Re: OT: The Book of Daniel


"CarolQ" <CarolQFan@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1136623093.309222.159280@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> I was really bothered by the way the show treated Christian's
> character. His sister and brother constantly made fun of him and we
> were supposed to laugh along.

See, I thought that was great! To me, it showed a regular sibling
relationship. Siblings tease each other all the time about a variety of
things. And they key in on what makes the other uncomfortable quite often.
So the teasing was right in line with what I would expect (and have seen in
my own family). I thought it portrayed it all as normal, which is a big
step up for the portrayal of homosexuals on network TV, IMO.


We were supposed to be so proud of the
> father for loving his son, as if it is noble to not disown your son
> after he comes out to you. They never had his son ask, if he's SO
> supportive, why he allowed him to go on a date with this woman just to
> please his grandfather.

I didn't get the "we should be so proud of him" vibe at all. Just that he
is a father who loves and accepts his son, even if he would make different
choices for himself. And as for "allowing" his son to go on a date to his
his sexuality from his grandfather - how is that Daniel's doing? The son is
a grown man and can make his own choices. He didn't have to go on that
date. He didn't even have to come out to his grandfather in order to NOT go
on the date. All he had to do was say "not my type." Case closed. And he
certainly didn't have to do a hugely expensive dinner/theatre date. Though
the fact that he bought tix to La Cage was hilarious, IMO.


Then we were supposed to completely understand
> why he wanted to be in the closet.

Again, I'll say that it is his decision. His concern about becoming a
poster child seemed valid to me, given his family's vocation.

I felt like the family treated him
> as a pet, and the show treated him very differently than the straight
> characters. They wanted us to love Daniel, the wife, and the Asian son,
> and the daughter, in spite of their flaws, and yet we were just
> supposed to pity the gay son.

Maybe it is because I am not a homosexual, but again, I did not have the
impression at all that we were supposed to pity him or that he was treated
differently than anyone else. They teased with him about his sexual
orientation just as they teased with the other son about how he had his
father's smile. Cute stuff, at least to me.


It's 2006 and gays and lesbians are
> visible in every part of America. They take risks, they are brave,
> proud individuals, their sexual orientation is just one part of their
> lives. Here we have this man who has so many advantages compared to
> other people (his looks, his background) and yet we are supposed to
> feel so sad for him solely because he is gay. I guess I should be
> pleased they didn't have the character married and then blackmailed
> over a secret affair, and he becomes a killer, like on One Life to
> Live.

I didn't feel sad for him at all. A little bit maybe when his siblings were
teasing him in front of his grandfather, but I have seen that kind of thing
play out in so many families (and not just over sexual orientation) where
the siblings key in on something that the other wouldn't want grandma or
grandpa to know and just go at it. They weren't mean spirited about it that
I could see.


> Then I read an interview with the gay man who created the show, where
> he says in so many words that there's nothing wrong with the character
> being so down on himself because that's just what WASPS do.

Well as a WASP, I would tend to agree with that to a point.

He also
> tries to reassure people that he has no "agenda", which I find a very
> insulting choice of words. When I read that interview I realized why
> the show had such an odd view of homosexuals.

How so? I mean - clearly the show has an agenda. Most shows (with the
possible exception of a Seinfeld show about nothing) have some kind of
agenda. But I am having a hard time seeing how it would be insulting.

SarahE


.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: OT: The Book of Daniel
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  • Re: OT: The Book of Daniel
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