Contents:
- THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
- ‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY
- HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO
- THE LAST OF US EPISO 3 REVIEW BOMBED BEE GAYS EXIST
- ELLIE’S SEXUALY WILL RIGHTFULLY REMA GAY HBO’S THE LAST OF US
- THE LAST OF US PART 2 BURI ITS GAYS BEFORE RELEASE (AND MAYBE THAT’S OKAY)
- DISNEY SAYS DIDN’T CENSOR A GAY KISS AT E3DISNEY SAYS DIDN’T CENSOR A GAY KISS AT E3
THE LAST OF US’ GEO GAY LOVE STORY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY
What we got stead was a psule episo, and a particularly bracg one, given the show’s opprsively bleak mood th far: The hour is dited to the love story of Bill and Frank, a gay uple who—due ially to Bill’s skills as a bunker-stockg, booby-trappg, Don’t Tread on Me survivalist—manage to build a largely happy existence together an abandoned and eventually fortified ral hamlet for almost 20 years.
Wh Bill and Frank, we were given a portra of love—specifilly gay love—that feels surprisg and urgent. In our own 2023, we are not exactly lackg for media imag of whe gay men.
‘THE LAST OF US’ PRENTS AN ACHGLY BETIFUL GAY LOVE STORY
For one thg, we see gay sire portrayed all s plexy, but wh a touch as light as a breeze playg through curtas. Bill’s is not a “type” of gay man I n say I’ve ever seen mastream media before, and watchg him slowly reveal and epen that aspect of himself wh Frank’s help—sexually, y (Hollywood: more hairy bear love scen please!
But Bill and Frank create somethg else, a ltle oasis of their own that’s regnizably gay, full of quiet bety and joys the size of new strawberri.
Frank wants to fix up the block and some of the “not stupid” shops—the we and furnure stor, the clothg boutique—bee he hop they might one day have unfected guts (which they eventually do, the form of Joel and Ts), but really bee makg thgs nice, pecially when nicens isn’t valued, is one of the great gay llgs. As an echo of the gay experience wh AIDS, is, as veteran activist Peter Staley put a Facebook post, a ftg tribute to the “tenr love & bravery gay men summoned when facg ath durg the plague years, cludg those who did so on their own terms. How powerful, then, to see not only a gay uple given an entire hour of a marquee show, but a gay uple who are held up as the keepers of civilizatn, as stewards of bety, as emblems of human digny and possibily.
HBO’S THE LAST OF US GETS REVIEW BOMBED AFTER HISTORIC GAY EPISO
A man who his alone a bunker, after all, don’t have to worry about beg rejected, by eher homophob or other gay men who simply aren’t terted.
And bee of this gay reprentatn on-screen, a ntgent of largely homophobic dience members have been quick to share s vrl.
Bill n’t exist whout beg gay Frank’s arms. Apparently the wrers thk Bill and Frank’s inty was jt that they were gay, nothg more than that.
THE LAST OF US EPISO 3 REVIEW BOMBED BEE GAYS EXIST
Oh and that person jt happens to also be gay? "And jeroen-10631 even lled out the episo's haters, sayg review bombers should "be ashamed of themselv" and that "clearly the story of two gay men ma you so unfortable:""Some of the people mentg about “polil propaganda” and 'checkg off liberal box' should be ashamed of themselv. Clearly the story of two gay men ma you so unfortable that you only subnscly realized you are so behd the tim and been raised rigid and immature while htg that '1 star' button.
All tak is a simple Google search to figure out that this is simply the act of homophobic ter trolls. In the game, while not overtly shown, Bill is gay.
In other words, they’re a perfect gay uple, a “normal” gay uple, a world which the mere thought of takg re of someone else is somethg of a ath sentence.
ELLIE’S SEXUALY WILL RIGHTFULLY REMA GAY HBO’S THE LAST OF US
Some might fd the pivot tone and narrative to be rehg, and the seri has already been praised by crics for liverg a gay love story, but the tonal shift om bter loss to lovg oasis feels disgenuo. Watchg the episo, feels as though the wrg beme stuck 2003, which is when the fungal panmic hs the show, rultg the kd of gay love story that would have been groundbreakg TV back then, but is now jt wearisome.
To settle for a narrative this bland and dated, one termed to wrg tears while both metaphorilly and lerally buryg s gays — bee, y, strippg them of any narrative purpose is a thematic burial before their actual on-screen aths, is flat-out mortifyg, particularly a world where more and more nuanced and plited queer characters e to life every day. Some er reviews on Metacric clud homophobic ments.
HBO's latt episo of "The Last of Us, " s new vio-game adaptatn, aired Sunday to wispread praise and imprsive the episo, tled "Long, Long Time, " is seemgly gettg review-bombed by angry, homophobic fans of the the review aggregator Metacric, the episo has a er ratg of 4. 9, the past, review-bombg — or when people liberately give a show or movie a low ratg to crease s sre on s like Metacric and Rotten Tomato — has typilly occurred for racist, sexist, or homophobic reasons. Lookg through the er reviews, 's clear that some of the game's fans didn't like the episo's central love story between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray the game, 's evint that Bill is gay and had a relatnship wh Frank, who never appears HBO seri tak their relatnship a different directn: In a flashback, Frank across Bill's hoe after beg the lone survivor of a group travelg to the Boston quarante zone.
THE LAST OF US PART 2 BURI ITS GAYS BEFORE RELEASE (AND MAYBE THAT’S OKAY)
When lookg closer at the one-star ratgs, many brg up the fact that Bill is gay, dubbg the episo a "borg" romance.
Other one-star reviews are angry that a gay man met a gay man, dubbg pletely unlikely, while the same breath mentng a girl who is somehow immune to a vis that has torn down the walls of society as we know . It's fairly obv what the mon thread is across this sudn flux of negative reviews - a gay uple dared exist.
Another tertg plat levied at this episo is that 's a disservice to the game, spe beg an episo that revolv entirely around buildg on clu given the game while also makg up for s pfalls reprentatn, namely fallg to the Bury Your Gays trope. Bury Your Gays, if you're unaware, is a trope which gay upl disproportnately break apart due to ath.
DISNEY SAYS DIDN’T CENSOR A GAY KISS AT E3DISNEY SAYS DIDN’T CENSOR A GAY KISS AT E3
It was a gay story that wasn't mired trma, but bee of the "lack of actn", apparently wasn't worth tellg.
Gay people existg is polil, apparently, and so TLOU even darg to show two gay people livg their liv together is to make some grand statement, spe the show already beg heavily polil given that the US ernment turn to psdo-Nazis that fd easier to burn people alive than take re of them.
Gay people exist, the ter gets mad, review bomb ensu. She’s a betifully-wrten, plex character, who r if she’s gay or bisexual? From accatns of a ‘gay agenda’ to ncerns that Ellie’s orientatn wasn’t non by way of overtly homophobic nuggets, social media spng to life wh hot tak.