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Bonus video! The "Men on Film" Kerfuffle of the '90s (Patreon)

Published:
2021-09-05 17:00:06
Imported:
2023-05
⚑ Flagged

Content

I do love a good kerfuffle, and this week's bonus video is all about the decidedly mixed reaction that gay audiences had to Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier in the deeply controversial "Men On" segments on the show In Living Color. The two comedians (both straight) played super-femme, barely-coded sissies, and a GLAAD survey showed that gay audiences were perfectly split, 50/50, on whether they were funny or offensive. Why not both?

Also in this bonus video: A quick rundown of a few other flamboyant gay Black heroes, and  also the line from the movie version of Rent that bugs me every time I hear it.

BTW if the embed isn't working, try this link: https://vimeo.com/mattbaume/mannequinbonus1 

And don't forget to join us for a livestream and the public launch of the new video today at 11am pacific! https://youtu.be/z5PWOMt58ec 

And thank you again for making videos like these possible!

Matt

Files

Bonus video! The "Men on Film" Kerfuffle of the '90s

I do love a good kerfuffle, and this week's bonus video is all about the decidedly mixed reaction that gay audiences had to Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier...

Comments

Mike Dean

I seem to recall a David Alan Grier interview where he stated that his portrayal of Antoine, while obviously exaggerated, was based on the many gay men he knew when he was a theater actor. One course correction the Men On skits made: in one of the later skits Antoine gushes over Truth or Dare, declaring his deep love for Madonna. Much more on target! They never quite let go of the "hated it" thing, though.

Anonymous

You know, this conversation and discussions of the Wayans makes me think of Shawn Wayans’ depiction of the secretly but overtly gay character Ray in Scary Movie. Do you remember that? It’s like he’s half a punchline caricature but half better looking and more composed than everyone else. What I liked about Ray was that he normalized a potential gay villain (along with his secret boyfriend Bobby) but he wasn’t a villain simply because he was gay. It was a very interesting time in queer culture! Everyone had the opportunity to be a scum bag! Thanks for the bonus video, Matt! Awesome as always.

Clint Richardson

There was the time where Blaine Edwards got hit in the head , become straight, then loved all the movies with women. 😆

Nini L

I remember watching the "Men on" skits back in the day, and how much (at the time) I loved them. I still laugh at them to this day (because my bread and butter, in comedy, is dirty jokes/innuendos) but I can understand why some in the community (and GLAAD) were so pissed off. Looking back at them now, I still find them funny but I also find myself conflicted when I think about what kind of terrible stereotypes they were perpetuating. It's one of those "damned if you, damned if you don't" scenarios for me. I want to like them, but I also know they are problematic.

Happyninja42

I'm reminded of a video rantasmo did about this stereotype for a gay guy. What was funny was he acknowledged it was playing into a trope, but then said "yeah but, we all know a guy like Hollywood Montrose, and he's awesome and we love him, soooo...." xD To a point, stereotypes do have some truth to them. The problem is they are usually a single aspect of someone, distilled down until that is the only defining trait about them.

mattbaume
>>67247120

As I recall (I might be wrong about this; I couldn't find a source) they based the characters on gays they met backstage earlier in their comedy careers. That certainly seems plausible, at least!

mattbaume
>>67254341

You know I actually haven't seen Scary Movie! I should put it on my list, if for all the memes it generated if not the gay representation.

mattbaume
>>67258501

I do think the skits are un-malicious, and I really enjoy them. (That "isn't he a tight end" "he was" joke is SO FUNNY.) But! Since there were so few gay characters on TV, I can see it being ~problematic~ that that might've been reinforcing a negative stereotype, like that's the only kind of gay person there is. It's why I like Scott Thompson's stuff so much more -- sometimes he's Buddy Cole, other times he's a leather daddy.

mattbaume
>>67266416

Yeah in the end characters like Hollywood and the Men On guys may feel a bit reductive in the absence of other gay characters. (I would have liked Mannequin even more if we met Albert and saw that he was, I dunno, a math teacher or a carpenter or something distinct from his partner. Maybe that can go in the eventual musical reboot!)

Anonymous
>>67254341

I was prime Scary Movie age when it came out and thought it was hilarious (maybe 14 or 15, I’m 36 now) and freshly out as bisexual/queer and it just delighted me. It’s juvenile comedy at its finest but the catchphrases are great.

Happyninja42
>>67266416

Yeah, maybe have Alfred show up to pick up Hollywood after work. Set it up early that they were going out that night for a date or something. Then have the rest of the hijinxs of the film happen. Then this dude just comes around the corner, and provides help to the heroes, like tripping the badguy, or catching a fragile object about to fall or something. Camera pans up, guy standing there smiling and a bit confused. Then Hollywood cries out "Alfred!" Cue the cops showing up to arrest the badguy, Hollywood and Alfred chat with the protagonist for a bit, then they get in his car and drive off to their date. The protagonist walks off with his girl, and Hollywood drives off with his man. Camera pans up to the sky, credits roll.

Anonymous
>>67258501

The skits were so funny to me, and I always looked forward to them. Not every one was a hit, but it was during a time when we didn't really see a lot of gay characters on the screen. Sometimes I thought that it was demeaning to men who are similar in characteristics to see the blowback from critics. While it would have been better received as part of a more represented LGBTQ community, they are a part of the community. The problem was that I was never quite sure of the intent behind them, but always hoped it was coming from a good place. I also thought that comedy was a good way for straight people to become more used to us, and that it helped pave the way for more gay characters.

Anonymous
>>67258501

I think the contrast with Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole character is key, because even though I don't think the "Men On" characters were meant to be mean-spirited, there is such a difference between the confidence of the Cole character and the more caricaturish portrayals on "In Living Color."