MovieChat Forums > Jeffrey (1995) Discussion > Patrick Stewart a stereotype?

Patrick Stewart a stereotype?

posted 18 years ago by KYDude
7 replies | jump to latest

Well, yes. However, I have zero problem with that. I understand that there was some outrage about his character in the film from some gay activists. Well, guess what? I know TONS of gay guys JUST LIKE STEWART. Sure, he's stereotypical and I certainly wish Hollywood would make more films about folks who just happen to be gay that AREN'T stereotypes, but I think it's just silly to hate a film or performance for that reason alone.

'Jeffrey' is very funny (though beginning to be a bit dated). Stewart should've gotten an Oscar nomination. Get over your political selves and enjoy this film!

[–] !!!deleted!!! (9152013) 18 years ago

the uproar was because this was one of the first mass-market queer cinema films and it REINFORCED a stereotype. No one in the gay community can argue with the accuracy of Stewart's character. There are plenty of people I personally knoq like that. It was just the timing...

Regardless this movie rocks.

[–] TR_Wolf 18 years ago

I'm in the gay community, and I thought Stewart was fantastic, and yes there are DEFINATELY people like that. But what's good is that although he's shown as being a LITTLE BIT camp, he is shown as a very intelligent, funny, and caring man, which is good.

I think this was one of the best roles he's been in. I usually see him and think "Oh its Patrick Stewart" or instantly think "Captain Picard", but he was so believable as this character, anyone could be forgiven for thinking he really was gay.

[–] starfleet_99 14 years ago

Ditto...in the gay community as well--the unspoken and politically incorrect thing about stereotypes is that it's based on REAL traits and characteristics...;) So yeah, I can say without a doubt that there are definitely gay men out there that act like Stewart...and there are plenty of guys who are NOT like Stewart.

The sin is not in saying that men like Stewart exist...but in saying that if you're a gay man, you HAVE to act like him, or people assuming that you do.

"The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain"

[–] smcbee27 8 years ago

He says in an interview that he based the character on men he knew in theatre. If based on real people I would think that provides a real, believable performance.

[–] mark.waltz 8 years ago

There are still tons of gay men who are exactly like Stewart in this film, and it is obvious that he played the part with respect and no malice intended. I am a gay man of a "certain age" in New York who still goes to the village and sees many people far more flamboyant, far more callous and crude, far more bitchy and flaming. Stewart has a zest for life even though his younger boyfriend is dying, and when he throws his scarf around his neck and "queries", "Does this make me look like some gay super hero?", he isn't just tossing flamboyant remarks out of his butt. That is tame in comparison to many of the things I've heard and seen, and when he goes off on Steven Weber, it is with frustration, love and understanding, and of course anger over just having lost the man he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with. So screw the Hollywood p.c. crowd and gay p.c. queens who have an issue of showing it like it really is. Stewart could have been written a lot worse. Certainly, he is a slight stereotype, but he's certainly no fugitive from "Boys in the Band".

"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."

[–] BigWhiskers 13 years ago

His character is a typical Hollywood gay stereotype , fem ,limp wristed twinky.
Sure there are gay men out there who are like Sterling and even more flaming than Sterling but there are also a great deal of gay men who are masculine ,butch trucker types who could kick your butt. You will never see these type of men portrayed as gay onscreen because of Hollywoods stereotyping of gays as sissies and tinkerbells so if a Tom Selleck does play a gay guy , they water him down and make him a pansie by having him shave off his moustache and get all sissy with Kevin Kline .

"So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journey"

[–] 13 years ago

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