In addition to this, Russo explained that “the use of female garb by male comics became just another device for a one-scene joke”, some example were when Timon danced hula-hula in The Lion King,  or the Genie with his phrases and outfits in Aladdin. 

“Jokes about men who behave like women have never ceased to be funny”, think about the movie Bugs, the officer Benjamin Claws in Zootopia, El primo Camilo from Encanto, the chef from the Little Mermaid, or the scene of the battle in the Beauty and the Beast, when the closet caught a men and then released him screaming and dressed like a lady.  Although “homosexual characters have often been drawn as darkly alien and monsterlike in a twilight world of horror and dread. As an outlet for unspeakable ideas, then, the sissy often became a monster or an outlaw” said Russo, and you could think about Hook from Peter Pan, Lefou from the Beauty and the Beast again, the wanted man singin in the bar of the Tangled and Peakley from Leelo y Stich indeed.

Following Russo’s line of thought, in police procedural comedy television series Brooklyn 99, Captain Raymond Holt is a clear example of what a good queer character represents. Him being a middle aged, happily married, black gay man is an important part of his character yet it is not a defining factor. His character does not focus around his sexuality but, nonetheless, the show makes it clear that he has faced racist and homophobic discrimination trough his career as a cop. Furthermore, the episodes that do delve into this part of him are comedic in nature because, at the end of the day, Brooklyn 99 is a comedy show. Adding to this, the fact that he is able to live an unapologetically happy life with his husband is a breath of fresh air, considering how often queer characters are struct by dramatic or tragic events to further advance a plot.

Characters like Captain Holt are of utmost importance in today’s mainstream media because he is proof that queer people can exist without being entirely defined by their sexuality or brushed off by saying that they are just like heterosexuals. Like Russo expressed: “A good story is universal and sexuality doesn't matter if one creates real people instead of stereotypes”

Despite being criticized it should be noted that it can also pass the “Vito Russo Test” of inclusive movies (or shows in this case) because:

-          There is a gay character

-          Their sexual identity is not the main characteristic defying them

-          They are main characters and vital to the plot.

Oliva Cortez

A modern example of queercoding in the movies is in animated feature films, especially in villains, such as Ursula from The Little Mermaid (who was made to the likeness of drag queen “Divine”) or Scar from The Lion King. For example, when Scar is taking care of his claws at the beginning, or when in ‘Be Prepared’ he sways his head back and looks back at the viewer seductively, and other choreographic movements in the song. Plus, his character design, authored by gay animator Andreas Deja, is slick and ‘feminine’, in stark comparison with the stout Mufasa and his son Simba.

To quote Russo, in pg. 67 and 72 he says, “Comics and buffoons could get away with transvestism, double entendre and sexual ambiguity, but the heroes could not.” and “The suppression of homosexuality, or the incorporation of it as something alien and sinister,[...] influenced homoerotic ideas and longings that achieved expression on the screen.”, reflecting the position queer people were put in in the media: villains, self-humilliating sidekicks, or nothing. Main characters could never allow their heterosexuality to be doubted, so a high-contrast villain was utilized to serve the purpose of saying “This is not what we mean”.

Although these characters as villains are obviously put in a negative light, there are positive examples of queercoded characters that aren’t villains in even more modern media, such as Rose and Pearl from Steven Universe. They never explicitly kiss, or say ‘I love you’, but there is a clear subtext in their every interaction, Pearl’s extreme adoration of Rose (beyond being her servant and follower) and their ‘fusion scenes’ being a telltale sign of homosexual subtext in the show.

To begin with, as Russo said, “Heterosexual society has a vested interest in keeping homosexual relationships untenable and mystical because, made real, they are seen as a threat to family living.” (page 34) This can be also seen in the movie Danish girl, at the moment Gerda realised Einer was not joking about his transition. For this reason, she took him to a hospital to “recover” him in view of the fact that she and doctors thought he was mentally ill.  

In addition, Russo mention “The only condition under which homosexuality has ever been socially acceptable has been on the occasion of its voluntary invisibility, when homosexuals were willing to pass for heterosexuals.” (page 35) That quotation is related when Einer transform into Lili in order to hide his sexual orientation to be accepted in a romantic way by men.

Furthermore, Mae West hold “female impersonation to be synonymous with homosexuality”. (page 42). The character Einer only felt as Lili when he dressed up as a woman, he refused to be called “Einer” because he is not him anymore. From his perspective, he is Lili and no more Einer. 

To sum up, it can be taken for granted the point of view of Ruso about homosexuality due to at all times they were seen as no real man. This can be exemplified in the movie chosen, Danish girl, in which Eitan, the main character, is carried to identify himself as she because of his sexual preference. 

Russo criticizes this type of behaviors in his book ´The Celluloid Closet´ by saying “Crucially at issue always was the connection between feminine behavior and inferiority. The conclusive message was that quiet souls could be real men—but not if they displayed qualities that properly belonged to women” (pg. 17). He complains that, for society, showing emotions is something only for women, and how in media gay characters are always portraited in a more feminine way, which is not something inherently wrong, but is always display as an awful thing or something that has to be made fun of. In the show it is demonstrated that you can be a man and still be open and sentimental with your feelings, without this meaning that you are inferior. Showing this type of dynamic on male friendship helps to break stereotypes on what ´masculinity´ should be like and how man can and cannot behave. 

This characteristics are reflected in Eric Effiong from the Netflix series Sex Education (2019), who is openly gay, fun and bright, with a liking for eccentric fashion, make up and poetry and influenced by a large amount of women in his family. He is constantly harassed and called all kinds of nicknames for these qualities, even being assaulted after wearing a costume of Hedwig Robinson from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. This shows how society finds a disliking in men projecting effeminate qualities (and being okay with it).

Similarly, Patrick from the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) follows the same guidelines, with Ezra Miller portraying a sensitive, closeted teenager whose close friendships are mainly his step-sister and his girl friends. In the film, there are particular scenes where Patrick and his friends perform The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) at the theater, with him interpreting Dr. Frank-N-Furter from said movie, who is an alien transvestite, and wearing a corset, stockings and heels. Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror is the perfect example of what Russo explains follows the narrative of “the homosexual monster”, dealing with a major gay character who has to end in suicide or in a violent death. It strictly links homosexuality with horror: “Gay as predatory, twilight creatures” (p. 38)

Lastly, the author mentions how the image of the sissy discredited values of authority and strength and how a men impersonating a woman - dressed in women’s clothes- only followed a comedic purpose, as: “The use of female garb by male comics became just another device for one-scene joke”. In Despicable Me 2 (2013), we see this when Gru dresses up as a fairy princess in terms of entertaining the audience with his “terrible” impersonation of a woman.

   To illustrate, in the movie "Brokeback Mountain" there are two principal characters who fall in love with each other but they are conditioned by the society in which they live. Given that it is a story set in the 1960s, the position of the two main characters is really understandable: they do not want to be in love with a man because they do not want to break with their imposed masculinity. Throughout the story they keep a secret love relationship and at the same time they marry women and have children to maintain their status. Clearly this need to have a public life as heterosexual people was born as a product of all the discrimination and hatred that homosexuals received. All these strategies had to be maintained in order not to be excluded by all the people who reproduced what was or was not shown in the media.As a consequence, the cinema is an important link in the chain of stereotypes and prejudices that society has about homosexual people and life. 
 
Uribe, Camila.
Sanchez, Gonzalo.

Therefore, her conclusion was that Donny was straight, and a player, and it is why she is surprised of finding out he actually was gay.

Whatever the outcome of the relationship between Donny and Natalie, the reason behind the depiction of this contrast in the movie is to bring forth that there is a representation of male homosexuality that has run it's course: the comic relief, the high-pitched, bubbly, bitchy queen with snarky remarks.

Even though Hollywood is the most well known sector on introducing these stereotypes, ¿What happens in other countries?
in Japan, for example, this also happens. In Dragon Ball “Buu’s Reincarnation”, a gay fighter appears after Trunks says “they all see kind of normal”, and Goten, after looking at him, says “well, there’s one of them that’s not so normal”

This fighter turns out to be one of the weakest, his name (Otokosuki) translated to english means “man lover”, and in one ocassion he touches Trunk’s shoulder without his consent.

This is not a Hollywood example, but fits perfectly with this quotation from Vito Russo’s book: “Homosexuals are powerless by virtue of their unwillingness to be publicly identified. This makes them fair game. Scores of films use fag jokes and gay villains in venomous and gratuitous ways”

For anyone who wants to see this scene, here’s the link of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTW-WMD6jFg

At the beginning, Tony is shown as a bigmouth, a man who makes honor of his nickname, “The Lip”, and also shows his ability for being a tough guy who solves problems in an old fashion way, using his masculinity and violence if necessary. In addition, he is racist, even though he lives in a multicultural place like New York, and also suffers discrimination for being part of an Italian family. So, to accept this job, he must break this way of thinking and change his attitude as the story progresses. Meanwhile, Don Shirley begins to suffer discrimination and violence for being black and homosexual in such an unfavorable context. 

In the middle of the film, Shirley is arrested in Memphis because a police officer caught him having sex with a man and until that scene was shown, there had been no indication that he was gay. To solve this, Tony had to pay the policeman to liberate and save him of a beating. After this, and with Don Sherley ashamed and frustrated, the movie does not touch this problem in a profound way; starts and finishes right there. The treatment of homosexuality issue continues without commitment and full of shyness.

Homosexuality is seen by the eyes of a straight, white man that “takes care” of Don Shirley during that journey, almost as if Don had to feel grateful for being accepted by a guy who is predisposed to protect him. So rather than telling the story from the point of view of a queer person, the film stands from perspective of a straight white man. Basically, Green Book tells the story of how a white heterosexual man who helps and protects a black homosexual man, making him see life with different eyes and even making him feel privileged. Reproducing the myth of the “white savior”. It’s not that Green Book ought to elaborate presumptions about Shirley’s sexuality, but his character’s point of view remains entirely absent and we hear nothing more of Shirley’s relationship with his sexuality for the rest of the film. It did not deepen into what it means to be a black man attracted to men in 1960s America. 

According to Russo´s words in “Taking the Game Away from Hollywood”, the mainstreams productions historically fail representing the oppression of gays and usually gives us “oppressed characters without a cultural context”. (Russo, V., 1981, p.213). In his book, Russo exposes his discontent on how Hollywood and his production shows superficial ideas about homosexuality, losing all the intentions of being inclusive and reaching a cold and distant treatment. 

“If you're going to make mainstream gay films, you stress that gays are basically just like straights. Yet this is a false premise that never works. You can't plead tolerance for gays by saying that they're just like everyone else. Tolerance is something we should extend to people who are not like everyone else. If gays weren't different, there wouldn't be a problem, and there certainly is a problem”. (Russo, V., 1981, p.188).

In Russo´s line, this way of producing movies is a trap, with the intention to reach a mass audience which in the end looses  all the commitment with the topic. Unfortunately, this means that a good opportunity of creating something significant, ends up with an unreal and estranged representation of homosexuality. 

Pablo Vidal

A great example to explain what Vito Russo states in his book is the movie "High School Musical". In this movie we can see multiple situations, characters and scenes where homosexuality is evident but in certain point is also hid. For instance, the character of Ryan (Sharpay's brother) who is presented as a heterosexual teenager but with some characteristics and behaviors that make the audience imply that he may be part of the LGBTIQ+ community. The way he dresses, his interests and mainly the difference between the representation of this character and the other male characters in the movie lead the audience to think about Ryan's sexuality. Besides, the director of the movie confirmed the theory of Ryan being a queer character but said that Disney was not prepared to "cross that line" and present Ryan's real identity. This is the perfect example of what Vito Russo points out, not only the film industry hiding homosexual characters from the screens but also presenting them always as secondary characters, never protagonists. "The need for invisibility is reflected in the very character of the American experience: heroes may certainly not be homosexual." (P.50). Another thing that it can be said about Ryan is the evident attraction between him and Chad. The producers hid this by placing Ryan in a romantic relationship with a girl and presenting Ryan and Chad as "buddies".

On the other hand, the movie "High School Musical" is full of situations where the gender roles that the American Dream expects, are reaffirmed. For example Troy-the main character-plays basketball and refuses to be part of the theater group. Once he starts singing and acting, he discovers a new passion for performing arts but decides to hide this from his dad and friends because it is not what is expected from a "masculine" man.

To summarize, it can be said that all these examples from the movie "High School musical" demonstrate that the film industry is still trying to protect the old stereotype of the "American Dream" and hiding homosexuality from the screens, just as Vito Russo explains.

Martina Abregú

In summary, these concepts that the author Vito Russo wrote could be reflected on some modern film’s scenes, showing how almost the middle of the society do not respect their rights yet.

Regardless that Ruso denounces dates almost half a century ago, their implication in modern cinema can be spotted. For instance, in the new Netflix series “Dahmer”,  all homosexual characters are portrayed as men who only spent their time in nightclubs and live a highly sexual life with many one-night encounters. Besides the innate multifaceted present in all these characters, the series's main focus is to highlight their sexual behavior.

At the beginning of the ’60s, films were known for not saying the word homosexual, instead, they used “it”. In this matter, there was a Code in the industry for censorship of any film product. Furthermore, Russo mentions: “It soon became clear that while the Code might allow the use of homosexuality as a subject in films made in the United States, it intended to maintain some control over how that subject was used. “Care, discretion, and restraint” meant, essentially, ‘treat it like a dirty secret’” (p.93) and all the relationships that were presented in the main plot had to follow the same exact rules.

Directors, producers, and actors had to show the “closet syndrome”, clearly based on stereotypes to suggest homosexuality. In all the films that were made, the main plot always suggested a tragic ending such as episodes of suicide, or a “magic cure” related to an unexpected heterosexual relationship. However, this is different in recent cinema as the most recognizable pictures show homosexuality freely and without any lock or censure. For instance, Netflix created a variety of series in which the main plot is a healthy homosexual relationship or it is just a characteristic of a character. For instance, “Heartstopper” is a series where Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), are two teenage boys who start to know each other and eventually fall in love. 

However, as in the past happened, there are some difficulties in demonstrating a lesbian couple. In the 60s, lesbianism in films was shown as a “challenge” for heterosexual men as they try to conquer women. The same as this stereotype of “a mental issue” that some movies such as “Lilith (1964)“ suggest and punish this attitude as a response to a psychiatric syndrome. Currently, it keeps happening that shows are being cancelled because there are explicit queer characters or relationships. For example, there is a show called “The Owl House”, the creator, Dana Terrace, mentioned in a post on Reddit that Disney cancelled the show because it “didn’t fit the ‘brand’”. The main character Luz Noceda is bisexual and has a girlfriend called Amity Blight who is a lesbian. In addition to the matter, there was a scene in the second season where the female main character asks another female character to “go out with her” and in a lot of countries, the translation was changed to make them look like it was just a friend's conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmvcCkNsnyw (Original version)

So as the subtitle of the chapter said “out of the closet and into the shadows”, this stereotype showed that homosexuality without being “vulgar” is a little bit different these days. Nevertheless, plenty of shows, cartoons, series and films are trying to represent the LGBTQ+ community for better inclusion and equity. However, some prejudices still exist at the time of creating cinema related to who the main film production company is because they do not want to lose big audiences (as in the case of Disney) and keep following heteronormativity.

Garcés Pierina; Nieva Maite

Many years have passed since this declaration, and history has not changed much in that time. In the recent child movie, “Lightyear” society seems to be negatively affected and terrorized by the final scene, which involves a lesbian couple kissing each other. Despite the representation of family diversity that actually exists on the screen, many conservative parents and Disney fans were indignant and the movie received harsh criticism assuming that the representation was extremely forced in animated cinema and not suitable for children.  “...this was the norm, that homosexuality belonged in the sexual ghetto because it was an abnormal manifestation of love” (p.149 )As a consequence of homophobia and the negative amount of comments, the movie was forbidden in fourteen countries since its production did not allow the scene to be removed. This is a great example of what Vito Russo denounces “Gay fiction is now big business, but not one lesbian or gay literary hero has been successfully transferred to the screen” (p.157), which leads us to think that unfortunately, nowadays this is still present in our society and it states how society still believes that homosexual love is an “abnormal manifestation of love”. To sum up, after all of this time, should this “minority culture” still be denied as John Lombardi declared? 

In a recent television program called POSE, situated in the 80s, a scene where this quotation is reflected appears at the beginning of the story but, in this case, a male character is shown. According to many members of the LGBTQ+ community, POSE reflects and visualizes the most accurate struggle that queer people have to overpass. The story of Damon Richard starts when his parents, who were notably homophobic and influenced by the stereotypes that existed at that time, discover his deeper secret and lead him to accept ostracism. Following his dream to be who he truly is, living his sexuality freely, and being a professional dancer, Damon travels to the big city of New York and becomes a survivor; “The necessity to leave behind family, tradition, and comfort, to accept ostracism and disgrace, was devastatingly portrayed. But these were stories of survival, and the message was that gays were survivors.” (p.157) Following the author's denouncement, it could be said that nowadays this is still portrayed on the screen.