Are there any queers in the audience

Recommend to your library. Request a review copy. This book looks at contemporary popular music divas, their live and recorded performances, and the perceived relationship these artists have with queer audiences.

By looking into the theatrics of the diva tour show, it examines and theorizes the production and reception of camp as a queer praxis that feeds the diva-queer culture relationship. Media contain ideological and value messages. Media have commercial implications.

Each medium has a unique aesthetic form. Who created this media text? What is its purpose? If all media transmit ideological messages, an important part of critical engagement is to identify the ideological position from which a given media text is being produced. A good place to start is to determine who created it. For instance, an ad produced by a company with a decidedly anti-queer agenda may have a much different intent than one from a company that is supportive of equal rights and queer empowerment.

Whose voices and interests are being represented? Whose are absent? This is a very important part of critically engaging with media because it asks the question of who has control over meaning and identity. Is queerness being represented from its own perspective or is it being represented as it appears to an outsider? In either case, making clear the position from which they operate can go a long way to facilitating the interpretation of a given cultural text.

What do the images and narratives being deployed say about queer people? Are the images and narratives you consume describing an entire subgroup of people or are they describing a single individual? Is the individual posited as an exceptional member of their subgroup and if they are, what is being implied about the group of which they are a part?

The series was not without controversy — some people complained that the subject matter was inappropriate and others were upset that one of the characters was only 15 years old, while still others worried that it portrayed gay men as being over-sexed. But despite these criticisms, the series enjoyed international success: it aired on the Canadian specialty channel Showcase and also inspired an American version.

The financial success of early television programs like Queer as Folk is important because it paved the way for investors to take a chance on queer programming. Whereas anyone with a little money and equipment can put together a film, television is a much more expensive medium. Unlike film, television relies on generating long term advertising money for investors, which means that networks and advertisers are generally looking for programs with as wide appeal as possible.

This model may be the greatest hurdle to any minority group gaining widespread and fair exposure on television. That said, stations such as Showcase and HBO broadcast content created by queer people and Canada has its own queer channel. Its mandate was to provide programming for the gay and lesbian community, which — despite recent advances — continues to be underserved by the current broadcasting system. In its application to the CRTC, PrideVision TV argued that its programming would contribute to the diversity of the Canadian broadcasting system and would provide a public service by challenging the prevalence of stereotypical media portrayals of gays and lesbians.

Ultimately, the CRTC intervened and ordered Shaw to let viewers access the preview as they would for any other station. OUTtv continues to operate, airing various programs from other networks, but it has not produced original content since , citing cost issues. In Canada, despite the apparent wider acceptance of queer people by the mainstream, there is a dearth of queer representation on television.

While Canada boasts a rich film and theatre tradition in which queer people are very much represented, there are almost no queer characters on television and only a handful of out queer media personalities. While Rick Mercer, Gavin Crawford, Elvira Kurt, and Trevor Boris have all been successful in the realm of comedy, these performers are among the few exceptions in an otherwise overwhelmingly heterosexual Canadian television broadcast industry.

The Diversity and Media Toolbox is a comprehensive suite of resources that explores issues relating to stereotyping, bias and hate in mainstream media and on the Internet. The program includes professional development tutorials, lesson plans, interactive student modules and background articles.

Skip to main content. Defining Queer Media Harry M. Auteurs: Has this media product been created by queer people? Is it concerned with queer issues? Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.

Filed under: Netflix. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Image: Netflix. Loading comments