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Thread started 06/23/16 1:22pm

JudasLChrist

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Prince in Under the Cherry Moon is the gayest black character of the ’80s...

Filmaker Stephen Winter within the a larger essay on the absence of black gay presence in movies, makes an interesting Prince related observation...

via TALKHOUSE:

The Loneliness of the Black Gay Moviegoer

Stephen Winter, director of Jason and Shirley, on the almost complete absence of black LGBTQ characters in cinema.

There was once a great black actor, Meshach Taylor, a hair younger than the Morgan Freeman generation, the brilliant black heterosexual thespians capable of embracing their feminine side (all that Shakespeare training, perhaps).

[Do not post article in its entirety as that is copyright infringement and no permission from source. Post 1st paragraph, credit source, link to article snip - luv4u]

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Reply #1 posted 06/23/16 2:18pm

mynameisnotsus
an

bored2
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Reply #2 posted 06/23/16 2:40pm

OldFriends4Sal
e

It's stuff like that, that kind of racial BS that made Prince go all Camille

And why he prefered to be in Lavax

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Reply #3 posted 06/23/16 2:57pm

NorthC

You just had to create the 4001st thread about this flick, didn't ya? wink
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Reply #4 posted 06/23/16 3:50pm

RiotPaisley

NorthC said:

You just had to create the 4001st thread about this flick, didn't ya? wink


Also adding to the Prince is gay trend on here lately.

To me he was just a fancy dude who liked the finer things in life and didn't care if it fit in anyone's categories or labels. Prince is Prince. Not anything you can understand or comprehend.
Surprise, surprise.
Another treat. Another trick.
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Reply #5 posted 06/23/16 4:14pm

Aerogram

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Sorry, this is a total fluff piece that agrandizes the mediocre, like we see all the time. There are people who write well that will try to inject relevance in something mediocre and treat a performance in Mannequin like it was De Niro as La Motta, but it's all fluffy fluffy fluff.

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Reply #6 posted 06/23/16 4:22pm

Connected

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Who gives a toss what Prince was into - as long as it was consensual...man was a walking erection in his prime

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Again...didn't he already deal with this in '82... "Am I straight or gay?"

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And this was the "gayest" character in the 80s...who wanted to party all the time! wink

-

~Shakalaka!~..... ~Mayday!~
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Reply #7 posted 06/23/16 4:23pm

JudasLChrist

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Aerogram said:

Sorry, this is a total fluff piece that agrandizes the mediocre, like we see all the time. There are people who write well that will try to inject relevance in something mediocre and treat a performance in Mannequin like it was De Niro as La Motta, but it's all fluffy fluffy fluff.



This is not a 'puff piece'. This is a serious pice of writing about represention in the movies. (You dick!)

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Reply #8 posted 06/23/16 4:26pm

JudasLChrist

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Connected said:

And this was the "gayest" character in the 80s...who wanted to party all the time! wink

-


HAHA! You make a convincing arguement!

[Edited 6/23/16 16:27pm]

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Reply #9 posted 06/23/16 4:28pm

Connected

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^

Easy fella...no need for the personal...

-

Let's keep the punches tidy and above the belt wink

~Shakalaka!~..... ~Mayday!~
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Reply #10 posted 06/23/16 6:15pm

Aerogram

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JudasLChrist said:

Aerogram said:

Sorry, this is a total fluff piece that agrandizes the mediocre, like we see all the time. There are people who write well that will try to inject relevance in something mediocre and treat a performance in Mannequin like it was De Niro as La Motta, but it's all fluffy fluffy fluff.



This is not a 'puff piece'. This is a serious pice of writing about represention in the movies. (You dick!)

Sorry but it does ride on very little. I understand there wasn't much representation of gay black men in the eighties except through derisive stereotypes (often acted up by straight guys), but as gay as I am I was always conscious Prince was playing the gender bender game to further a definitely heterosexual agenda, he wasn't derisive. Acting kind of girly isn't being the gayest, being gay or straight can take on aspects of traditional feminity or masculinity. Heck the vast majority of guys who buy and wear women garments are straight. I think Prince was making the point he could get away with defying masculinity stereotypes and still get all the girls -- just don't see that as being "gayest".

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Reply #11 posted 06/23/16 6:40pm

suomynona

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Someone forgot about Lamar.

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Reply #12 posted 06/23/16 6:54pm

Kermit77

I think he answered this question himself in the lyrics of his song "Uptown".

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Reply #13 posted 06/23/16 6:58pm

RiotPaisley

Come to think of it, was there ANY gay representation in the 80's?

Weren't gays always the joke or stereotypes? Ellen didn't come out until the mid 90s. Broke back mountain was like 2000 something. And if there's not a lot of gay black folks representatives today, I think you should also look to the Hetero black folks and how they respond to homosexuality.

I will never say that being queer compares to being any other minority, but the thing with being discriminated against because you are another color- at least your family doesn't disown because you're whatever hue. And your peers are pretty obvious. A lot of us can't find anyone to hang out with.

Sorry I just had to put that out there. I'm so fed up with the Prince is gay bs. Bottom line is why did or would it matter- he's a flipping musical genius.

I miss him.
Surprise, surprise.
Another treat. Another trick.
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Reply #14 posted 06/23/16 7:17pm

Connected

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^

Hmmmm?

Not sure about TV representation but there was Freddie in Queen (The band name was a bit of a giveaway!)

And Frankie Goes To Hollywood - which was pretty full on

And The Pet Shop Boys which has a very speculative name...I always wondered if the name was an urban myth

~Shakalaka!~..... ~Mayday!~
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Reply #15 posted 06/23/16 7:59pm

AnnaStesia10

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Man the guy who wrote this article is trippin. Jerome some gay parts in UTCM as humor. Think he's saying that because of Prince's style..the way he dressed. He played a playa in UTCM. Just because Prince had some balls to look and dress the way He wanted to makes him gay. Please!
"A strong spirit transcends rules." - Prince
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Reply #16 posted 06/23/16 9:01pm

suomynona

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AnnaStesia10 said:

Man the guy who wrote this article is trippin. Jerome some gay parts in UTCM as humor. Think he's saying that because of Prince's style..the way he dressed. He played a playa in UTCM. Just because Prince had some balls to look and dress the way He wanted to makes him gay. Please!


Maybe he was referring to the way he kissed Kristin Scott Thomas character. Those are some cringeworthy moments. Nobody kisses like that rofl. Or if they do, it's a deal breaker, period. It looks like it could turn into a horror movie at any moment as Prince engulfs her entire head. Oh wait, maybe that was him and Apollonia where it looks like her head was going to disappear. http://www.prince.org/msg/7/327967

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v359/imago2005/Emoticons/crazykiss.gif[/img:$uid]

http://prince.org/msg/7/291299
http://prince.org/msg/7/315937
http://prince.org/msg/7/217428
http://prince.org/msg/7/323689

I'm not the only one that felt that way. Did Ingrid and Prince kiss in Graffiti Bridge? Had things improved? Let's hope so, for everyone's sake.

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Reply #17 posted 06/23/16 9:16pm

jkrumes

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that gif.
those links.
the comments (esp. in the 2nd link).
falloff
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Reply #18 posted 06/23/16 9:45pm

suomynona

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jkrumes said:

that gif. those links. the comments (esp. in the 2nd link). falloff


Imago (the user that posted that gif originally) was GREAT for hilarious threads.

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Reply #19 posted 06/23/16 11:00pm

AnnaStesia10

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suomynona said:

AnnaStesia10 said:

Man the guy who wrote this article is trippin. Jerome some gay parts in UTCM as humor. Think he's saying that because of Prince's style..the way he dressed. He played a playa in UTCM. Just because Prince had some balls to look and dress the way He wanted to makes him gay. Please!


Maybe he was referring to the way he kissed Kristin Scott Thomas character. Those are some cringeworthy moments. Nobody kisses like that rofl. Or if they do, it's a deal breaker, period. It looks like it could turn into a horror movie at any moment as Prince engulfs her entire head. Oh wait, maybe that was him and Apollonia where it looks like her head was going to disappear. http://www.prince.org/msg/7/327967

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v359/imago2005/Emoticons/crazykiss.gif[/img:$uid]

http://prince.org/msg/7/291299
http://prince.org/msg/7/315937
http://prince.org/msg/7/217428
http://prince.org/msg/7/323689

I'm not the only one that felt that way. Did Ingrid and Prince kiss in Graffiti Bridge? Had things improved? Let's hope so, for everyone's sake.

Omg, I spit up seeing this! I think it was Apollonia he kissed like that, I don't member him doing that in UTCM. I think maybe things improved like he aged well with time. He didn't do that with Ingrid in GB. That poor girl in this kissing video..what the??

"A strong spirit transcends rules." - Prince
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Reply #20 posted 06/23/16 11:34pm

paisleyparkgir
l

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AnnaStesia10 said:

suomynona said:


Maybe he was referring to the way he kissed Kristin Scott Thomas character. Those are some cringeworthy moments. Nobody kisses like that rofl. Or if they do, it's a deal breaker, period. It looks like it could turn into a horror movie at any moment as Prince engulfs her entire head. Oh wait, maybe that was him and Apollonia where it looks like her head was going to disappear. http://www.prince.org/msg/7/327967

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v359/imago2005/Emoticons/crazykiss.gif[/img:$uid]

http://prince.org/msg/7/291299
http://prince.org/msg/7/315937
http://prince.org/msg/7/217428
http://prince.org/msg/7/323689

I'm not the only one that felt that way. Did Ingrid and Prince kiss in Graffiti Bridge? Had things improved? Let's hope so, for everyone's sake.

Omg, I spit up seeing this! I think it was Apollonia he kissed like that, I don't member him doing that in UTCM. I think maybe things improved like he aged well with time. He didn't do that with Ingrid in GB. That poor girl in this kissing video..what the??

I thought the kiss was acting. I hope he did not kiss anyone like that in real life.

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Reply #21 posted 06/24/16 6:01am

OldFriends4Sal
e

RiotPaisley said:

Come to think of it, was there ANY gay representation in the 80's? Weren't gays always the joke or stereotypes? Ellen didn't come out until the mid 90s. Broke back mountain was like 2000 something. And if there's not a lot of gay black folks representatives today, I think you should also look to the Hetero black folks and how they respond to homosexuality. I will never say that being queer compares to being any other minority, but the thing with being discriminated against because you are another color- at least your family doesn't disown because you're whatever hue. And your peers are pretty obvious. A lot of us can't find anyone to hang out with. Sorry I just had to put that out there. I'm so fed up with the Prince is gay bs. Bottom line is why did or would it matter- he's a flipping musical genius. I miss him.

Freddie Mercury, Boy George, ...

Any ethnic group was and is the butt of stereotypical jokes along with gays. But yeah the 80s had it's moments.
There was lots more by the 90s though. MTV's the Real World/Road Rules always had a resident that was gay, more movies, 'gayness' was represented more in the video/musical world, art etc

the hetero black take on homosexuality was-is horrid.(I believe any group with hypermasculine images ie Italian Latino Black, tends to have higher degrees of homophobia With the rise of ganster rap in the 90s there was a whole different level of misogyny and homophobia. A certain image of 'man' was created that was very different from what you saw in the 70s and 80s. Because of the extreme hyper masculine images that came up, it put a further gap into who could be gay. If you danced you were gay if you were too happy you were gay if you were too colorful you were gay. Whereas before in the 80s 70s and prior those things were a regular part of African- descendant cultures

When Tony M told people Prince wasn't black enough, I think he was also addressing Prince's masculinity.

Prince dressed like a lot of 70s 80s rock stars and entertainers who happened to be white, and Jimi Hendrix. If you look at a lot of 80s rock bands/hair bands etc as outrageous as they were in style they were never accused of being gay. Look at David Lee Roth from and still today. People don't call him gay.


Prince was able to also express energy and take from female artists too like Chaka Khan & Joni Mitchell.

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Reply #22 posted 06/24/16 6:07am

FullLipsDotNos
e

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Why can't straight men wear heels or make-up? I still don't believe I have to protest this pooptoast in 2016...

full lips, freckles, and upturned nose
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Reply #23 posted 06/24/16 6:33am

OldFriends4Sal
e

paisleyparkgirl said:

AnnaStesia10 said:

Omg, I spit up seeing this! I think it was Apollonia he kissed like that, I don't member him doing that in UTCM. I think maybe things improved like he aged well with time. He didn't do that with Ingrid in GB. That poor girl in this kissing video..what the??

I thought the kiss was acting. I hope he did not kiss anyone like that in real life.

Probably because of the position, it looked a bit messy

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Reply #24 posted 06/24/16 6:59am

CAL3

I don't know about the "gayest" of the entire decade, that seems like a pretty broad statement...



ESPECIALLY considering that Tricky behaves "gayer" than Christopher...



Not that it has a lick to do with Prince personally (since, obviously, it's a fictitious story), but 'Cherry Moon' can very easily be interpreted as an unrequited love story between two men who can't/won't accept their homosexuality. Or, bisexuality I guess... In fact, it's difficult not to read the film that way (at least to some degree).



The ambiguity is the most interesting element of the film - and the thing that ultimately makes the film worth recommending even to non-Prince fans.

[Edited 6/24/16 7:00am]

[Edited 6/24/16 7:01am]

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Reply #25 posted 06/24/16 10:02pm

paisleyparkgir
l

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CAL3 said:

I don't know about the "gayest" of the entire decade, that seems like a pretty broad statement...



ESPECIALLY considering that Tricky behaves "gayer" than Christopher...



Not that it has a lick to do with Prince personally (since, obviously, it's a fictitious story), but 'Cherry Moon' can very easily be interpreted as an unrequited love story between two men who can't/won't accept their homosexuality. Or, bisexuality I guess... In fact, it's difficult not to read the film that way (at least to some degree).



The ambiguity is the most interesting element of the film - and the thing that ultimately makes the film worth recommending even to non-Prince fans.

[Edited 6/24/16 7:00am]

[Edited 6/24/16 7:01am]

I think it was meant to be that way. In the beginning, there are a few "interesting" scenes between those two.

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Reply #26 posted 06/24/16 10:56pm

nursev

eek eek eek eek

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Reply #27 posted 06/24/16 11:38pm

panpac777

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I'm not a woman. I'm not a man. I am somethin' that you'd never understand.
I think they just don't get the humor in the movie. The comedy between prince Christopher and Jerome bentons character.
[Edited 6/24/16 23:41pm]
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Reply #28 posted 06/25/16 11:35pm

JudasLChrist

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panpac777 said:

I'm not a woman. I'm not a man. I am somethin' that you'd never understand. I think they just don't get the humor in the movie. The comedy between prince Christopher and Jerome bentons character. [Edited 6/24/16 23:41pm]

I think no-one is reading the article.

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Reply #29 posted 06/26/16 4:07am

RJOrion

Tricky (Jerome) was the "gay" one in UTCM...helping P take his bath...throwing rose petals in the bathwater...always giving P the googly eyes (complete with heavy eyeliner)...and an effeminate lisp when he spoke..what straight man goes by "Tricky"?
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