The Babadook: how the horror movie monster beme a gay in | The Babadook | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE BABADOOK: HOW THE HORROR MOVIE MONSTER BEME A GAY IN
• WHY BABADOOK IS THE PERFECT SYMBOL FOR GAY PRI
• HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A SURPRISE GAY PRI IN
• ‘THE BABADOOK’ CEMENTS STAT AS QUEER CLASSIC WH LIMED EDN GAY PRI RELEASE
• HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A GAY IN
• THE BABADOOK IS A GAY IN BEE OF A NETFLIX CLERIL ERROR
• GAY IN THE BABADOOK WAS THE UNOFFICIAL MAST OF LA PRI, AND IT WAS GLOR
• THE BABADOOK HAS BEME AN UNLIKELY GAY IN FOR PRI MONTH
• THE BABADOOK IS A FRIGHTENG, FABULO NEW GAY IN
• 'THE BABADOOK' REACH NEW GAY IN STAT WH PRI-THEMED BLU-RAY
• WHY THE “GAY BABADOOK” MEME IS SO BEWCHG
• THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF THE BABADOOK
• ‘THE BABADOOK’ DIRECTOR JENNIFER KENT SAYS HER FILM’S GAY IN STAT IS ‘CHARMG’

THE BABADOOK: HOW THE HORROR MOVIE MONSTER BEME A GAY IN

Horror thriv on unnervg the viewer by preyg on the herent fear of the unknown, and homosexualy – really, anythg or anyone that fi typil genr norms – has been historilly misunrstood and maligned as a boogeyman. Siarly, schools the Stat have been reportedly prohibg stunts om accsg LGBTQ lerature or searchg for rourc on the Inter, as if simply viewg material will njure the threat of homosexualy to realy when already exists.

WHY BABADOOK IS THE PERFECT SYMBOL FOR GAY PRI

openly gay and wh an affy for hats and drama, the Babadook was the first time I saw myself reprented a film. Like the loomg threat of homosexualy, the Babadook terroriz an already actured fay, one that is d as otherwise nocent and ordary.

HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A SURPRISE GAY PRI IN

But for this year’s Pri – a time when queer muni are once aga facg stctive homophobic and transphobic phback after a perd of relative stabily – the Babadook has bee a symbol of rilience for a group often phed asi and disrd.

One of the earlit, most popular queer readgs of The Babadook surfaced October 2016, when Tumblr er Ianstagram posted a thought plat: “Whenever someone says the Babadook isn’t openly gay ’s like?? ” He add on December 13, “Carol (2015), unlike The Babadook, was not a gay movie and was about a sry monster botherg a blon, strsed-out mom.

But Ianstagram fend his readg: “A movie about a gay man who jt wants to live his life a small Atralian suburb? After the Babadook’s outg was disvered on Tumblr, people began meme-g the character’s homosexualy and queerns to realy.

‘THE BABADOOK’ CEMENTS STAT AS QUEER CLASSIC WH LIMED EDN GAY PRI RELEASE

The Babadook’s queer legacy and our fatuatn wh borrows on all the ias: the sire to go wh and improve upon the joke, the creasg earntns around that joke, and the rultg amplifitn of the absurdy of a homosexual Babadook livg a life of queer fiance by terrorizg a whe, Atralian fay. openly gay and wh an affy for hats and drama, the Babadook was the first time I saw myself reprented a film— JuanPa (@brammer) April 19, 2017.

Further, uld also functn as an acerbic joke about the nature of “gay ins, ” and how quickly and arbrarily some gay ins (see: Nick Jonas) are anoted. The Babadook beme a cult horror villa followg his appearance the 2014 movie, but here's how he evolved to a gay pri in. The Babadook was elevated to a gay pri in 2017, cludg the arrival of the hilar "Babashook" meme, and other fan artwork lettg him display his more fabulo si.

Jennifer Kent is also tensely amed at the way the character has found a send life, and even if she didn't tend that readg, 's safe to say Mister Babadook's gay pri stat has been cemented. The ter turned imag of the Babadook at pri events to a full blown meme, and the rt was history (there’s also a lot of gay subtext Kent’s movie, which you n read about here).

HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A GAY IN

” The special release is butg this June celebratn of gay pri month and a portn of all proceeds will be donated to the Los Angel LGBT Center. Meanwhile, gay Twter and Tumblr advanced a much more elegant theory of the Babadook, which is that he’s a gay man.

THE BABADOOK IS A GAY IN BEE OF A NETFLIX CLERIL ERROR

Through his post, the Babadook bate took off, wh wrers suggtg the Babadook is gay bee the movie als wh them of isolatn, prsn, and an abily to be onelf. Weird that most of Comey's ttimony is about how the Babadook beme a gay in— Adam Goldman (@theadamgoldman) June 7, 2017.

now he's fallg asleepand she's llg a band the babadook's gayand they're both really glad— alexis nedd (@alexisthenedd) June 7, 2017.

GAY IN THE BABADOOK WAS THE UNOFFICIAL MAST OF LA PRI, AND IT WAS GLOR

When Ta-bell-rey posted the photo, the rult was an ongog bate about whether or not the Babadook actually was gay. While the origal Tumblr post was tend to be funny, many wrers and profsors have poted out that The Babadook’s unrlyg them uld be seen as ronatg wh the gay muny.

Dean Eastwood, founr of the men’s gay liftyle magaze HISKIND, wrote about the siari between the Babadook’s troublg history and what many men go through when they’re alg wh g to terms wh their own sexualy, eventually g out.

THE BABADOOK HAS BEME AN UNLIKELY GAY IN FOR PRI MONTH

In an age where g out is still tough and the notn of supprsed inti and mental health issu are still strife wh the muny, the brief skeleton of the Babadook story — like many a ‘tortured soul’ storyle — may be nsired a ltle too close to home for a muny where more than half of LGBT pupils have experienced direct bullyg and where gay men are three tim more likely than heterosexual men to suffer om prsn. Michael Varrati, the anizer of San Diego Comic Con’s queer horror panel, told Mic that by the morn fn of the term, the Babadook is a perfect example of a gay in.

The ter n be a terrible place, but ’s also the only place where the Babadook, the terrifyg bogeyman at the center of Jennifer Kent’s horror film of the same name, uld bee what he was always born to be: A gay in.

THE BABADOOK IS A FRIGHTENG, FABULO NEW GAY IN

A never-endg cycle of tweets, Tumblr posts, gifs, and vios have turned gay Babadook to the bt meme on the ter, and was only a matter of time before he took LGBTQ Pri Month by storm. Vulture Senr Edor Kyle Buchanan attend Los Angel’ Gay Pri Para yterday and experienced firsthand jt how prolific the Babadook has bee as a gay in.

'THE BABADOOK' REACH NEW GAY IN STAT WH PRI-THEMED BLU-RAY

It’s been a long time g for the Babadook, but he remd all why he’s a gay in by beg the unofficial mast of Los Angel’ pri para. Image source, Entertament OneThe Babadook has bee an unlikely gay in, and a viral h, as the ter celebrat Pri media has been flood wh jok, mem and fierce photos of this new gay trend may have began when a photo was shared onle of The Babadook Netflix's LGBT film Instagram post, by DJ Mikey Pop, was also an early moment The Babadook mocked up the fictnal monster as a RuPl's Drag Race then, social media ers have gone to town on the Babadook Babadook is the ma character om a 2014 Atralian/Canadian horror movie about a monster that seemgly hnts a sgle mother and her young now, he's got a much more important role are some of the bt moments The Babadook's big gay 'll be celebratg Pri month throughout June this this isn't the first time he has mpaigned for gay wasn't a page the movie's sry book - but should have Babadook may also be refg how we talk about the gay some gay men are seeg a reflectn of themselv The Babadook's dark hollow 's good to see this overlooked in get the regnn he all the attentn on The Babadook will surely have other horror ins Baba-shook. “Fierce, ” perhaps the greatt pliment that Twter’s gay nglomerate uld ever nfer, is as apt an adjective as any for the Inter’s unlikely new queer in.

In fact, over the past week or so, a meme built around the notn that the Babadook is gay has ptivated the (queer) ter, spawng a lightful rash of fan art, Twter jok, and apparel—the apotheosis of which might be this vogug Babadook speedo. I first enuntered the meme via ans of gay Twter (and Outward ntributor) John Pl Brammer back Febary and have been gigglg quietly to myself about a few tim a week ever sce.

As people geared up to celebrate, they started makg and sharg fan began as a joke but, the greater ntext of the Babadook himself, LGBT history and so-lled gay ins, actually mak sense.

WHY THE “GAY BABADOOK” MEME IS SO BEWCHG

“Someone was like, ‘How uld “The Babadook” bee a gay film, ’ and the answer was readily available, ” said Karen Tongson, an associate profsor of genr studi and English at USC. But historilly, fictnal characters haven’t need to say “I am gay” out loud to be read as gay or to bee gay ins. ”Michael Bronski is the thor of several books about LGBTQ culture and history, cludg “A Queer History of the Uned Stat” and “Culture Clash: The Makg of Gay Sensibily.

” He’s also a profsor the studi of women, genr and sexualy partment at terms of gay ins, he said, the muny has adopted plenty of people who weren’t openly gay or gay at all.

THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF THE BABADOOK

Her place gay culture was so well-known that referencg her out loud beme a word to dite that you were part of , Bronski said: You might ask another man, “Are you a iend of Judy’s? Frankenste has been read as an allegory for a gay man, hunted down and ostracized by his muny for who he is. In a popular 19th century novel that predated Bram Stoker’s “Dracula, ” both the vampire and the victim were horror and fantasy have ntued the tradn: In the send “Nightmare on Elm Street” movie, Freddy Keger — who was murred by parents for beg a child molter, a crime that has been nflated wh gayns — appears the shower wh a naked teen boy what Bronski sarstilly lled a “pletely not-d gay subplot.

Oh, and the name of school he was gog to be sent to: Stonewall the very first official gay pri para, New York Cy 1970, activist Donna Gottschalk held up a sign: “I am your worst fear, I am your bt fantasy.

‘THE BABADOOK’ DIRECTOR JENNIFER KENT SAYS HER FILM’S GAY IN STAT IS ‘CHARMG’

”Referencg the sign, Bronski said ’s still at least partly te: “In some way, gay people, queer people, are the worst fear for heterosexuals, as well as on some level, the bt fantasy — the sheer pleasure of not beg on the si, of not havg to ntrol everythg you do and thk and say to f norms.

The epicenter of Gay Babadookdom is a thread on Tumblr that was started late October of last year by a Tumblr er named Ian, who clared matter-of-factly that the Babadook is gay. Tumblr ers talked about the Babadook as though everyone the world regnized him as a boundary-breakg gay hero; they ma fan art of an out-and-proud Babadook, his menacg gr rentextualized.

“It started pickg up steam wh a few weeks, ” Ian believ, “bee dividuals who I prume are heterosexual kd of eaked out over the assertn that a horror-movie villa would intify as queer — which I thk was the actual humor of the post, as opposed to jt the outright statement that the Babadook is gay. Whether or not the Babadook is “actually” queer has almost nothg to do wh the ia of the gay Babadook, but I nohels ntacted Tim Purcell, who played the character the 2014 film, to ask.