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Assignment Two - Portfolio Blog Post

The first episode of Gaycation follows queer American presenters Elliot Page and Ian Daniel as they explore the lives of non-heterosexual and non-cisgender people living in Japan. The introduction of the show has a light-hearted and fun tone as the pair explore Japan whilst doing comedic poses and walk around the colourfully light streets. The title screen is also bold and bright with the music having a cheerful tone.

This opening, when critically analysed, seems to juxtapose the serious issues discussed in the show as it seems as if the presenters are not taking the topics of the show seriously, and this could be contributed by their inability to recognise their privilege as white people. Despite them being part of the LGBTQ community, a community in which faces discrimination even in America, their whiteness allows them access to being open about their identity in a way non-white people in Japan are not.  

In terms of sexuality, the show gives great insight into the different experiences and queer spaces in Japan, however, there is a sense of great ignorance surrounding race. The white presenters frame themselves as being the ones who have the correct outlook and solution despite them being the ones to enter the space of non-white people. The show is reflective of the invisibility of whiteness when ‘their interview subjects exceed the discursive frame of gender and sexual suffering and liberation to speak about colonialism, patriarchy, classism, or racism, Page and Daniel hear homophobia and transphobia.’[1] The presenters never acknowledge the racial, cultural or language differences between themselves and the interviewees. Jasmine Rault uses the term ‘white noise’ to describe the inability to recognise the implications of the white race and the privileges that come with it. They establish that like white noise, whiteness is always present despite it not always being noticeable or obvious but when you start to hear it, you cannot ignore it, similar to the impact of white race.[2]

[1] Jasmine Rault, ‘White noise, white affects: filtering the sameness of queer suffering’, Feminist Media Studies, 17.4 (2017) 585-599 (p. 589) <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14680777.2017.1326557> [accessed 5 February 2023].

[2] Jasmine Rault, ‘White noise, white affects: filtering the sameness of queer suffering’, Feminist Media Studies, 17.4 (2017) 585-599 (p. 586) <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14680777.2017.1326557> [accessed 5 February 2023].

The idea of being in the ‘closet’ is used to refer to someone concealing their sexual or gender identity and the show alludes to this state of being ‘closeted’ as ‘an “unhealthy” space of backwardness.’[1]The episode follows Mr Ishii, a man who is preparing to tell his mother about his sexuality in front of the camera crew and presenters.  The show poses the idea that the correct thing for men like Mr Ishii is to come out of the ‘closet’ because for queer American men like Daniel, it was the best thing for him and thus deems the same thing for a queer non-white man. Shinsuke Eguchi argues,

‘The Japanese sexually dissident man is ideologically forced to embody U.S. homonormative whiteness of LGBTQ pride to work against Japan’s culturally specific nuances of discrimination and prejudice toward male same-sex desire.’ [2]

Mr. X is another person who appears in the show who remains anonymous but talks about his involvement in a marriage to a queer woman to conceal his sexuality from his family and friends. The ‘closet’ Mr. X is in is framed as a harmful product of the shame faced by queer people in Japan. This scene is shot entirely in a darkly lit room whereas Mr. Ishii’s moment of revealing his sexuality to his mother is shot in an extremely brightly lit room. This dichotomy of bad/black and good/white discussed in the analytical essay is referred to again here as Mr. Ishii’s interview is portrayed, through the use of lighting, as being a more hopeful and positive thing to do. This indicates that those who do leave the concealment Mr. X experiences, or as it is presented as the ‘darkness’, that it is the answer for tackling Japan’s homophobia and transphobia. Eguchi argues this idea ‘recentres and re-secures homonormative whiteness of LGBTQ pride as a magical solution to anti-LGBTQ sentiment and policies. [3] It positions the white presenters as having the correct solution and outlook on the situation without them acknowledging the differences they experience as queer white Americans versus their interviewees as queer Asian Japanese men. They fall into the trope Dunn describes as, the white people who think they know what is best for non-white people.[4]

Their superiority complex is not recognised because this way of thinking, the white Western way, inherently believed to be the correct one way of handling of LGBTQ issues despite this place not being a white populated Western country, but rather a non-white Asian country. The presenters although they seem to have good intentions about exposing queer experiences in Japan, they remain ignorant to the intersectionality of race in this context. As white people, they do not need to tell non-white people how to conduct their life and how

[1] Shinsuke Eguchi, ‘Transnational LGBTQ Pride: Whiteness, Health, and Welling in Viceland’s Gaycation’, China Media Research, 15.3 (2019), 83-92 (p. 88) < https://www.academia.edu/39973185/Transnational_LGBTQ_pride_Whiteness_health_and_wellbeing_in_VICELAND_s_Gaycation> [accessed 5 February 2023].

[2] Shinsuke Eguchi, ‘Transnational LGBTQ Pride: Whiteness, Health, and Welling in Viceland’s Gaycation’, China Media Research, 15.3 (2019), 83-92 (p. 88) < https://www.academia.edu/39973185/Transnational_LGBTQ_pride_Whiteness_health_and_wellbeing_in_VICELAND_s_Gaycation> [accessed 5 February 2023].

[3] Shinsuke Eguchi, ‘Transnational LGBTQ Pride: Whiteness, Health, and Welling in Viceland’s Gaycation’, China Media Research, 15.3 (2019), 83-92 (p. 88) < https://www.academia.edu/39973185/Transnational_LGBTQ_pride_Whiteness_health_and_wellbeing_in_VICELAND_s_Gaycation> [accessed 5 February 2023].

[4] Tasha R Dunn, ‘White Trash, Trailer Trash, and the (Im)Mobility of Whiteness’, in Interrogating the Communicative Power of Whiteness, ed. by Dawn Marie D. McIntosh, Dreama G. Moon, Thomas K. Nakayama (New York: Routledge, 2018) 117-132 (p. 120).

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Short Film and Script List

youtube channel - Abbie Jamieson

Single shot tableu film 

Finding Warmth in the Cold 

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Napier - Written Exercise

Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name

 Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name is an important film to me because of the realism it was able to convey. Typically, films of the romance genre pander to their audience by relying on clichés and by romanticising relationships to appear perfect. This film strays away from movie tropes and narrative structure to produce a film that viewers can relate to, but can experience the film as if it were real life.

To make the audience see from a similar persepctive as the characters, close-ups are used sparingly to emphasise immersion, plus, the same 35mm camera lens is used throughout to replicate the human eye. Guadagnino’s colour palette for most of the film is green, blue and yellow as it creates a sense of nostalgia in this dreamlike setting. Alongside this, static shots evoke a peaceful atmosphere which links to the concept of them having a summer romance; the end of summer being the main conflict in the film as it represents the end of their relationship.

The last scene is the result of Elio being told about Oliver’s engagement to a woman, the cold colour palette of white and black contrast the associations with the colourful summer romance with empty feelings. The juxtaposition of snow outside and the fire reflected on Elio’s face highlights the emotion in his expressions and the idea of seasons changing symbolises how much their relationship has developed in such a short time span. The last shot lingers on Elio’s face, not cutting away from him or the emotion which forces the audience to watch his pain. When called on, he breaks the forth wall for the first time by directly looking into the camera as if he is saying to us that we have a mutual understanding of the suffering he is experiencing.  

This scene, along with many others, demonstrates how much Guadagnino is saying without giving the characters much dialogue. By not relying on dialogue to tell the narrative, it allows the audience as much information as the characters know about one another, like how we communicate in everyday life.

The realism and deeper meaning Call Me by Your Name creates is something I aspire to produce as it’s a great example of how the rawest and realist art is the most powerful at affecting the audience as it is true to our own lives. 

Christopher Nolan’s Memento

Christopher Nolan’s second feature film titled Memento inspires me in the sense of storytelling. The film’s narrative could be considered simplistic and predicable if it were to be told in a linear structure, however, the use of various narratives keeps the viewer constantly engaged and in suspense. Nolan demonstrates that it's possible to turn a weak narrative into an interesting story by telling it from an intriguing perspective.  

Colour is significant, even in terms of the narrative. The idea of colour in film interests me because of the potential power, influence and opportunity it possesses. In Memento, Nolan uses colour to decipher between the different narratives to avoid confusion yet still achieve complexity. Black and white represent the sub-plot and the linear scenes, a reference to the Film Noir genre. This emphasises the association with Leonard being the protagonist detective and subverts the audience's expectation of Leonard being innocent, thus heightening their shock when he's revealed to be the murderer. Colour represent the reverse chronological scenes that structure the story to make the audience wonder what has just happened, instead of the typical anticipation of what is about to happen. This, alongside the jumping from different narratives, makes the audience feel a similar disorientation to Leonard’s condition. This leaves both the viewer and protagonist in suspense, trying to figure out past events and helps the audience to understand Leonard’s experience with his condition. 

At the turn of the 21st century, Memento was not only a revival of the Film Noir genre but displays mental illness when the media lacked attention on such issues. Leonard and Sammy have anterograde amnesia, and this brought awareness to the condition. The representation of memory loss was refreshing as it showed how not just the old, but how the young can also be affected. Furthermore, the “hero” is normally depicted as someone without disability, whereas Leonard is portrayed as a man who won’t let his condition get in the way of him which was an extremely positive message to send at the time of its release. 

I commend Nolan’s ability to use narrative to create a unique and engaging story that also explores the theme and portrayal of serious issues such as disability. He managed to produce a film different from current trends, and this inspires me to always push for originality and interesting storytelling in my own work.