The power of queer BIPOC representation in cinema

Laundry and taxes, rocks with eyes, and everything bagels

In what is now one of the most acclaimed queer films of Hollywood, Brokeback Mountain (2005) by Ang Lee depicts Jack and Ennis’s forbidden affair where they meet while herding sheep and start a clandestine homoerotic relationship that lasts for decades. However, Jack and Ennis are bound by the societal expectations of their time in the 1960s and both end up in straight marriages; it is heartbreaking to see their love kept secret and eventually buried. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $178 million worldwide and winning Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score at the 78th Academy Awards, securing its status as one of the best gay love stories of the twenty-first century. With this being said, what would Brokeback Mountain have looked like if Jack and Ennis weren’t male or white? What would queer films today look like if the first influential stories featured non-male BIPOC?

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported that out of the 118 films produced by major studios in 2019, only 22 films (18.6 percent) had queer characters. Women made up just 32 percent of the queer characters, and there were zero transgender or gender non-conforming characters in all mainstream releases. In addition, only 34 percent of all queer characters were BIPOC: 22 percent were Black, 8 percent were Latinx, and 4 percent were Asian and Pacific Islander. The face of queer representation and critical acclaim in film is still a white, gay man; Call Me By Your Name (2017) won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards, while Love, Simon (2018) made headlines for being the first gay teen romance produced by a major studio. Even the minority of films portraying non-MLM queer relationships are still predominantly white; some of the most famous non-MLM movies, such as Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013), Carol (2015), and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), all star white women. There are rarely non-MLM relationships that feature BIPOC in both roles. So, what does this mean? What are the implications of little to no representation of queer non-male BIPOC in film?

When imagining my future as a child, I wanted a house with a pool, a dog, a tight-knit group of friends, and a boyfriend-to-be-husband to share all these moments with. I watched my fair share of Disney movies and learned romance from fairytales. A true love’s kiss and a happily ever after promised by a handsome prince! Even after I realised at 14 that I was queer, I saw love with non-men as temporary. They were reserved for hookups and whirlwind summer flings. My future would still be centred around a man, for only a husband could promise me a happily ever after. Inadvertently, I had sealed my own ending before the story had even begun.

Some might think this thought pattern is a reflection of internalized queerphobia. However, I, along with many other queer POC, am in a position where I risk one of two outcomes: settling down with a man potentially against my desire, or pursuing a partner regardless of gender at the risk of losing my connection to my family. The latter choice is especially precarious as my family is my sole connection to my culture. This informs how I see white queer culture: two-dimensional and shallow. Queer identity cannot be reduced to listening to Mitski, liking frogs and mushrooms, or the aesthetic of ‘looking gay’ (this itself is predicated on how white queer people use symbols to identify with one another). Many white queer people hold onto their queerness to align themselves closer to marginalisation despite benefiting from white supremacy. Whiteness is security and power. Queer BIPOC aren’t guaranteed that safety in the same spaces. There are already problems within the queer community, such as the police being present at Pride Toronto and Pride Toronto creating a land acknowledgement that did not acknowledge Indigenous peoples. The queer movement has been whitewashed and Pride month feels like an exclusive celebration for white people. White queer people must acknowledge the harm they cause in the suppression and subjugation of queer BIPOC. I myself am privileged as a cisgender person who benefits from colourism; there are many BIPOC who are at greater risk for discrimination. When white queer people talk about being oppressed or being discriminated against, I wonder if they think about their white privilege, the amount of

Love in other languages

space they dominate in queer spaces, and how horribly ignorant it comes across to queer BIPOC.

Queer representation in film is in desperate need of complex, well-rounded non-MLM and BIPOC characters. Their stories also cannot be limited to just coming out. I’ve come out multiple times in my life, but I have also had many important and fulfilling life experiences that have shaped me today that have nothing to do with coming out. It’s so important for queer BIPOC to see themselves on screen in a diverse range of narratives. Queerness cannot be synonymous with trauma; queer BIPOC need to see that their lives can be filled with freedom, expression, and love.

With that being said, I have never felt represented in film until I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The film focuses on the relationship between mother Evelyn and her daughter Joy. Joy has a girlfriend, but Evelyn deliberately ignores their relationship, which leads to conflict between the mother-daughter duo. Everything Everywhere All at Once reflected my own experience. When I attempted to come out, there was no big screaming match, just a resolute assumption that this ‘phase’ would end. At the end of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Evelyn accepts both Joy and her girlfriend. I have yet to experience this, but it was incredibly powerful to see an immigrant mother-daughter duo navigating queerness. I may be coming out again and again knowing the risk, but seeing Joy and Evelyn crying together and reconciling in the parking lot after their fight sparked hope. I cried alongside Joy because I was her. I am her. And I will continue to be her.

Underrated foreign-language films to watch for Valentine’s Day

was immediately captivated. “My heart was beating really fast,” she told CBC News. “I was on the edge of my seat.”

Upon its theatrical release, the film RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) grossed over $30 million in its first weekend and $100 million overall worldwide. When it came to Netflix, the film charted on Netflix's Top 10 for over 14 weeks. Most recently, RRR received a nomination for Best NonEnglish Language Film and won Best Song at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, surpassing musical creations from Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga. To say that the Indian Telugu-language film is a success would be an understatement.

Miranda Halfyard, a student at the University of Guelph, sat down to watch the movie with her father and

In Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, film critic Ryan Cultrera and his friend attended a screening earlier this month where audiences jumped on stage and danced under the screen as the movie’s hit song “Naatu Naatu” played. In Florida, Instagrammer Alyssa Forman and her brother posted Instagram stories of the two dancing to the song in the car after a positive viewing experience of the film. The reception toward the movie, its songs, and dances is a testament to how film can resonate with people across geographic, cultural, and linguistic borders.

At their core, films are about feelings—realistically depicting the emotions of characters and connecting with those of audiences. With the approach of Valentine’s

Day comes a time of immense cultural emotion and collective catharsis. Films have historically been central to this process of sentimentalising romance and idealising love; quintessentially, people have turned to movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days for girls nights and date nights. However, it’s time to expand the repertoire and enjoy films outside of the English language Hollywood bubble.

The following is a curated list of diverse and underrated movies that explore an idea that is fundamental to all people irrespective of language: love.

Une histoire d’amour et de désir / A Tale of Love and Desire (2021)

Language: French

At 18 years old, Ahmed knows little about Algeria. It’s the country where his parents are from, but Ahmed has lived his whole life just outside of Paris, France. In university, he meets Farah, an extroverted woman with bold, curly hair who just moved to Paris from Tunisia. He finds himself falling for her and experiencing desires he’s never felt before, all against the backdrop of a class on erotic Arabic literature. Une histoire d’amour et de désir is a powerful exploration of identity, masculinity, and how they coincide with first love.

Todos Queremos a Alguien / Everybody Loves Somebody (2017)

Language: Spanish

Karla Souza—a.k.a Laurel from How to Get Away with Murder—plays a young OB-GYN in this sweet, romantic comedy. Clara Barron oscillates between doling out romantic advice in LA on the weekdays and partying/ visiting her family in Baja, California on the weekends. Romance is a complication and has been since her devastating breakup with the love of her life. Everything changes when she decides to bring her co-worker Asher, to her parents’ wedding. Asher is sweet, unexpectedly funny, and speaks Spanish too. However, it all gets messy when her ex makes an appearance at the wedding, resurfacing after ten years. Todos Queremos a Alguien is a rom-com with nuance, a lot of heart, and breathtaking scenery.

O Kadhal Kanmani / OK Kanmani (transl. O love, apple of my eye) (2015)

Language: Tamil Stream on: Netflix

An Indian Tamil-language film from the acclaimed director Mani Ratnam about two young 20-somethings that meet at a wedding and whimsically fall in love. Both actively reject traditional notions of marriage and family that their culture pushes them towards. Both are also leaving the country in six months. They spontaneously decide to move in together and enjoy their time left as a couple, however fleeting. As the end approaches, however, it becomes more difficult to face.

Atlantique / Atlantics (2019)

Language: French

Stream on: Netflix

Set in Dakar, this film follows Ada and Souleiman, a young Senegalese couple. Souleiman has not been paid in months at his job as a construction worker for a large-scale foreign company. One night, he and his coworkers depart for Spain in search of a better life. At home, Ada learns that Souleiman and the other workers have been killed at sea. In the midst of her distress, her family arranges for her to marry Omar, a local rich boy. However, the night before her betrothal, Omar’s bed mysteriously catches on fire. Ada quickly realises that Souleiman might not completely be lost to her. With insightful commentary on pertinent global issues, Atlantique is a powerful, paranormal love story.

Wildhood (2021)

Language: English and Mi’kmaw

Stream on: Criterion on Demand through UofT Access

Link and Travis are half-brothers who live with their abusive father. One night, Link finds a recent birthday card from the mother he thought was dead in the dashboard of his father’s car. With his brother in tow, Link runs away from home to the Mi’kma’ki territory in Nova Scotia to find his mother. On the journey, he meets Pasmay, a charming Mi’kmaw dancer who offers to help him find his dad. Together, they embark on a deeper exploration of what it means to be two-spirit, Mi’kmaw, and a teenager in a chaotic world.

Attache la tuque! Hold on tight! With these movies the season of love is about to be one heck of a wonderfully emotional ride.