Breaking Barriers
Watched the season premiere of Nip/Tuck Season 4 and LOVED IT.
There's only one thing that bothers me, and that's the audience.
Basically it was very blatantly stated that one of the show's main characters, a male whore who bangs every woman in sight, throws her away and can never keep a stable relationship with a woman or connect emotionally to one, might actually harbor romantic feelings for his male best friend. Personally, I love this. A gay character on mainstream television who isn't flamboyant or dumb? GREAT!
Since the show premiered the writers have been implying that the relationship between Sean and Christian is the deepest and most meaningful relationship for the both of them. One can't survive or be happy without the other. Other characters have assumed that the two are in a relationship or are bisexual. When Sean finds out that Christian is his son's biological father he reacts with a punch to Christian's face and sobs, "I loved you the most." They trust each other more than anyone else.
There are other things, but based on what I know of the show and what I think of human nature, it would not be random or illogical to reveal that Christian is a deeply-closeted bisexual or homosexual, or is at least a straight man who somehow fell in love with his best friend. Call me crazy, but I tend to think that sexuality and human relationships are not as black and white as people would like them to be.
Yes, I realize it can be annoying that there can't seem to be a truly close and meaningful male friendship without someone going, "They're so GAY." But that doesn't exclude the possibility that there might be more going on than even the participants realize. And I wish that some show out there would bravely put that story out there and bring us closer to a future where we are no longer made uncomfortable with it and don't insist that men or women be straight and stick with straight relationships. I want Nip/Tuck to break barriers the way the original Star Trek broke barriers when Captain Kirk was the first white male on television to kiss a black woman and make it OKAY.
Unfortunately there is a population of the Nip/Tuck audience that is disappointing me and disgusting me with their attitude of this not-new-but-always-there storyline. There are people who say they love the show but will stop watching if Christian Troy starts to "act gay" or "becomes" gay or "makes a move on Sean." Some females are upset because it will ruin their fantasies and some men are upset because they perceive the storyline as destroying their ultimate masculine hero. They find it gross and want Christian to prove he's straight by continuing to throw away women like used condoms, ignoring the legitimate groundwork and implications that have always been there. You don't have to read between the lines, there is no subtext you have to dig for, it's right there in your face and always has been. If the show decides to continue having Christian be ultra-straight, it would be legitimate, if it decided to have Christian be in love with Sean, it would be legitimate and unsurprising to another population of viewers.
I honestly thought that Nip/Tuck audiences were more mature than that. Really. The show has featured a positive and confident lesbian role model, male-to-female transsexuals who are good or bad based on their characters not their sexual identities (and has also been unafraid to address issues transsexuals face), has been upfront about female masturbation, bisexuality, racism, hate, circumcision, child molestation, incest, almost every sexual and self-image issue known to man, etc. If homosexuality makes you uncomfortable, or if it ruins your little fantasy, then this is clearly NOT THE SHOW FOR YOU.
I for one do not want Nip/Tuck to cop out of this storyline. I want this show to be unafraid, to break barriers despite what a portion of their audience may think. Because hey, when Kirk kissed Uhura there were fans who disapproved, but they went ahead with it anyway and made their own rules. I want Nip/Tuck to do the same. I want them to push the envelope and show me what they can do. Show me that a man can be gay without being stereotypical. Show me that sometimes there's more than meets the eye, that while I believe in strong, nothing-can-break-us friendships, life isn't always so simple. People aren't always so simple. I want this show to pull us further into a society where these things don't scare us, I want it to force us to learn to accept it. I want it to be a stepping stone, so that someone will say, "If Christian can be gay (or love Sean, whatever) then maybe it isn't so bad," the way someone wrote, "If Kirk can kiss a black woman, then maybe it isn't such a bad thing."
Maybe it's stupid, but that's what I think.
Even if Nip/Tuck cops out, which I fear it will, I want it to at least show me a relationship people will remember. One that blurs the lines, even it doesn't quite go all the way, one that makes us re-evaluate our definitions, maybe makes us get rid of inadequate labels.
Because this show has always been about a love affair. Whether it's one between friends or between a romantic pairing, it has always been about a deeply complicated love affair between these two men. It is epic.
And no annoying dickhead will screw that truth for me.
There's only one thing that bothers me, and that's the audience.
Basically it was very blatantly stated that one of the show's main characters, a male whore who bangs every woman in sight, throws her away and can never keep a stable relationship with a woman or connect emotionally to one, might actually harbor romantic feelings for his male best friend. Personally, I love this. A gay character on mainstream television who isn't flamboyant or dumb? GREAT!
Since the show premiered the writers have been implying that the relationship between Sean and Christian is the deepest and most meaningful relationship for the both of them. One can't survive or be happy without the other. Other characters have assumed that the two are in a relationship or are bisexual. When Sean finds out that Christian is his son's biological father he reacts with a punch to Christian's face and sobs, "I loved you the most." They trust each other more than anyone else.
There are other things, but based on what I know of the show and what I think of human nature, it would not be random or illogical to reveal that Christian is a deeply-closeted bisexual or homosexual, or is at least a straight man who somehow fell in love with his best friend. Call me crazy, but I tend to think that sexuality and human relationships are not as black and white as people would like them to be.
Yes, I realize it can be annoying that there can't seem to be a truly close and meaningful male friendship without someone going, "They're so GAY." But that doesn't exclude the possibility that there might be more going on than even the participants realize. And I wish that some show out there would bravely put that story out there and bring us closer to a future where we are no longer made uncomfortable with it and don't insist that men or women be straight and stick with straight relationships. I want Nip/Tuck to break barriers the way the original Star Trek broke barriers when Captain Kirk was the first white male on television to kiss a black woman and make it OKAY.
Unfortunately there is a population of the Nip/Tuck audience that is disappointing me and disgusting me with their attitude of this not-new-but-always-there storyline. There are people who say they love the show but will stop watching if Christian Troy starts to "act gay" or "becomes" gay or "makes a move on Sean." Some females are upset because it will ruin their fantasies and some men are upset because they perceive the storyline as destroying their ultimate masculine hero. They find it gross and want Christian to prove he's straight by continuing to throw away women like used condoms, ignoring the legitimate groundwork and implications that have always been there. You don't have to read between the lines, there is no subtext you have to dig for, it's right there in your face and always has been. If the show decides to continue having Christian be ultra-straight, it would be legitimate, if it decided to have Christian be in love with Sean, it would be legitimate and unsurprising to another population of viewers.
I honestly thought that Nip/Tuck audiences were more mature than that. Really. The show has featured a positive and confident lesbian role model, male-to-female transsexuals who are good or bad based on their characters not their sexual identities (and has also been unafraid to address issues transsexuals face), has been upfront about female masturbation, bisexuality, racism, hate, circumcision, child molestation, incest, almost every sexual and self-image issue known to man, etc. If homosexuality makes you uncomfortable, or if it ruins your little fantasy, then this is clearly NOT THE SHOW FOR YOU.
I for one do not want Nip/Tuck to cop out of this storyline. I want this show to be unafraid, to break barriers despite what a portion of their audience may think. Because hey, when Kirk kissed Uhura there were fans who disapproved, but they went ahead with it anyway and made their own rules. I want Nip/Tuck to do the same. I want them to push the envelope and show me what they can do. Show me that a man can be gay without being stereotypical. Show me that sometimes there's more than meets the eye, that while I believe in strong, nothing-can-break-us friendships, life isn't always so simple. People aren't always so simple. I want this show to pull us further into a society where these things don't scare us, I want it to force us to learn to accept it. I want it to be a stepping stone, so that someone will say, "If Christian can be gay (or love Sean, whatever) then maybe it isn't so bad," the way someone wrote, "If Kirk can kiss a black woman, then maybe it isn't such a bad thing."
Maybe it's stupid, but that's what I think.
Even if Nip/Tuck cops out, which I fear it will, I want it to at least show me a relationship people will remember. One that blurs the lines, even it doesn't quite go all the way, one that makes us re-evaluate our definitions, maybe makes us get rid of inadequate labels.
Because this show has always been about a love affair. Whether it's one between friends or between a romantic pairing, it has always been about a deeply complicated love affair between these two men. It is epic.
And no annoying dickhead will screw that truth for me.