is again Those are those are binary approaches. We need to get away from those Binary perspectives and try not to think about things within those sexual stereotypes Then we also need to look at things like positive representation and the different types of positive representation That are out there a quote-unquote positive reputation representation again, are they actually positive representation or not? It depends on your perspective, right? So there have been some attempts to really kind of Bring positive representation in what we would consider positive representation for example modern family was a very popular television show for a long time a Lots and lots of viewers and featured of course a gay couple again You know that had a gay family as part of that extended family And so it had two gay men on the show that that really lived kind of relatively quote-unquote normal lives, right? They had portrayed them as having normal jobs and normal problems and normally what we would consider stereotypically normal things So I have this what kind of identifies positive representation. They had kids They had they had a life that a family that so like you would see with other families on television They're this kind of quote-unquote normal representation now. There's some Argument to be made that is this really positive representation is an accurate and is it accurate for the The majority of that population, but the truth is just like every other aspect of society Gay families are diverse and in who they are and what they are and how they behave and all of those types of things are Just as true for gay families as they are for anybody else. So was this is some people would say this is an attempt to normalize Homosexuality and make it more palatable A broader audience and that's not necessarily good for representation in the homosexual community the gay community LGBTQ community So, I mean their arguments all over the place again. This is not just a binary thing. There's lots of gray in here It's not black or white. It's there's lots of gray. So we also need to consider the idea of what we call invisibility Right are these things really visible? Are they are they should have shuffled up to the back or represented in some way? So are they are they portrayed in a way that makes it acceptable or makes it not? really as as seeable or Excuse that perspective in some way through some types of things like Using camp what we would call camp camp is just a stylistic element that that resonates with the experiences of queer individuals living in a heteronormative social system, right? And it's kind of a Bigger than a larger than life representation of what that experience is like So we think about like we think it like Jack from Will and Grace. That's sort of a camp Representation what we would call a camp representation. It's out there. It's big. Is it really again? Is it really representative for that? But I you know, I don't know But so it's almost more like a parody of what it's like for gay people to be living in a heteronormative social system And this what it feels like it feels like they have to be this otherworldly thing and like they're almost an alien like Jack was really Out of this world with some stuff, right? So is it a real representation? I don't know So the other thing that we look at with invisibility is kind of the fourth persona or that what's called the textual Wink, which is kind of you know sneaking things in there Are they aren't they and it's you know, they slip things in like think about Harry Potter and this Question of whether or not double door was gay. Yeah, I don't know maybe there were there were some signs in there that maybe and so That's kind of a textual wing but without really being so in your face about it Kiemp is really in your face to an extreme right the textual wink is kind of a more subtle thing, you know One game that became very very popular during the pandemic and them has been pretty popular in my house is animal crossing Right if you've played this animal crossing New Horizons It's a very very popular game on switch and there's a lot of great features about it There's some questions there though. I've seen her talk or there's a big debate about whether to the characters CJ and I can't remember the name of the the bug guy all of a sudden I'm sorry, I didn't write that I should have written that down with the fishing guys CJ and There's been some discussion about whether or not they're a couple Whether or not they are they are in fact gay and they are a couple Based on some things that they come up in the game and things but against it's so subtle so hard to tell even there's Really clear definition as to whether or not that even is the case or if they're just cartoons in a game Who knows but there's some people who believe that that's sort of a textual way that they slipped in these things that represent, you know gay People LGBTQ folks living in this world of animal crossing and that that they are in fact a couple That these two are in fact a couple so Anyway, whether or not that's true. I don't know, but that's what we mean by that that textual week Is it being you know hidden in there somewhere and kind of kind of like you know parents? Hide your vegetable I had the vegetable sometimes right you crush up those vegetables and put them in there so the kids don't even know They're eating them Are we getting that in our media? Regarding LGBTQ community through that textual week So those are some contemporary perspectives and things we need to think about and considers as we're going through these things Okay, so what are some common questions that come up as far as queer analysis first? How is sexuality defined in the artifact? Is it does the artifact define sexuality as very? binary very, you know masculine and feminine, that's it or you know Or monogamous promiscuous nuts it or you know the natural deviant that kind of a the angel of the devil type of perspective in terms of sexuality a woman is either a There's Mary or the whore either she's she's whatever she she is saint or she or and that's those the only two possibilities Right, so how's it defined in the artifact? How was sexuality represented overall in this artifact? What are the power relationships between persons of varying sexuality? So maybe there is rep representation of LGBTQ, but they're in the background. They have no power They're you know, they're so they're living in a very hetero world and they just happen to be in there for maybe representation kind of token representation But what are the power relationships between the persons of varying sexuality as they're represented in this artifact? What does the word contribute to our knowledge of queer gay lesbian? experiences and history and Including their artistic history. So how does this inform us about the history of people from in the LGBTQ community and the reality of their world How does the artifact illustrate? the Problematics of sexuality and sexual identity, right? So how does it? Represent those things and does it gloss things over and some ways again go back to that modern family art argument that some people would say well that just it just makes a way too simple and tries to kind of gloss over things yesterday a gay couple, but it's way too Heteronormative innocence in terms of how they behave and the problems that they face and so doesn't really illustrate the the challenges that some LGBTQ people and couples face in them in our modern society. So is it represented fairly in this artifact and accurately? What sort of support if any is given to the elements or characters who question the heterosexual homosexual binary and what happens to those elements? or those characters? So if again, someone does question the The the appropriateness of that binary somebody comes in this is look. This is this is not enough There's a there's a broader spectrum How is that element or that person treated then within that within that artifact? And then what elements of the artifact exist in the middle? So between the perceived heterosexual homosexual binary in other words, what elements exhibits traits of both? So is there any crossover? How is how do those things exist and what is represented in the middle there? What is you know treated like it's in the middle? So Okay, so as I usually do in these, I want to give you just a brief example of applying this This perspective to an artifact. So this may be a little surprising where we're coming from In my house, it is not Uncommon if you were to walk in and see what's on the TV If it's not on a news channel or something like that, there's a pretty good chance that it's going to be on the hallmark channel My wife is a full-blown Hallmark addict and especially when it comes to of course the countdown to christmas and that there's christmas movies that they have And they do lots of holidays and theme type movies. She loves those and I understand why they're not my favorite But we'll watch them because I'm a good husband and I like to watch things with my wife Watching things she likes to watch her most while and she indulges me by watching things where You know things are getting blown up and people are being chased in a high-speed auto You know chase, right? But so so we watch in this movie that really struck me And it's fairly new as of this recording fairly recent movie on the hallmark movie And it's a pretty I will tell you it's a pretty standard hallmark type of movie, right? It's called notes of autumn And so in notes of autumn you have these two friends who are You know kind of stuck in a rut in their life And so they decide that they're going to swap houses for a while right to shake things up a little bit they're going to trade houses and and just Get into a different environment try and shake things up shake their lives up and and see what they do now Which is pretty all pretty hallmark and the rest of the you know the movie really is pretty hallmark Of course, they run into lots of misunderstandings and mishaps and all kinds of shenanigans right as you do And then the end there's there's love to be found all over the place in hallmark movies So of course the people that they meet they don't like it first and then they end up liking them And all the all the typical hallmark stuff is in there But the difference in notes of autumn that I that I saw and it wasn't really like In your face, but the difference in notes of autumn is that the couples include A man and a woman so the the two friends are a man and a woman right and then they end up coupling up The woman meets a man as you you know normally find in a hallmark movie, but the other couple ends up being two men So it turns out the the one of the friends then is gay and ends up meeting another friend So leo is the gay friend and and ends up meeting Another guy named man right and falling in love and so this is you know a fairly recent thing I think for hallmark to be featuring Gay couples in you know Or representing characteristics of gay couples in their movies in there in their original material. So Let's take a look at notes of autumn then and lay over some of those questions from queer analysis on this movie So again best friends leo and ellie decided to swap Homes and then after after lots of shenanigans they come to To find love of course in a hallmark movie, but so how a sexuality defined in the artifact clause I mentioned of the two friends ellie and leo leo is gay and and and then ends up Coupling up with or finding love with man So sexuality is defined in the artifact as at least we know heterosexual and homosexual now. It does not expand much beyond that But but it does expand just beyond masculine and feminine and into those different types of sexuality So which for hallmarking it was a pretty big stretch I think it's pretty big for them So it is defined at least expands the world into those areas and has that kind of representation now Within that there's not a lot of I mean even within the couples. There's a lot of Like there's a masculine and there's a feminine side, which is kind of what creates that the friction within the couples I guess it's it's almost necessary for the the movie in some ways for a hallmark movie to have that kind of friction, but You know within that. Yeah, there's a lot of pretty stereotypical masculine and feminine traits within the couples within the different partners in the couples It just happens to be that one of those couples is is gay So what are the power relationships between the persons of the varying sexuality in this particular production? And it happens to be fairly I think fairly equal powers represented fairly equally They don't portray that they the the gay couple as having or the or the the gay men as having less power or You know, whatever then that they don't portray them really any differently than they would Any other character and I've seen a lot of hallmark movies They seem to be pretty typical for for how they represent Individuals so they didn't seem to do that very much. So there wasn't any issue with I think part of that though is probably You know, it is a big leap for hallmark to have representation Of gay couples in their movies to begin with I mean that was a huge deal a couple years ago I had stars leave the channel and go to a different channel because of that and advertisers left and things because because of a commercial that aired, right? But now they have them in representation in their movies And I think that's a big enough leap for them that they said look We don't really want to push too hard on some of this stuff. We don't want to really draw attention to The plight of a gay couple So it is kind of a kind of glosses over that kind of thing like there are there really no challenges that these men face Because they're gay the challenges that they face are because of other things That's the standard to hallmark type of issues and misunderstandings That aren't really related to their sexuality. So So it's not surprising. I guess that they're the power relationships Wouldn't be that different because they don't want to really draw attention to those things and make it even more controversial by bringing that issue that kind of social issue into it What does the word contribute to our knowledge of queer gay or lesbian experience in history? I mean not much in that sense really because it kind of glosses over that and just just portrays them as a couple as they would Any other hallmark couple, right? So both couples are really really portrayed in much the same way. So it doesn't really end to our understanding of You know what it means to be queer or gay or lesbian or you know anywhere on on the in the world of the lgbtq Experience it doesn't doesn't really address that because it really just portrays them as into the couple which again Is in some ways positive? I mean, I don't want to I don't want to downplay the idea that it's positive there are people watching this that That may really really disapprove of homosexuality But maybe this introduces them to it. Maybe, you know, just it takes that first step for them But it does really add a lot of depth to our understanding of of the history or or the experience of being gay in the contemporary united states in my estimation How does the artifact illustrate the problematics of sexuality and sexual identity again? It doesn't really in fact, it kind of goes the opposite direction and And intentionally avoids anything Apart from the fact that these are two men in the relationship. So they're you know, adding a homosexual relationship the apart from that it doesn't really Illustrate any kind of problematics that may be related to that I can just for reasons I've already discussed so So it doesn't really fairly is fairly intentional about Not doing so about not really delving into that kind of kind of thing so so it doesn't really address those things and Illustrate any of those problematics. It doesn't really give us a very real idea of what it The added complications that folks may face in our contemporary society for being involved in a homosexual relationship What sort of support if any is given to the elements or characters who question the heterosexual homosexual binary You know, this isn't really a good example for this either What happens because nobody does it It's almost as though they live in a world where this is just a totally unquestioned type of relationship and completely accepted by everybody in their society in that community and so there's really No support that's given to anybody who questions that because nobody questions so You know, I don't really know what what else to say about that in the in particular in this artifact in particular because they do They make it made a very intentional choice about not representing that aspect of the relationship So what elements the artifact exists in the middle between the perceived? heterosexual homosexual binary and what elements exhibit traits of both get not not a lot because they they really represented This is a fairly heteronormative relationship that just happened to involve two men So there weren't a lot of artifacts that existed in the middle There weren't a lot of stereotypes that were that were portrayed apart from The the traditional, you know masculine feminine type of stereotypes They're really just dipping their feet into this, you know, dipping their toes into the water with this whole idea of even having representation in their their movies. So There aren't a lot of artifacts in the middle apart from the fact that it is a relationship that involves two men so So I guess that's something that's that's progress in terms of Queer analysis that's progress for a hallmark movie, but but still there's a lot of A lot of way to go for them to be really considered You know representative in that in that way. So anyway, so that's my That's my analysis of notes of autumn the hallmark movie Notes of autumn as far as laying the framework of queer analysis over that artifact I hope this gives you a little bit better idea of queer analysis and what it means And how it's used how it's applied and at least explains your understanding A little bit as to what we're looking at with queer analysis If you have questions about queer analysis or any other type of critical media study or critical Analysis perspective critical lens. I hope that you'll shoot me an email. Let me know and and otherwise I hope this really just opened your eyes to something so we can start to see things and again add this Lens has another tool in our tool belt for the purpose of Analyze media in a critical way