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Oregon Daily Emerald 346-3712
Tom Patterson Emerald
Alberto Albuquerque’s and Nate Bloch’s characters argue about homosexuality and race.
Angels
continued from page 5
production was honored in 1993
with a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony
Award as well.
Tickets for this show are $10
each for the general public; $8 for
University faculty and staff mem
This is a play for
people who both think
and feel.
John Schmor
director,
‘Angels in America’
bers, senior citizens and non-Uni
versity students; and $5 for Uni
versity students. On May 31,
University students will be admit
ted for $4. Curtain time for all per
formances is 8 p.m.
In addition, a matinee perform
ance benefiting the HIV Alliance
of Eugene will be held at 2 p.m.
June 3. Tickets are $12 for this
special performance. To reserve
tickets and for information, call
the HIV Alliance, 342-5088.
Depper
continued from page 5
as people like you or me, in
everyday life,” Merskin said. “In
my view, comedy only perpetu
ates stereotypes about gays and
lesbians by making the role and
story line something to laugh at.”
Scott Seomin, the entertain
ment media director for the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation, seems to agree with
this statement.
“The advances that have been
made for lesbians and gay men on
television are great in increased
awareness but seem to have only
gone so far in portraying more
than one dimension,” Seomin
says on GLAAD’s Web site. “How
about acknowledging that a char
acter can be defined in more con
text? Wearing a gay name tag
should not be confused with
identity.”
GLAAD’s Web site has some ex
cellent resources for people with
any sort of interest in how homo
sexuality is portrayed in the me
dia. It includes a comprehensive
list of every gay character in a
lead, supporting or recurring role
currently on television. The list
also archives several years of tele
vision.
It was amazing to find that out
of the hundreds of shows current
ly on television, there are only six
that feature a gay character in a
leading role. Only 13 feature a gay
Television shows in 2001 with a gay character
in a leading or supporting role:
100 Centre St.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Normal, Ohio
Queer as Folk
Some of My Best Friends
Will & Grace
Beggars and Choosers
Bette
Dark Angel
Dawson's Creek
ER
Felicity
First Years
Los Beltran
NYPD Blue
Popular
South Park
Spin City
Strip Mall
character in a supporting role (and
four of these have already been
canceled).
Considering the sizable chunk
of the population in the United
States that claims to be gay, the
straight-to-gay ratio on television
seems woefully misproportioned.
Hanna Persson is the event co
ordinator for the University’s Les
bian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgen
dered Alliance. She agreed that
homosexuals are being held cap
tive in the sitcom world.
“For some reason, gay people,
primarily gay men, are funny to
people,” she said. “When some
one funny but more political like
Ellen gets on TV, they immediate
ly kick her off.”
Persson went on to say that de
spite the fact that homosexuals are
sometimes portrayed in a less
than-flattering light on television,
some gay presence is better than
none at all.
“If you’re a kid seeking homo
sexual representations, it’s almost
good that we have the ability to
see them on TV, as opposed to be
ing invisible. But it still does plant
stereotypes,” she said.
Can anything be done about the
lack of representation and the
stereotyping of gays on television?
Both Merskin and Persson doubt
that anything will happen very
soon. Persson brought up the in
teresting point that advertising re
lies on stereotypes to sell prod
ucts, and any kind of show
content that challenges these
stereotypes “makes it inefficient
for advertisers. TV and media
thrive on gender roles and stereo
types.” She went on to say that in
a perfect world, consumers would
stop feeding revenue to the adver
tisers that are responsible for per
petuating stereotypes. “I don’t
think that’s going to happen,” she
said with a laugh.
So it appears that gays are in a
catch-22 with television. Yes, it’s
great that there are more gay char
acters, but are these representa
tions healthy for gay culture in the
long run?
Your guess is as good as mine.
An interesting footnote to this sto
ry is the fact that CBS recently an
nounced that Ellen DeGeneres
will be the star of a new sitcom on
its fall schedule. Can DeGeneres
have as big an impact in 2001 as
she did in 1997? Can she have a
successful gay-themed show with
out stooping to tired cliches and
stereotypes? Only time will tell.
Dave Depper is an entertainment reporter
.for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do
not necessarily represent those of the
Emerald. He can be reached at
ddepper@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
New & Used
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258 E. 13th Eugene
342-7975
MAY SPECIAL
Freshwater Pearls
50% Off
• Huge Inventory,
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Mother's Day
10% off
with student I.D.
arlequin
Beads & Jewelry
Sale expires May 31
101 6 Willamette ♦ 683-5903