Stereotypes and Prejudice of the Gay Male as Seen in Braveheart

The other night I was bored. There was nothing on T.V, so my roommate and I decided to watch some show about celebrity scandals. We watched episodes about Robert Downey Jr. and Sean Penn. Riveting stuff, really. Naturally, one episode came on about Mel Gibson. For most of us that can remember his fall from fame, we know how controversial he became. He has been accused of being anti-Semitic and sexist. Homophobic also has been added to his character traits.

This news isn't new, of course. No one could escape his scandals as they were happening. Watching the show describe the controversy around Passion of the Christ was no news to me. I remember that well.

The one thing that I learned from this show was something I already knew. What I mean is the controversy surrounding one of Mel Gibson's most successful films: Braveheart, I have seen this movie multiple times. It's violent but riveting. One thing this bad celebrity show revealed to me was that Braveheart was also homophobic. This was a fact that I had seen, but never even noticed.

The show talked about how GLAAD, one of the most prominent gay rights groups, took large issue at the depiction of Prince Edward the II, and the scene where his lover is thrown out the window by his father. Suddenly, it clicked in my head.

First, lets start with how Mel Gibson, the director of the movie, decided to depict Edward II. Edward, who may have actually been a bisexual according to historians, is depicted as weak, effeminate, and cowardly in this movie. He is shown as being a bad leader, and in stark contrast to his father who is cruel and shown to be a good leader.

Sadly, this is how gay males have been depicted in movies and other forms of media for years, leading to people to construct stereotypes around gay males that we use to understand that group of people.

According to Richard Dyer, a professor in the department of Films Studies at King's College in London, stereotypes that are placed on gay people are widely believed to be correct. This is damaging because it leads said group to believe stereotypes about themselves.

To stereotype gay males, movies often use one form of stereotyping called Iconography, according to Dyer. This a way to show a character's gayness by bestowing certain qualities on them, and a way to explain that charterer's actions later. In this movie, merely depicting Edward II as physically small makes him look weaker than his fellow male characters.

This leads us to controlled prejudice. This is the final and last stage of acting out prejudice. It is intentional and accepts these stereotypes as valid. We accept gay males depicted this way, and accept it as mostly true. Mel Gibson, being the director, chose to depict this character in this particular way.

The most disturbing thing that I realized was the shear coldness of the window scene. As I mentioned before, I have seen this movie multiple times, but I always found this scene among others to be particular disturbing. Now I understand why. This scene is meant to be a funny one against the backdrop of a very intense story, and this is problematic.

 This is a scene that starts out as an argument, and ends in an abrupt death of Edward II's lover by being thrown out a window. It sounds sad, cruel even, but he way it was shot made it look almost comical. Now I understand why GLAAD took issue with this scene, and this movie. This scene made it seem like it was totally okay that a man was thrown out a window with the most cruel intentions. The sheer nonchalant nature of the murder is also upsetting.

Mel Gibson, know for his racism and prejudice, decided to shoot this scene to be comical. To me, and others, it is just disturbing.