Tron: Legacy and the Attack of the Gay Villains

[davidinalameda]

Tron: Legacy's prancing, effete bad guy is part of a long Hollywood tradition—and a reminder that the most marginalized gays may not be those affected by Don't Ask Don't Tell's repeal.

There are many reasons to skip Tron: Legacy, the ghastly new 3-D epic from Disney about a man who winds up stuck in his own video game. There's the boring script, special effects that are largely underwhelming, and a running time of 127 minutes, which no movie so cynically concocted should attempt.

But perhaps nothing about the film is quite so deplorable as Zuse, the effete club owner played by Michael Sheen. In this normally capable actor's hands, the character is a tired hybrid of Ziggy Stardust and Joel Grey circa Cabaret, a person who nearly sinks the universe while prancing around in his too-tight suit as techno music blares in the background. At a moment when people around the country are celebrating the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the film also serves as a poignant reminder that the gays who remain the most marginalized may not be the ones who are "butch" enough to serve but the ones who aren't.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-23/tron-legacy-and-gay-villains-through-hollywood-history/

[Creideiki]

1. Counter-example

There's the counter of Captain Jack Sparrow, who is effete, though straight. And one of the most beloved characters in recent film.