Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

‘Rise of Skywalker’ gets a pass from Chinese censors – but not from toxic fans

Published

on

Joonas Suotamo, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Image courtesy of Lucasfilm/DIsney)

The opening weekend for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” brings a mixed bag of news – some of it good, some not-so-good, depending on how you look at it.

In the former category, as reported in Variety, a same-sex kiss between two female characters slipped by censors in China, allowing the film to be released uncut in a country where government censorship has been historically strict about LGBTQ content, despite the decriminalization of same-sex sexuality and the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness.

The kiss, which takes place late in the film and could easily be described as a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” moment between minor characters, was teased by the film’s director and co-writer J.J. Abrams a few weeks ahead of the movie’s release, when he told Variety he has always wanted the people of “Star Wars” to look “more the way the world looks than not,” and that, regarding the LGBTQ community, “it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film.”

The representation can be seen an important step in the struggle for global advancement of LGBTQ acceptance, indicating an erosion of a key roadblock that traditionally serves as an excuse for major studios to balk on featuring LGBTQ characters or storylines – the accepted notion that such material would be denied release in lucrative international markets, resulting in the loss millions of dollars in profits.

Speaking with the Blade in 2018, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis questioned the validity of this argument, saying, “I’ve never seen the science or the methodology behind that and I think if they ever did those studies, they probably did them decades ago,” Ellis says  “There are these false narratives that live within the entertainment community that we all buy into and we’ve all taken them on as the truth.”

The moment in “Rise of Skywalker” is the first time in “Star Wars” history that a same-sex romantic relationship has been depicted in one of the franchise’s films, though a 1999 comic book, “The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing,” featured the first LGBTQ character within the “Star Wars” universe, and several LGBTQ characters have since been depicted in “Star Wars” video games.

Onscreen, 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” featured the character of Lando Calrissian, who was confirmed by both screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan and actor Donald Glover as pansexual. More recently, Justin Ridge, executive producer of the kid-friendly “Star Wars Resistance” TV series, said on a podcast that two fan-favorite characters from his show are “absolutely a gay couple,” and Queerty published a story reporting on rumors that an upcoming “Star Wars” series on the Disney+ streaming service will “feature an out-queer lead.”

While most commentators have acknowledged the historic importance of the lesbian kiss in “Rise of Skywalker,” many have also expressed a less-than-positive perspective. An article in Variety lamented that the brief onscreen moment has “zero impact on the story” and features “characters who barely register within the vast tapestry of the ‘Star Wars’ creative galaxy.”

The Hollywood Reporter went even further, publishing an article that characterized it as “a step back for LGBTQ representation” and called out Disney for a history of “queerbaiting” LGBTQ fans, citing as an example this year’s earlier “Avengers: Endgame,” which included a similarly brief and non-essential scene as its sole nod toward LGBTQ inclusion.

Critical response to the film, which is the final installment of the so-called “Skywalker Saga” which originated with the first “Star Wars” film in 1977, has been mixed; audience reactions have been predictably divisive, reflecting a trend in fan culture that was explored in a recent essay in Esquire, which suggests the aggressively hostile reaction of some fans over the newer installments is a response to their frustration “that heroes in ‘Star Wars’ – and in other massive properties – are no longer exclusively straight, white, and male.”

Earlier this month, former Trump advisor Sebastian Gorka made comments on his “America First” radio show decrying Abrams’ hinted revelation of an LGBTQ moment, saying, “Well, you know, if you couldn’t destroy the franchise already, let’s destroy it a little bit more. The last installment of the ‘Star Wars’ saga would include a member from the trans — is it trans? Let’s just say the alphabet soup community.”

His derisive comments echo many of those made by angry fans around the franchise’s most recent rebooted trilogy, which have each featured an increased number of prominent characters who are female or people of color; the backlash reached a peak with the release of “The Last Jedi” in 2017, when disgruntled fans mounted campaigns to have the movie removed from the “official” canon, and some even calling for it to be remade.

In addition, Vietnamese-American actress Kelly Marie Tran was driven to delete her social media accounts when she was beset by sexist and racist insults by “a legion of trolls,” as detailed in a 2018 Yahoo article which describes the increasing trend toward virulent grassroots activism as “toxic fan culture” and links “ the vile online behavior of a vocal minority” of fans to “elements of the far-right and the misogynist ‘incel’ men’s movement.”

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Photos

PHOTOS: Hagerstown Pride

LGBTQ community celebration held at Doubs Woods Park

Published

on

Chasity Vain performs at Hagerstown Pride 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 13th annual Hagerstown Pride Festival was held at Doubs Woods Park in Hagerstown, Md. on Saturday, June 21.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Theater

‘Hunter S. Thompson’ an unlikely but rewarding choice for musical theater

‘Speaks volumes about how sad things land on our country’

Published

on

George Salazar in ‘The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.’

‘The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical’
Through July 13
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va.
$47 to $98
Sigtheatre.org

The raucous world of the counterculture journalist may not seem the obvious choice for musical theater, but the positive buzz surrounding Signature Theatre’s production of Joe Iconis’s “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical” suggests otherwise. 

As the titular, drug addled and gun-toting writer, Eric William Morris memorably moves toward his character’s suicide in 2005 at 67. He’s accompanied by an ensemble cast playing multiple roles including out actor George Salazar as Thompson’s sidekick Oscar “Zeta” Acosta, a bigger than life Mexican American attorney, author, and activist in the Chicano Movement who follows closely behind. 

Salazar performs a show-stopping number — “The Song of the Brown Buffalo,” a rowdy and unforgettable musical dive into a man’s psyche. 

“Playing the part of Oscar, I’m living my Dom daddy activist dreams. For years, I was cast as the best friend with a heart of gold. Quite differently, here, I’m tasked with embodying all the toxic masculinity of the late ‘60s, and a rampant homophobia, almost folded into the culture.”

He continues, “My sexuality aside, I like to think that Oscar would be thrilled by my interpretation of him in that song. 

“Our upbringings are similar. I’m mixed race – Filipino and Ecuadorian and we grew up similarly,” says Salazar, 39. “He didn’t fit in as white or Mexican American, and fell somewhere in the middle. Playing Oscar [who also at 39 in 1974 forever disappeared in Mexico], I pulled out a lot of experience about having to code switch before finally finding myself and being confident just doing my own thing.

“As we meet Oscar in the show we find exactly where’s he’s at. Take me or leave me, I couldn’t care less.”

In 2011, just three years after earning his BFA in musical theater from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Salazar fortuitously met Iconis at a bar in New York. The pair became fast friends and collaborators: “This is our third production,” says George. “So, when Joe comes to me with an idea, there hasn’t been a moment that I don’t trust him.”

In “Be More Chill,” one of Iconis’s earlier works, Salazar originated the role of Michael Mell, a part that he counts as one of the greatest joys of artistic life.

With the character, a loyal and caring friend who isn’t explicitly queer but appeals to queer audiences, Salazar developed a fervent following. And for an actor who didn’t come out to his father until he was 30, being in a place to support the community, especially younger queer people, has proved incredibly special. 

“When you hear Hunter and Oscar, you might think ‘dude musical,’ but I encourage all people to come see it.” Salazar continues, “Queer audiences should give the show a shot. As a musical, it’s entertaining, funny, serious, affecting, and beautiful. As a gay man stepping into this show, it’s so hetero and I wasn’t sure what to do. So, I took it upon myself that any of the multiple characters I play outside of Oscar, were going to be queer.

Queer friends have seen it and love it, says Salazar. His friend, Tony Award-winning director Sam Pinkleton (“Oh, Mary!”) saw Hunter S. Thompson at the La Jolla Playhouse during its run in California, and said it was the best musical he’d seen in a very long time. 

“Since the work’s inception almost 10 years ago, I was the first Oscar to read the script. In the interim, the characters’ relationships have grown but otherwise there have been no major changes. Still, it feels more impactful in different ways: It’s exciting to come here to do the show especially since Hunter S. Thompson was very political.”

Salazar, who lives in Los Angeles with his partner, a criminal justice reporter for The Guardian, is enjoying his time here in D.C. “In a time when there are so many bans – books, drag queens, and travel — all I see is division. This is an escape from that.”  

He describes the Hunter Thompson musical as Iconis’s masterpiece, adding that it’s the performance that he’s most proud of to date and that feels there a lot of maturity in the work. 

“In the play, Thompson talks to Nixon about being a crook and a liar,” says Salazar. “The work speaks volumes about how sad things land on our country: We seem to take them one step forward and two steps back; the performance is almost art as protest.”

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride Parade

Senior living and healthcare organization holds fifth annual march at Falls Church campus

Published

on

Goodwin Living Pride March 2025. (Photo courtesy of Goodwin Living)

The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fifth annual Pride Parade around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Thursday, June 12.

(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)

Continue Reading

Popular