The Babadook Is a Frighteng, Fabulo New Gay In | The New Yorker

Contents:

• THE BABADOOK: HOW THE HORROR MOVIE MONSTER BEME A GAY IN
• HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A GAY IN
• THE BABADOOK IS A GAY IN BEE OF A NETFLIX CLERIL ERROR
• WHY THE “GAY BABADOOK” MEME IS SO BEWCHG
• WHY BABADOOK IS THE PERFECT SYMBOL FOR GAY PRI
• THE BABADOOK CREATOR FALLY ACKNOWLEDG HER CHARACTER BEG A GAY INIT’S TAKEN OVER A YEAR, BUT JENNIFER KENT HAS MENTED ON HER MONSTER’S UNLIKELY TURN AS AN INTER SENSATN.BY JULIE MILLERJANUARY 30, 2019FROM ATLASPIX/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEARTISTS NNOT PREDICT HOW THEIR WORK WILL BE RECEIVED BY THE WORLD. JT ASK ATRALIAN FILMMAKER JENNIFER KENT, WHO PREMIERED HER HORROR MOVIE THE BABADOOK AT 2014’S SUNDANCE FILM FTIVAL. THE ALLEGORIL FILM—NAMED FOR THE SISTER, TOP-HATTED MONSTER WHO HNTS A SGLE MOTHER AND HER SON—EARNED RAVE CRIL REVIEWS AND HIGH PRAISE OM THE EXORCIST DIRECTOR WILLIAM FRIEDK, WHO CLARED “THE SRIT FILM I’D EVER SEEN.” THAT ALONE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECTLY LOVELY LEGACY FOR THE BABADOOK. BUT THE INTER HAD SOMETHG GREATER MD.THE BABADOOK’S SNAGGLETOOTHED TLE CHARACTER BEGAN RECEIVG UNEXPECTED INTER REGNN FEBARY 2017, WHEN A TUMBLR ER POSED THAT HE IS, FACT, GAY.TWTER NTENTTHIS NTENT N ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE SE ORIGAT OM.THIS READG OF THE MISUNRSTOOD CHARACTER SO RONATED WH THE L.G.B.T.Q. MUNY, THAT BRILLIANT INTER MEM FOLLOWED.TWTER NTENTTHIS NTENT N ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE SE ORIGAT OM.BUT WHEN NETFLIX SEEMGLY APPLD THIS THEORY—BY YLY PROMOTG THE MOVIE DURG THE FIRST WEEK OF 2017’S PRI MONTH—BABADOOK BABA-BEME SOMETHG GREATER—AN HONT-TO-GOD GAY IN. HE SPIRED HALLOWEEN STUM, BABA-DISURSE, A IC STORY LE, A RUPL’S DRAG RACE HOMAGE, AND EPER ANALYSIS.“[T]HE BABADOOK’S NEW FABULONS SEEMS TO ALIGN, QUE REASONABLY, WH QUEER READGS OF BETTER-KNOWN BEASTS SUCH AS FRANKENSTE AND FREDDY KEGER,” WROTE THE NEW YORKER’S EREN ORBEY. “LIKE THOSE OTHER MISUNRSTOOD FIGUR, HE ORIGATED ANONYMY, SHUNNED BY THE TRADNAL FOLKS WHOM HIS PRENCE THREATENED. . . . FEARG THE CREATURE’S TRANSGRSIVE FLUENCE—HIS SHAMELS ODDY, HIS AGGRSIVE MANNER—[THE FILM’S MOTHER CHARACTER] ATTEMPTS TO BURN HIS MANIFTO, ONLY TO LEARN THAT ATTEMPTG TO GET RID OF THE BABADOOK ACTUALLY ENLIVENS HIM. HIS BOOK REAPPEARS ON HER DOORSTEP, REPLETE WH THE BRASH SELF-ASSERTN OF MOST G-OUT ANTHEMS. ‘I’LL WAGER WH YOU,’ THE MONSTER WR, WHAT ULD BE A LADY GAGA LYRIC. ‘I’LL MAKE YOU A BET. THE MORE YOU NY, THE STRONGER I GET.’”AT THE TIME, VANY FAIR’S CHIEF BABADOOK RRPONNT LRA BRADLEY REACHED OUT TO KENT HOP OF FDG OUT WHAT SHE THOUGHT OF HER TLE CHARACTER BEG HERALD AS A GAY IN. BRADLEY NEVER HEARD BACK, BUT NOW, A YEAR AND A HALF LATER, AND ON THE OCSN OF KENT’S LATT SUNDANCE FILM FTIVAL PREMIERE, THE NIGHTGALE—(SADLY, NOT A BABADOOK SEQUEL)—KENT HAS FALLY MENTED ON HER CHARACTER BEG AN UNLIKELY QUEER IN.MOST POPULARAND JT LIKE THAT… PREPAR FOR ITS LAST SUPPERBY CHRIS MURPHYRACHEL LEVISS SEEMGLY QUS VANRPUMP RUL WH HELP FROM BETHENNY FRANKELBY SAVANNAH WALSHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHASKED ABOUT THE INTER’S BELIEF THAT THE BABADOOK IS GAY, BY BLOODY DISGTG’S FRED TOPEL, KENT SAID, “OF URSE, I LOVE THAT STORY.” AS FOR THE MEM AND IN STAT, SHE SAID, “I THK ’S CRAZY AND JT KEPT HIM ALIVE. I THOUGHT, ‘AH, YOU BASTARD.’ HE DON’T WANT TO DIE, SO HE’S FDG WAYS TO BEE RELEVANT.”KENT HAS PREVLY SAID THAT SHE WROTE THE BABADOOK BEE SHE “WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE NEED TO FACE THE DARKNS OURSELV AND OUR LIV.” SPEAKG TO THE GUARDIAN 2014, SHE EXPLAED, “THAT WAS THE RE IA FOR ME, TO TAKE A WOMAN WHO’D REALLY N AWAY OM A TERRIBLE SUATN FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE TO FACE . THE HORROR IS REALLY JT A BYPRODUCT.”BACK 2017, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED THE BABADOOK, TIM PURCELL, SCRIBED THE CUMBERSOME STUME AND ELABORATE MAKP HE HAD TO WEAR WHILE FILMG. ASKED ABOUT THE SURPRISE POPULARY OF THE BABADOOK, WHO WAS SUCH A PA TO PORTRAY, THE ACTOR RPOND, “I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE A GAY IN AT THE TIME, I N TELL YOU THAT MUCH.”MORE GREAT STORI OM VANY FAIR— BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’S LONG AND TROUBLED ROAD TO THE OSRS— A FENSE OF LEANG , BY THE -THOR OF LEAN IN— THE JUDD APATOW THEORY OF EDY— A VISUAL GUI TO HEARTBREAK THAT WILL MAKE YOU LGH— A LONG-OVERDUE W FOR BLACK FILMMAKERSLOOKG FOR MORE? SIGN UP FOR OUR DAILY HOLLYWOOD NEWSLETTER AND NEVER MISS A STORY.JULIE MILLER
• THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF THE BABADOOK
• HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A SURPRISE GAY PRI IN
• THE BABADOOK IS NOW AN INTER GAY IN, JT TIME FOR PRI MONTH
• IS THE BABADOOK REALLY A GAY IN? | THE TYLT
• IS BABADOOK'S SUDN GAY-IN STAT SOMETHG TO CELEBRATE? OR KDA PROBLEMATIC?
• THE BABADOOK IS A FRIGHTENG, FABULO NEW GAY IN

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

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.

HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A GAY IN

— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) June 7, 2017. 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.

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

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. As a homosexual nnected to the LGBTQ matrix, I n feel s life force wang.

76 ln followers that he is totally the gay Babadook:.

Meanwhile, gay Twter and Tumblr advanced a much more elegant theory of the Babadook, which is that he’s a gay man. The Babadook wears a long, androgyno at that a certa type of fashn gay might lt over at Comme s Garns.

WHY THE “GAY BABADOOK” MEME IS SO BEWCHG

How the Babadook Beme a Gay In. This vtigatn to how The Babadook beme a gay in was origally published 2017.

WHY BABADOOK IS THE PERFECT SYMBOL FOR GAY PRI

Why is The Babadook a gay in?

“So proud that Netflix regniz the Babadook as gay reprentatn. 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. Cematic masterpiece AND gay in.

THE BABADOOK CREATOR FALLY ACKNOWLEDG HER CHARACTER BEG A GAY INIT’S TAKEN OVER A YEAR, BUT JENNIFER KENT HAS MENTED ON HER MONSTER’S UNLIKELY TURN AS AN INTER SENSATN.BY JULIE MILLERJANUARY 30, 2019FROM ATLASPIX/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEARTISTS NNOT PREDICT HOW THEIR WORK WILL BE RECEIVED BY THE WORLD. JT ASK ATRALIAN FILMMAKER JENNIFER KENT, WHO PREMIERED HER HORROR MOVIE THE BABADOOK AT 2014’S SUNDANCE FILM FTIVAL. THE ALLEGORIL FILM—NAMED FOR THE SISTER, TOP-HATTED MONSTER WHO HNTS A SGLE MOTHER AND HER SON—EARNED RAVE CRIL REVIEWS AND HIGH PRAISE OM THE EXORCIST DIRECTOR WILLIAM FRIEDK, WHO CLARED “THE SRIT FILM I’D EVER SEEN.” THAT ALONE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECTLY LOVELY LEGACY FOR THE BABADOOK. BUT THE INTER HAD SOMETHG GREATER MD.THE BABADOOK’S SNAGGLETOOTHED TLE CHARACTER BEGAN RECEIVG UNEXPECTED INTER REGNN FEBARY 2017, WHEN A TUMBLR ER POSED THAT HE IS, FACT, GAY.TWTER NTENTTHIS NTENT N ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE SE ORIGAT OM.THIS READG OF THE MISUNRSTOOD CHARACTER SO RONATED WH THE L.G.B.T.Q. MUNY, THAT BRILLIANT INTER MEM FOLLOWED.TWTER NTENTTHIS NTENT N ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE SE ORIGAT OM.BUT WHEN NETFLIX SEEMGLY APPLD THIS THEORY—BY YLY PROMOTG THE MOVIE DURG THE FIRST WEEK OF 2017’S PRI MONTH—BABADOOK BABA-BEME SOMETHG GREATER—AN HONT-TO-GOD GAY IN. HE SPIRED HALLOWEEN STUM, BABA-DISURSE, A IC STORY LE, A RUPL’S DRAG RACE HOMAGE, AND EPER ANALYSIS.“[T]HE BABADOOK’S NEW FABULONS SEEMS TO ALIGN, QUE REASONABLY, WH QUEER READGS OF BETTER-KNOWN BEASTS SUCH AS FRANKENSTE AND FREDDY KEGER,” WROTE THE NEW YORKER’S EREN ORBEY. “LIKE THOSE OTHER MISUNRSTOOD FIGUR, HE ORIGATED ANONYMY, SHUNNED BY THE TRADNAL FOLKS WHOM HIS PRENCE THREATENED. . . . FEARG THE CREATURE’S TRANSGRSIVE FLUENCE—HIS SHAMELS ODDY, HIS AGGRSIVE MANNER—[THE FILM’S MOTHER CHARACTER] ATTEMPTS TO BURN HIS MANIFTO, ONLY TO LEARN THAT ATTEMPTG TO GET RID OF THE BABADOOK ACTUALLY ENLIVENS HIM. HIS BOOK REAPPEARS ON HER DOORSTEP, REPLETE WH THE BRASH SELF-ASSERTN OF MOST G-OUT ANTHEMS. ‘I’LL WAGER WH YOU,’ THE MONSTER WR, WHAT ULD BE A LADY GAGA LYRIC. ‘I’LL MAKE YOU A BET. THE MORE YOU NY, THE STRONGER I GET.’”AT THE TIME, VANY FAIR’S CHIEF BABADOOK RRPONNT LRA BRADLEY REACHED OUT TO KENT HOP OF FDG OUT WHAT SHE THOUGHT OF HER TLE CHARACTER BEG HERALD AS A GAY IN. BRADLEY NEVER HEARD BACK, BUT NOW, A YEAR AND A HALF LATER, AND ON THE OCSN OF KENT’S LATT SUNDANCE FILM FTIVAL PREMIERE, THE NIGHTGALE—(SADLY, NOT A BABADOOK SEQUEL)—KENT HAS FALLY MENTED ON HER CHARACTER BEG AN UNLIKELY QUEER IN.MOST POPULARAND JT LIKE THAT… PREPAR FOR ITS LAST SUPPERBY CHRIS MURPHYRACHEL LEVISS SEEMGLY QUS VANRPUMP RUL WH HELP FROM BETHENNY FRANKELBY SAVANNAH WALSHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHASKED ABOUT THE INTER’S BELIEF THAT THE BABADOOK IS GAY, BY BLOODY DISGTG’S FRED TOPEL, KENT SAID, “OF URSE, I LOVE THAT STORY.” AS FOR THE MEM AND IN STAT, SHE SAID, “I THK ’S CRAZY AND JT KEPT HIM ALIVE. I THOUGHT, ‘AH, YOU BASTARD.’ HE DON’T WANT TO DIE, SO HE’S FDG WAYS TO BEE RELEVANT.”KENT HAS PREVLY SAID THAT SHE WROTE THE BABADOOK BEE SHE “WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE NEED TO FACE THE DARKNS OURSELV AND OUR LIV.” SPEAKG TO THE GUARDIAN 2014, SHE EXPLAED, “THAT WAS THE RE IA FOR ME, TO TAKE A WOMAN WHO’D REALLY N AWAY OM A TERRIBLE SUATN FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE TO FACE . THE HORROR IS REALLY JT A BYPRODUCT.”BACK 2017, THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED THE BABADOOK, TIM PURCELL, SCRIBED THE CUMBERSOME STUME AND ELABORATE MAKP HE HAD TO WEAR WHILE FILMG. ASKED ABOUT THE SURPRISE POPULARY OF THE BABADOOK, WHO WAS SUCH A PA TO PORTRAY, THE ACTOR RPOND, “I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE A GAY IN AT THE TIME, I N TELL YOU THAT MUCH.”MORE GREAT STORI OM VANY FAIR— BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’S LONG AND TROUBLED ROAD TO THE OSRS— A FENSE OF LEANG , BY THE -THOR OF LEAN IN— THE JUDD APATOW THEORY OF EDY— A VISUAL GUI TO HEARTBREAK THAT WILL MAKE YOU LGH— A LONG-OVERDUE W FOR BLACK FILMMAKERSLOOKG FOR MORE? SIGN UP FOR OUR DAILY HOLLYWOOD NEWSLETTER AND NEVER MISS A STORY.JULIE MILLER

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. When Ta-bell-rey posted the photo, the rult was an ongog bate about whether or not the Babadook actually was gay.

THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF THE BABADOOK

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. 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.

By ter culture standards, 's a gay hero, ” Varrati said.

HOW THE BABADOOK BEME A SURPRISE GAY PRI IN

The Babadook isn’t the first “monster” to be nsired a gay in, eher. Why the “Gay Babadook” Meme Is So Bewchg.

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. ) tegorized as “LGBT” and mented “So proud that Netflix regniz the Babadook as gay reprentatn.

THE BABADOOK IS NOW AN INTER GAY IN, JT TIME FOR PRI MONTH

Ianstagram: Whenever someone says the Babadook isn’t openly gay ’s like?? 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.

IS THE BABADOOK REALLY A GAY IN? | THE TYLT

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. 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. Why is the babadook a "gay in"?!

IS BABADOOK'S SUDN GAY-IN STAT SOMETHG TO CELEBRATE? OR KDA PROBLEMATIC?

Okay so I recently found out the babadook was a "gay in" and I don't really like that fact beg was one of the most srit monsters and one of my favor but somehow twter ed always do that, oh and also they ma pennywise a "gay in" too and I don't know if I'm gog crazy but I leg saw a news article talkg about the babadook and pennywise beg a relatnship, wtf. So who tf me up wh this crap what were they thkg, not tryg to be entled I jt don't thk we should make sry monsters gay in's. All pi sold out but you n fd some Kent-signed on on eBay, gog for as much as $ started at the end of 2016, when a Tumblr er started a jokey thread about how he thought the Babadook was gay.

“It started pickg up steam wh a few weeks, ” Ian, the Tumblr er, told New York Magaze, “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. ” In June, the Babadook beme a symbol for Gay Pri month.

THE BABADOOK IS A FRIGHTENG, FABULO NEW GAY IN

Imag of the character appeared everywhere at this year's Gay Pri Para Los, who owns the rights to The Babadook, told IGN that, spe the origal film's populary, she's not planng on makg any sequels. The babadook is my favore lgbt movie — ana (@ceIiastjam) May 31, 2017my new favore Tumblr meme is sistg that The Babadook is gay — Ryan Brorick (@brorick) Febary 15, 2017Nothg the movie actually suggts that the Babadook is gay, or anythg more than a symbol of rage and grief. What’s stoppg om beg gay?

Renrgs of a queer Babadook even cross paths wh other gay mem, like Rupl’s famo puns om Rupl’s Drag Race. Babadook may or may not have been gay, but thanks to the LGBTQ muny, he sure is now. Why and how is the babadook a gay in?

Muny, that brilliant Inter mem when Netflix seemgly appld this theory—by yly promotg the movie durg the first week of 2017’s Pri Month—Babadook baba-beme somethg greater—an hont-to-god gay in. ’”At the time, Vany Fair’s chief Babadook rrponnt Lra Bradley reached out to Kent hop of fdg out what she thought of her tle character beg herald as a gay in. Bradley never heard back, but now, a year and a half later, and on the ocsn of Kent’s latt Sundance Film Ftival premiere, The Nightgale—(sadly, not a Babadook sequel)—Kent has fally mented on her character beg an unlikely queer about the Inter’s belief that the Babadook is gay, by Bloody Disgtg’s Fred Topel, Kent said, “Of urse, I love that story.