When Showtime bought the show Queer as Folk they had to expect a reaction of some sort from their viewers. But in truth they did not expect the reaction they got from the LGBTQ community. In many ways the show was all about showcasing and representing the gay community in various ways so as to show what kind of struggles and experiences gay men in today’s world have. It was a little over the top at times and considered to even be fringe now and then, and most viewers enjoyed it. Those within the gay community that had an issue with the show were not shy about voicing their displeasure however.
Here are a few things about the show that have had a lasting impact on the LGBTQ community.
It fed into the homosexual stereotypes.
A lot of people tend to look at gay men in a variety of different ways. How they are perceived in popular culture however is not always a popular look favored by homosexuals in general. They tend to be shown as more effeminate, flamboyant, and not at all realistic in their mannerisms. What the show was attempting to do however was show just how people tend to view the gay culture differently from their own.
It was not as diverse as it could have been.
The show featured a large number of Caucasian actors which in some cases didn’t necessarily offend viewers, but made them wonder if perhaps white gay men’s life experiences were considered to be more important than those of other members of the gay community. Homosexuals do happen to be prevalent in other races and cultures, and limiting the scope to one race seems to indicate that the one race depicted has the majority of the issues. What needs to be done if there is a reboot is to broaden the scope and include a more diverse cast in order to cater to a wider fan base.
Satisfying every viewer is not possible.
The creators of the show bought an idea that they believed would be a fair and unbiased representation of the gay community to show to viewers. The show was fairly successful for five years considering that many people enjoyed it and actually thought it was a decent look into one aspect of the LGBTQ world. Barring that, it was meant to be shown as it was, and not to cater to the fans and what they thought should happen. The lasting impact that this had on several within the fan base was that they believed that the creators were in fact showing a very definite bias and knew little to nothing about the actual culture they were portraying. Unfortunately to widen the scope and include absolutely everything that a viewer wants is not always possible. The creators have said that they are up for reboot if the chance comes along depending on the venue. Just a word of warning however, it would likely be with the same characters as they have aged and matured, and would not cater any more to the fans than before.
One thing that must be remembered is that unless there is an egregious error on the part of the creators and/or the actors in representing a certain culture, they are free to represent that culture in whatever way is necessary to get their message through.
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