I don't get it. When was he with this Mr. Barkley? Why? Was Billy Joe gay? Was he taken advantage of/raped while he was drunk? Why did they not show this scene? Wasn't he going to be with that prostitute? How did he go from the prostitute to Mr. Barkely (or whatever his name is)? And wasn't his work buddy there with him?
Can someone shed a little more light on this?
Well it was during that Jamboree but they just didn't show it. Billy Joe was gay, he just didn't know how to accept it, that's why he wanted to test himself with Bobby Lee.
I'm guessing he acted that way with the prostitute because he wasn't attracted to her, there's little hints throughout the movie. For example when that girl is dancing at the bar and he's uninterested.
that girl dancing at the bar scene really sticks out in my head too, he is totally bothered by the fact that it does nothing for him, well, IMHO anyway
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Do everything in Love. I Corinthians 16:14 NIV
He isn't gay, I think he was drunk and taken advantage of. He didn't have any interest in those other women becase he was in love.
At some point in the movie someone says Billy Joe wasnt much of a drinker, he was in over his head and one bad decision lead to another.
Boy, you people are proof that Denial just isn't a river in Egypt! He was gay, that was point of the movie, the oppression and religious beliefs that condemned homosexuality in the 1950's South caused men to hide their sexuality. You simply could not be gay, period. This what gay men faced in the U.S.A. back then. You married and hid it, or you killed yourself, that was your options. Billy Joe couldn't handle it or deal with it, he was told he was going to hell and he believed it. When he couldn't "perform" he jumped. He had no one to talk to, no out men to help him, no organizations, no place to go, no nothing. This was an amazing film for its time, as for the movie not showing him and the man having sex, that couldn't be shown back then, it would have been considered porn. In 1976 people still didn't talk about being gay, social prejudices still existed. For its time this was a remarkable and brave film. It dealt with very taboo subjects, homosexuality and abortion, and teenage sex.
shareThere is not one shred of evidence that he is gay. He was drunk, had sex with a man and doesn't know why he would have allowed that to happen. It's like a kid being molested by an adult, enjoying the feeling of the act but knowing that it's wrong and confused at why they liked it. Billy Joe was just confused because he allowed it to happen. He obviously couldn't accept the fact that maybe he allowed it to happen because maybe he wanted to experiment. Or he allowed it to happen because he was so frustrated about Bobby Lee. Or he allowed it to happen because he was so *beep* faced drunk that he didn't have the will to stop it because it felt good. Either way the man wasn't gay, just drunk and confused.
shareTrue, it could go either way.
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Watch the film again. Only this time, do it with your eyes OPEN.
shareMaineguy, little bit of an exaggeration regarding the U.S. in the 50's (actually, 1960). You may be correct generally regarding the rural south, but there were already thriving gay scenes in New York, San Francisco, etc., in the 50's. Truman Capote wasn't exactly committing suicide or marrying at this time, nor was Andy Warhol, etc.
That said, I think your point is correct regarding the rural south of the time, or the rural anywhere of the time.
(Although it wasn't really clear if BJ was actually gay, or bisexual, or sexually confused, or simply drunk and horny. As someone else noted, human sexuality is often more complex than some would assume. But I think it's pretty clear part of the point of the film is how the attitudes of the time led to his suicide, whatever his ultimate orientation may have been. Very sad.)
Back in even 1960 it was illegal for two men to have sex. And the "thriving" gay scene you talked about didn't happen until after the Stonewall riots in 1969. As a gay man who grew up in rural Texas in the early 1970's I saw this movie and immediately related to the character of Billy Joe. His religious and social upbringing is what led to his suicide after having sex with his boss, even drunk.
shareIsn't there also a scene outside the bar where a woman flirts with him and he shows no intrest?
shareThere is a scene, where Bobbie Lee and parents are sitting around waiting for Billy Joe (the parents don't know he's coming) and Bobbie Lee tells her Dad that she is lately bothered by an attitude of his.
At one point she says, "Well, here it is. 1953. And we have yet to get electricity into this house. My eyes are goin’ bad. And I have yet to see life."
So the movie is actually set in 1953, not 1960. The only date I can remember in the song is June 3 (no year).
So the movie actually does provide a time reference for itself.
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Get a NetSpend card. Load it and use it like a credit card. Simple & easy. The original Helter Skelter movie came out in '76. It sucked compared to the book. Read the book!
shareSo much BS in these comments. So I guess if a gay guy gets drunk he's going
to boink a woman too. Spare me. I've been drunk of my butt and never went against my nature sexually. So don't sit there and say a guy gets drunk and boinks another guy randomly . If he didn't have an urge to be with a man no way would he have done it.
I know lots of gay and straight guys who ive been with who got drunk off their butts.
The straight guys who are 100 percent straight would go after women even more when they were drunk. Gay guys the same with other gay guys.
So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journeyshare
Thanks for talking sense, Big W.
In the scene where he tells Bobbie Lee what happened, she says he was just drunk, and probably imagined it. I'm not sure why she would think he would imagine such a thing, even when drunk, if it wasn't his inclination, but she's clutching at straws and simply trying to calm him, so she probably didn't think it through; nonetheless, he makes it clear both that he didn't imagine it, and that he didn't only do it because he was drunk.
You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.
I agree with the comments of krisluvkev.
I don't think there is nearly enough evidence from watching the movie to conclude that BJ is 100% gay. Those heavy petting sessions he had with Bobbie, particularly at the lake, made it very clear to me had strong physical and sexual desires for her.
So to me he was either taken advantage of by his boss while he was drunk, or he has bisexual tendencies.
In any case, he could not mentally reconcile his gay sex act, and this led to his unfortunate demise.
I tend to agree with this because he was crazy about and desiring of Bobbie Lee before he was molested or taken advantage of. Someone also brought up the point that naturally any stimulation would cause physical arousal, whether he wanted it or not. We don't know what happened in the encounter but that was very low of his boss to mess up his young employee.
I think he was traumatized by the whole thing, no wonder he couldn't do what he wanted to just a few days earlier with Bobbie.
I watched this on youtube yesterday, read on this board, then watched again, for these "clues".
I did not see a single clue that his boss was giving Billy Joe looks or anything that indicates his lust.
The other thing, Billy Joe not being attracted to or turning down skanks or prostitutes is not unusual. And another thing, just saw Cold Mountain the other day, Inman was propositioned by a bunch of loose women in that house. One really was ready for him, bare end and all, and he was turning her down before he was arrested. You might know the scene. But basically, he only desired Ava and the sleeze was a turn-off.
Anyway, it would be interesting if there was information out there with the screenwriter's original intent on the Billy Joe character because I think it is not clear at all that he was gay to begin with or even after for that matter.