Why are the two chinese men gay?

Thought the exact same thing when I read the post. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I watched that movie 2 weeks ago.

"If the apocalypse comes, beep me." - Buffy

That's funny you should say that. I thought of Wong Kar-Wei several times during this film.

That's literally the dumbest reason possible to include such a pointless sub-plot in the film.

It's less about the two chinese guys being gay and more about Iñarritu slowing down the pace of the film and wasting time with a subplot that goes nowhere, even if it had been a straight relationship.

However, Iñarritu clearly wanted to shock the audience with their scenes, and you (usually) don't make a character gay unless it has some sort of impact on the story, because like it or not, a homosexual relationship creates the kind of conflict that can enrich a story. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it's just the state of cinema nowadays.

ikr?

It' disturbing that they are gay because they are evil characters in the film.Cinema and TV does not need any more evil or deranged gay characters to confirm peoples prejudices. Especially in this film where there are no other gay characters for balance and reality as well as no other apparent reason for them to be gay.Sorry to say that I think this was a big misstep by Innaratu who I have really liked and respected in the past.

I believe the film is exploring different classes of people. The "unseen" parts of society such as the Chinese workers living underground. The drug dealers and merchandise peddlers. The director wants to show that everything is connected. That small things like our jobs and our relationships not only are a part of everyone's lives but that they really do make up the fabric of our universe, and that we all may have connections to different kinds of people. (Spoilers) This shows I think that we all may know someone who is secretly gay, maybe people who live double lives, etc. Javier Bardem is living a double life pretending he is something else and not really telling certain members of his family about his illness or his criminal activities, and all of that. Also, his wife Marambra leads a double life (she is bipolar, I believe) which is another symbol of the duality of roles people play in their personal and professional lives.

BTW, I thought the same EXACT thing about the gay characters when I first saw the movie, and I guess I just tried to understand the story by thinking it over and found that this was indeed an important aspect of the film...the way things are connected, things in everyday life. Scandals we see on TV (like the chinese people found on the beach).

Things are not always as they seem, and the film is about what we hide and what we allow to be shown to the world and the reasons behind one's disclosures and secret lives.

This is explored in Babel, 21 Grams and also Amores Perros. It's about class, money, despair, mistakes, hidden parts of different cultures, etc.

Because they're not one-dimensional mustache twirling villains. They're not even villains at all. They're just people trying to make a living like Uxbal. Complex characters capable of love just like all the other characters in the film.

People! Look beyond the gay aspect! The factory owner is trying to fin himself. It's not a conflict between the two men but with himself.

"I don't think homosexuality has to serve a dramatic purpose; it's like saying blacks in movies should only play slaves or drug dealers."

This is the most ridiculous false equivalency I've seen anywhere in a long, long time. Saying homosexuality has to serve a dramatic purpose is not inherently offensive to homosexuals. Saying blacks should only play slaves or drug dealers is, on the other hand, just racist and this comparison is idiotic. Homosexuality in cinema is fairly new, and we are still a long way from it being widely accepted. Even as supposedly liberal and open-minded as film-goers allegedly are, there is still a certain shock value for the average viewer. The average person has probably seen, in their movie-watching lifetime, a good thousand violent deaths to every one scene of men kissing? I'm not saying that is right, I'm merely suggesting that is makes it a fair question as to why and how gay sex is used in a film. I personally think it is placed in movies to give them "progressive cred" and make the filmmakers appear edgy and brave, when really, they just shoehorned it in so they can pat themselves on the back about how evolved they are.

To make a more accurate comparison, I highly doubt anyone would shout HOMOPHOBE! just for questioning the content if this was a scene between two women that was jammed into the movie for no apparent reason. In fact, people would bend over backwards to say it objectified women, it was done to appease male lust, had no business in the film, etc. But put two dudes in and you're somehow a true artist.