The gay scene made no sense.... - Dorian Gray (2009) Discussion

[–] mdluckycharm 13 years ago

I saw it as Dorian knew that Basil had always found him beautiful(I think Basil was hinted as being gay anyway) and used that to sort of get off topic or satisfy a different way (He wanted the painting, Dorian refused to give it to him) so he decided to give Basil something else to make him happy but obviously it was for naught. Dorian is living such a hedonistic life, it's no skin off his nose to suddenly pull a homosexual move in order to get what he wants (i.e. Basil to shut up about wanting the painting)

I'm magically delicious!

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[–] deesfeest 13 years ago

He didn't all of a sudden decide to be gay, he was a hedonist, and hedonists don't deny themselves any experience because of how society 'labels' it. Many men (and women) in those day and age, in fact all throughout history, have had bisexual encounters, merely because they're an experience. Some may not like it and may never do it again, while others may enjoy it for what it is, nothing more or less.

Let's not forget that Oscar Wilde, who wrote this story, was married to a woman. Yet he also had several homosexual relationships and probably numerous liasons with both men and women alike...

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[–] VaticanAssassinWarlock 12 years ago

^ This

(Aside from the Oascar Wilde aspect. My knowledge of him/his life is very limited but I thought he was married because it was socially accepted/required, not because he was actually bisexual.)

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[–] FreeFallFlow 13 years ago

Nothing in that shi^^y movie, nothing, makes sense.
It's an outrage to an incredible work of art, i'm happy poor old Oscar can't see this piece of [email protected], the WORST movie EVER! Finally found that, great, nothing will ever beat this one. :s

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[–] straburyred-38 13 years ago

Didn't you ever read the book? If not,I recommend doing so and then we'll talk.

I acknowledge only Maiden,Mother and Crone )O(

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[–] nomen_meltdown 13 years ago

Uh, he decided to have sex with Basil. That isn't "deciding to be gay." One doesn't "decide" to be gay at all, one either is or one isn't (or one's somewhere in between)-- though one can choose to have gay sex, either in accordance with or contrary to one's actual inherent desires. But choosing to have gay sex doesn't make a person gay, as much as some of us gay folk might occasionally wish otherwise. :-/ That one time my bf and I fooled around with a straight (or heteroflexible, at any rate) friend of ours didn't turn him full-on homo. Unfortunately :-P

I'm an island- peopled by scientists, bards, judges, soldiers, artists, scholars, & warrior-poets.

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[–] Doctor_Mabuse1 11 years ago

Uh, he decided to have sex with Basil. That isn't "deciding to be gay." One doesn't "decide" to be gay at all, one either is or one isn't (or one's somewhere in between)-- though one can choose to have gay sex, either in accordance with or contrary to one's actual inherent desires. But choosing to have gay sex doesn't make a person gay, as much as some of us gay folk might occasionally wish otherwise.

Hear, hear!

Doctor Mabuse, Evil Genius, King of Crime

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[–] mv5 12 years ago

Because theyre bi..

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[–] Zuider_Zee 12 years ago

For an explanation, examine Gray's words when he speaks of experiences.

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[–] zoozy1010 12 years ago

have you read the book? it makes perfect sense that basil secretly has a thing for dorian, it would make more sense tho if lord henry and gray got together because they were so into each other with dorian talking about henry's charm and lord henry talking about dorians beauty

*I solemnly swear I'm up to no good*

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[–] Doctor_Mabuse1 11 years ago

...it would make more sense tho if lord henry and gray got together because they were so into each other with dorian talking about henry's charm and lord henry talking about dorians beauty.

It's clear to me from every nuance of Colin Firth's characterization that Lord Henry was passionately, hopelessly in love with Dorian Gray. But Harry was confined in a social position (member of the House of Lords, with the faux marriage and detailed facade) that made such a relationship impossible. The feeling is mutual, but is played out as Harry's paternal game of tutoring his young protege in the decadent philosophy he affects to stave off boredom. (The sexual tension between the two men is like a furnace, while the repression of affection and emotion is heart-breaking.)

Dorian's seduction of Basil is an apex of the character's growing use of his sexual attractiveness and surface "beauty" to manipulate all those around him to his own egoistic whims. His worst betrayal is his cruelly dismissive abandonment of Harry himself, leaving his playful friend a trapped and emotionally broken man.

Doctor Mabuse, Evil Genius, King of Crime

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[–] zoozy1010 11 years ago

totally agree with your POV, even though im not sure if thats exactly how oscar wilde saw it because i read that he said he based the character dorian on how society sees him while lord henry is his true self and basil is the kind person he would like to be... but i do wonder if it mirrors wilde's real life and that he was possibly in love with the kind of person society thinks of himself in real life (i.e. dorian) while he is confined to a social position (like lord henry) because of the fact that hes a well known writer (and that homosexuality/sodomy was a crime back then, a crime which he was convicted of) and basil is the sort of person he wishes to be because he isnt as confined to a social position as lord henry and that is why the relationship was able to move past the social connotations of homosexuality and manifest in that scene where dorian seduces basil. its also possible that that is how wilde sees his relationship with his lover...

*I solemnly swear I'm up to no good*

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