'Power Rangers'' Gay Moment Is a Good Step, But a Small One | WIRED

Contents:

• NEW ‘POWER RANGERS’ MOVIE FEATUR FIRST OPENLY GAY FILM SUPERHERO
• ARE 'GAY MOMENTS' 'BETY' AND 'POWER RANGERS' PROGRS?
• POWER RANGERS' GAY MOMENT IS A GOOD STEP, BUT A SMALL ONE
• POWER RANGERS INTRODUC A GAY SUPERHERO

NEW ‘POWER RANGERS’ MOVIE FEATUR FIRST OPENLY GAY FILM SUPERHERO

The new Power Rangers movie featur what is thought to be the first openly gay superhero film history. HOT Gaysians!

R19 Sce when is Ra gay???

Is he gay? The are the so-lled gay moments a handful of recent high-profile stud movi that have sparked both rapturo celebratn and startlg Sulu "Star Trek Beyond" to LeFou "Bety and the Beast" and now Tri "Power Rangers, " the latt Hollywood fascatn is the subtle nod that a once straight or unfed character is now or has always been 's often so subtle that if wasn't first discsed by filmmakers or actors, 's a wonr whether anyone would notice at all. "What are we to make of the "blk and you'll miss them" moments a year when "Moonlight, " wh s explic exploratn of gay them, n rise to bee the bt picture wner at the Amy Awards?

ARE 'GAY MOMENTS' 'BETY' AND 'POWER RANGERS' PROGRS?

In a study by the gay advocy group GLAAD of major stud releas 2015, 17. 5 percent ntaed characters intified as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr — a percentage that was unchanged om Gad (left) and Le Evans "Bety and the Beast"Walt Disney Studs Motn PicturBut even "Bety and the Beast" director Bill Condon and many of his st quickly retreated om prev ments about the film's "gay moment, " sayg the rponse had been "overblown.

POWER RANGERS' GAY MOMENT IS A GOOD STEP, BUT A SMALL ONE

"Hollywood might not be to blame for the dozens of articl that help to amplify small moments that are also socially signifint firsts ("first gay superhero" and "first gay Disney character"). A recent exhstive GLAAD study found that 20 percent of lennials intify as LGBTQ — a statistic she thks might have ntributed to social media movements like the #GiveElsaaGirliend and #GiveCaptaAmeriaBoyiend knows the "moments" are jt a first step — she would like to eventually see LGBTQ protagonists all-ag films — but for her, shows that major studs, often too risk averse to change, are makg an effort to tt the years, wrers, fans and LGBTQ scholars have enjoyed speculatg about which Disney characters were secretly gay — om "The Ln Kg's" isolated bachelor Sr to the marriage-averse Merida om "Brave.

" But none have ever been outwardly nfirmed as 's also noteworthy that all three recent gay-moment exampl n be jtified as tribut to the unsung gay history behd many of the stori. "From a bs perspective, there was speculatn that perhaps there uld be a downsi when reports emerged that a theater Alabama was not gog to show "Bety and the Beast, " and a few predomantly Mlim untri had pulled the film for review bee of the gay moment. The words “first” and “gay” have a Pavlovian effect on many queer fans of pop culture, and even more so for queer fans of superhero stuff.

Dpe the headl, Power Rangers skips any dramatic "yep, I'm gay" admissn, and stead opts for nonchalance. A report last year om the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn (GLAAD) found that of 126 major stud releas 2015 only 17.

POWER RANGERS INTRODUC A GAY SUPERHERO

In addn to the Yellow Ranger's mighty moment, Disney—which received a “failg” ratg om GLAAD 2016 for s track rerd wh LGBTQ characters—also clud a gay character last week’s rerd-settg Bety and the Beast.

Josh Gad’s character LeFou, acrdg to director Bill Condon, featured the stud's first “exclively gay moment, ” a brief dance-floor twirl between LeFou and one of Gaston’s henchmen. No fanfare, jt gay-moment momentum got another boost when both Bety and the Beast and Power Rangers ped censors' censure abroad. Officials Malaysia also threatened to not allow the film to screen unls s gay scen were cut, but later relented after Disney said wouldn’t alter the film.