Promiscuous versus Romantic Lesbianism in Films : The Killing of Sister George and Blue is the Warmest Color

There is a lack of queer visibility in the mainstream Hollywood films because of the Production Code Administration in October 1961 that prohibited the presentation of “sexual perversion” on screen. However, the amendment of this code and gay liberation movements in 1970s, and the era of “new queer cinema” in the 1990s increased media representations of sexual minorities. Based on this context, the article critically analyzes the depiction of lesbian characters and their romance in the films The Killing of Sister George (1968) and Blue is the Warmest Color (2013). The Killing of Sister George depicts the life story of June Buckridge who loses her career and her relationship due to her sexuality, and Blue is the Warmest Color is a story about Adele, who explores her sexuality as a teenager. Whereas the former film depicts lesbianism from a promiscuous lens, the latter approaches this topic from a realistic and contemporary perspective. Thus, the films represent lesbian sexuality in unique ways that allows us to investigate the progression of queer depiction in the mainstream cinema. The similarities and differences between the queer representation in the films, as well as the way the film portrayal of lesbian romance relate to the current research literature are discussed. In October 1961, the Production Code Administration (PCA) that forbade the presentation of “sexual perversion” in films was modified, which led to the allowance of same-sex content, although with caution and discretion (Noriega, 1990). During this context, several Hollywood films such as The Children’s Hour (1961), The Killing of Sister George (1968), and The Boys in the Band (1970) explicitly depicted gay and lesbian characters with a persistent theme of distress and negative consequences of “homosexuality. ” Thus, films in the 1960s were homonegative, yet promoted queer visibility since no queer characters were seen in earlier films (Dhaenens, Biltereyst & Bauwel, 2011). The portrayal of Promiscuous versus Romantic Lesbianism in Films (Sadika) University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal 2 queerness began to shift in a positive direction in the 1970s with the rise of gay pride movements, the Stonewall riots, and the Black Cat riots. Amidst this political landscape, the era of “new queer cinema” began in the 1990s when queer individuals created and acted in independent films that promoted an unabashed representation of queerness (Dean, 2007). This progression of queer visibility continued until the contemporary times when mainstream films began to portray gay and lesbian individuals as regular members of society. Based on the premise of the evolution of sexual minority visibility, the purpose of this paper is to compare the depiction of lesbian characters and their romance in the films, The Killing of Sister George (1968) and Blue is the Warmest Color (2013). In doing so, the aim of this paper is to examine how the representation of lesbianism in the mainstream cinema has progressed within the years. In the aforementioned sections, I will analyze the depiction of lesbian characters and their romance in both films. At the end, I will compare and contrast the portrayal of lesbianism in these films in order to explain the progress of lesbian representation in the mainstream cinema. “Promiscuous” Lesbianism: The Killing of Sister George (1968) Summary of the film Robert Aldrich’s The Killing of Sister George (1968) is a drama-comedy film, based on a 1964 play written by Frank Marcus. The plot of the film focuses on the life of June Buckridge, an older lesbian lady who struggles both in her personal and professional life. June is also known as George, as she played the character of a cheerful nurse named Sister George in a BBC soap opera named Applehaust. As depicted in the play, she lives with her young lover, Alice McKnaught, whom she addresses as “Childie” during her time on Applehaust. However, her long-term relationship with Alice is negatively affected when June’s character is written off the television show. Mercy Croft, a character portrayed as the assistant head of BBC channel, shows an interest in Alice while visiting June. Later, she becomes sexually involved with Alice and convinces her to break her ties with June and move in to her apartment. Depiction of lesbian characters In the film, June is unapologetic about her lesbian sexuality because she does not hide from her colleagues that she shares her apartment with Alice. June does not care what anyone else thinks of her and expresses her opinions openly without worrying about the consequences. As a result, she often walks out of her rehearsals after some heated arguments with her coworkers and gets inebriated because of her frustration with her professional life. Moreover, in her romantic relationship, she is depicted as an abusive partner. For example, she punishes Alice by forcing her to eat her cigars. Even though she is portrayed negatively, the filmmaker humanizes her character by making her flaws appear natural and relatable. For example, she makes funny faces while shooting her last scene that causes her coworkers to laugh. After an argument with Alice, June goes to her neighbour’s house and asks for a space to cry. At the end of the film, June walks to her set alone and moos in despair after losing both her career and relationship. This indicates that she is not completely depicted as an “evil” lesbian woman, but as someone who is dominating, yet also mischievous and emotional. Conversely, Alice is portrayed as a feminized “young child”, as she dresses glamorously and has a large collection of Victorian dolls. She is also shown as a submissive person who continues to remain in her relationship despite being often physically and verbally abused by June. Her decision to break ties with June after Mercy’s insistence indicates that she cannot visualize herself individually and thus, showing she needs constant support from a romantic partner. Although she is thirty-two years old, she continues to allow June to treat her like a dependent child, which suggests that she likes to be infantilized by her romantic partner. This is evident when she signals June to not reveal her age in front of Mercy in the film’s climax. In addition to the characters of June and Alice, Mercy Croft is portrayed as a closeted lesbian woman. She is overly sympathetic toward Alice, and thus, convinces her to leave June and pursue a career in writing poetry. Additionally, she reacts homonegatively because when she arrives at a lesbian club to meet June, she stares at the lesbian women intimately dancing. Her reaction after being sexually intimate with Alice implies her realization of being a lesbian and her guilt of letting her sexual arousal overpower herself. Conclusively, Mercy symbolizes the lesbian woman who does not “come out” to fit into the heteronormative society. Portrayal of lesbian romance The dynamics of lesbian romance in the film The Killing of Sister George (1968) is portrayed from a heteronormative perspective. June is the masculine or dominant partner in her relationship with Alice, whom she verbally and physically abuses in a fit of anger. When Alice argues with her after being accused of having “fancies” for her boss, June punishes her by forcing her to eat the ends of her cigars. Consequently, June’s ego is hurt to observe that Alice derives sexual gratification when she punishes her. On the other hand, Alice tolerates June’s accusations and tortures, and continues to remain in a relationship with her because she claims that she has nowhere to go. June apologizes to Alice after punishing her, and the two women have sex. Hence, their relationship is seemingly sadomasochistic. Promiscuous versus Romantic Lesbianism in Films (Sadika) University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal 3 Alice’s submissiveness in her relationship with June is because she prefers to be infantilized by her romantic partner. Similarly, she reciprocates to Mercy’s advances and makes love with her in the film’s climax because Mercy infantilizes her by addressing her as “little girl. ” Overall, the lesbian romance in this film is presented paternalistically, with the younger partner being dependent and oppressed, and the older lesbian partner being her guardian. June’s failed relationship with Alice is due to her work-life frustrations that may stem from her openness of her lesbian sexuality. Thus, the film reflects homonegativity by portraying lesbianism as promiscuous and showing that June’s failure in her relationship and her career is because of her unashamed depiction of her sexuality. “First Love” Lesbianism: Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) Summary of the film Abdellatif Kechiche’s film Blue is the Warmest Color, was released 45 years later in 2013. The film’s genres are drama and romance, and it is based on Julie Maroh’s comic book entitled La Bleu Est Une Couleur Chaude. The plot traces the journey of Adele from adolescence until emerging adulthood, and narrates how she explores her sexuality as a teenager and accomplishes her career goal as a young woman. Adele is a high-school student who enjoys literature. She likes to write, but chooses to pursue a career in teaching to make a livelihood. Influenced by her peer’s comments on Thomas, a senior male student at her school, who has fondness of Adele, she gets into a romantic relationship with him. However, her relationship with Thomas is interrupted when she is attracted to Emma, a blue-haired woman and a fourth-year art student. Emma desires to make a career as an artist as she has a passion for art and is not interested in just making money. Adele masturbates as she dreams of having sex with Emma, and this makes her doubt her own sexuality. Eventually, she realizes that she is pretending to be someone that she is not and breaks her relationship with Thomas. To cheer herself, she goes out with her best friend where she sees Emma, follows