Introduction and Rationale
DV8: Homosexuality Within Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men and To Be Straight With You
Throughout this dissertation I’m going to be focusing my work on two of DV8 performances; Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men which is loosely based on the story of Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen and To Be Straight With You which is based on the prejudice Gay and Lesbian individuals face every day by society, be that by Religion, Race or The Government.
Looking at theatre reviews and books such as Stephanie Jordan and Dave Allen’s Parallel lines: Media Representations of Dance and Ramsay Burt’s The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities. I will find out more about the history of homosexuality in theatre and how DV8 defied the law to produce shows with gay themes despite it being illegal to promote such themes in the UK during the 80’s and early 90’s.
I’ll also be conducting a questionnaire that I’ll ask my classmates to answer for me. The questionnaire will be made up of four questions focusing on DV8 physical theatre company and themes of homosexuality in their performance. The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out people’s honest but anonymise opinions of Homosexuality as a whole and homosexuality in a theatre. Are they prejudice against it or are they accepting of it. From reading books and reviews from the two performances stated I’ll also be able to find out peoples personal opinions on this topic.
By looking at the history of homosexuality in theatre and clause 28 in particular when Margaret Thatcher was Prime minister we’ll be able to look back at how society has changed their opinion on the LGBT community.
Also looking at how DV8’s first stage performance Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men was adapted for ...
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...ad Dreams of Monochrome Men, it has one of the most perfect displays of homosexuality but also allows for your own interpretation.
5. ID: 10029290 – I don’t know enough of the work of DV8 to present an answer on this but I think a lot of theatre at the moment with homosexual themes, are presented in a very positive and informative way.
After visiting http://murderpedia.org/male.N/n/nilsen-dennis.htm this information was found on Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen.
Classification: Serial Killer
Characteristics: Homosexual – Necrophilia – Dismemberment
Number of Victims: 16
Date of Murders: 1978-1983
Date of Arrest: February 9, 1983
Date of Birth: November 23, 1945
Victims profile: Students or homeless men whom he picked up at bars
Method of Murder: Ligature Strangulation
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Status: Sentence to life imprisonment on November 4, 1983
Sex and Gender was the subject of the two movies Dreamworlds 3 and Further Off The Straight & Narrow. In Dreamworlds 3 Sex is portrayed as a status of life and happiness in the media. This media displays people as objects that can be manipulated for sexual pleasure. As the media is populated with sex it tiptoes around gender, specifically that of gays or lesbians. The film Further Off The Straight & Narrow emphasized the movement through media gay and lesbian topics. This text analyzes iconic television programs and how they reflect the societal stance during that time. As a member of a generation that has had the topic of these issues prominent I believe they are important but are banal. In this reflection I will be responding to two questions, what would woman driven Dreamworlds look like? And Do you agree with the statement that if you are not on television you don’t exist?
Houchin, John H. Censorship of the American Theatre in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2003.
Released in 1994, 14 years into the AIDS epidemic, the film had a phenomenal response around the world and in Australia. Travelling from Sydney, the three main characters, played by Hugo Weaving, Guy Peirce and Terrance Stamp, travel to Alice Springs for a cabaret show hosted by Mitzi’s wife. The audience is positioned to sympathise with the main characters during their hardships, and good times. The movie confronts different types of masculinity in an extreme environment. The film presents the stereotypical behavior of gay men that is evident in our society.
Furthermore, a few of his plays are written about drag queens and others about being gay. Mr. Fierstein grew up in a time when being gay was a very hard lifestyle to be open about. Over the decades the support group lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community or better known as LGBT, has supported the mass movement worldwide. Mr. Fierstein set out to illustrate to the world that it is ok to be yourself and that the LGBT community will not accept any more bigotry. His plays focus on the hardships faced by the oppressed and the tyrants.
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
homosexual liberation. Some have demonstrated their anger and concerns about prejudice against homosexuals in both riots and artistic forms. Therefore, these people seek to prove to the heterosexual world that homosexual ‘deviancy’ was a myth.
Seidman, Steven. Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print
In 1950, a homosexual man named Harry Hay and a group of homosexual activists decided that they were tired of being treated unequally just because of their sexual orientation (Mattachine Society Today 3). They started the Mattachine Society where they could begin acting and organizing against this type of oppression. They wanted to give male homosexuals support and the sense of pride for being who they were. The main goals were to unify isolated homosexuals and to encourage them to fight for their rights while providing a society of safe and social activities (Mattachine Society Today 9). The group was in for a struggle though: their conservative ways did not satisfy many. The problem was not in their efforts and intentions, but in the fact that their society was politically weak,...
Lindheim, Nancy "Rethinking Sexuality and Class in Twelfth Night." University of Toronto Quarterly: A Canadian Journal of the Humanities 76.2 (2007): 679-713. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
Lindheim, Nancy "Rethinking Sexuality and Class in Twelfth Night." University of Toronto Quarterly: A Canadian Journal of the Humanities 76.2 (2007): 679-713. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
I want you to become aware of what we have done and take action to stop people to be happy, to respect their way of thinking, acting, and living. My purpose in writing this paper is to present my points of view on how society has changed as the years go by. Also how homosexuals have fought for many years and all the different struggles they have managed to get the rights they deserve and one day had which were then taken away because they became themselves and also because of the ignorance of some people.
The 1990s saw a surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities
Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 .