I ponder how it is possible that nobody who is gay can be evil.
I caught Tom Hardy's new movie Legend the other day and have to say he was quite magnificent as both Kray twins. He played twins but, with the assistance of the make-up people and some superb acting, he managed to be two very different characters. He played the slightly prettier, slightly less crazy Reggie and the schizophrenic and openly gay Ronnie. At the end of the movie, I joked with my friend that I should go on Twitter and feign outrage with tweets like "I can't believe they may the gay one crazy". We both laughed but it got me to thinking about the character of Ronnie Kray. The movie takes liberties with his sexuality (he was bisexual) but it was interesting to see a gay character in a different mould - a tough no nonsense gangster. It got me thinking how, in an increasingly politically correct world, writers may be afraid to paint gay (or other minorities) as the bad guy or girl. That, for me, is not living in the real world.
Politically correct logic: Hitler was evil, Hitler was straight (as far as I know), so all straight people must be evil. Very logical. Gay people and minorities are just the same as everybody else: some of them just aren't nice people.
An example of a show doing something different (and right in my opinion) is Vicious. It tells the story of ageing partners Freddie and Stuart, two men who have lived together in their flat for 48 years. Freddie was a budding actor and Stuart worked in a bar when they first met, but their careers are pretty much over and their lives now consist of entertaining (and usually insulting) their frequent guests and hurling caustic insults at each other. The series does show that deep down they care about each other and their friends (mostly) but I enjoy their "vicious" jabs as the show isn't afraid to show gay people (or any of the characters) in a poor light.
I encourage writers of all kinds to create realistic characters. People have flaws. Minorities are people. Do the math. I think it adds up this time.
