But I'm a Cheerleader


Introduction
Queer Cinema has been in existence for decades but without a name. It identified with avant-garde cinema. In 1991, Queer Cinema was introduced at Toronto Film Festival as a concept. It also as known as a concept that re-examined and reviewed the image of homosexuality. Queer Cinema became more visible only in the 1990s with the global traumatizing effects of AIDS. It also known as New Queer Cinema, such films have become a marketable commodity and very much an identifiable movement.

Queer Cinema Reborn at 1990s. “New Queer Cinema” is a term used to describe the renaissance of gay & lesbian filmmaking by the Americans. Gus Van Sant is a leader for such cinema with the contributions My Own Private Idaho (1991) & Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 1993). New Queer Cinema is not a single aesthetic but a collection, taking pride in difference. Unfortunately, it is a male homosexual cinema that focuses on male desires. Lesbianism remains quite invisible (like mainstream heterosexual films), resulting in an inequality of funding for lesbian filmmakers.

Queer Cinema is probably around due to the growing trends in critical theory in the
1980s, namely, Queer Theory. The theory challenges and pushes further debates on gender and sexuality, formally proposed by Feminist Theory, and as a critical response to the numerous discourses surrounding AIDS & homosexuality.

Synopsis
The 1999 satirical romantic-comedy film “But I’m a Cheerleader” is directed by Jamie Babbit and stars Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, and RuPall to name a few. The movie focuses on a teenage girl, Megan Bloomfield (Lyonne), who is sent to a conversion therapy camp, True Directions, because her parents and friends suspect she is a lesbian. There Megan soon comes to embrace her sexual orientation, despite the therapy, and falls in love with Graham (DuVall). The movie uses the theme of socially constructed gender roles to “cure” homosexuality.

Discussion
It could be easy to dismiss the film as hopelessly dated compared to today's pop culture landscape (and now that all 50 states have marriage equality) but the film isn't just about a gay teen who's trying to be something she's not — which remains an important issue, since 40% of today's homeless youth are LGBTQ. But I'm A Cheerleader is a film about sexual and gender identities, labels, growing up, and trying to sort your own desires and dreams from everyone else's expectations.

LGBT -- meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender -- is a widely accepted initialism. However, a fifth letter is increasingly making its way into the line-up: Q.
What does the 'Q' stand for? Q can mean either 'questioning' or 'queer,' Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that lobbies for LGBT rights, told USA TODAY Network. Either interpretation is accepted, he said.

But I'm A Cheerleader is also a movie about trying to fit in to a certain image, even within the LGBTQ community. When Megan (Natasha Lyonne) leaves the camp and moves in with ex-ex gays, she still wants to be told what her sexuality should look like. She asks her new mentors to teach her "how to be a lesbian — what they wear, where they live." One gently explains, "There's not just one way to be a lesbian." Though there are definitely more gay and lesbian characters on TV and in films today than there were in 2000, portrayal of LGBTQ characters is often still super-stereotypical — the sassy, gay best friend and the over-sexualized or extremely butch lesbian.

Possibly the most important moment of the film is the mid-credits clip showing Megan's parents at a PFLAG meeting, her dad loud and proud and her mom desperate not to be seen. It's a moment that stands between the two poles of LGBTQ acceptance that are often portrayed in film and TV for teens — the parents ready to flaunt their rainbow-colored clothing vs. the entrenched, villainous homophobes. As campy as the film is, it presents a realistic middle ground: Conservative parents might have a hard time accepting their kid's sexuality, one might come around sooner than the other, but often (though of course, not always) parental love wins out over prejudice.

Plus, But I'm a Cheerleader deserves a re-watch because it's still fun. The soundtrack is amazing, with plenty of '90s girl pop, and the whole movie turns into a great game of "How do I know that actor?" (yes, that is Rufio). So add it to your nostalgia-watch list — and maybe recommend it to your teenage cousin. She's got to get her film education somewhere.

Conclusion
As my opinion, maybe majority cannot accept queer cinema but I didn’t agree with this point. This is because there are many people say that homosexual is an abnormal person. Why? They didn’t do wrong anything. They just fall in love with the person, and that person has same gender with them by coincidence. At last, I hope that community will pay attention in this issue.


References

Grisham, L. (2015, June 1). USA TODAY. Retrieved from What does the Q in LGBTQ stand for?: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/06/01/lgbtq-questioning-queer-meaning/26925563/
HORAN, M. (2015, August 12). REFINERY29. Retrieved from But I'm A Cheerleader Is Still Important — & Timely — 15 Years Later: https://www.refinery29.com/2015/08/91982/but-im-a-cheerleader-lesbian-movie-lgbt-characters?bucketed=true
Stuhltrager, K. A. (2015, September 28). Sites At Pann State. Retrieved from Gender Roles in “But I’m a Cheerleader”: http://sites.psu.edu/245spring2015/2015/09/28/gender-roles-in-but-im-a-cheerleader/


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