Farley Granger on Gay Subtext ‘Rope’: ‘It Was Never Discsed’

WHEN HCHCK WENT GAY: ‘STRANGERS ON A TRA’ AND ‘ROPE’

In typil Hchck-ian fashn, the "Master of Spense" often employed his films subtle referenc to gay culture, fyg nservative attus of the late '50s. * rope gay *

Miller his say “Anal Rope” ppots how the transns erotilly reveal the homosexual relatnship between Philip between David, but more importantly the hidn inty of the gay male. ’ One is the populary privileged se of gay male sex, the orifice whose sexual e general opn nsirs (whatever happens to be the state of sexual practic among gay men and however may very acrdg to time and place) the least dispensable element fg the te homosexual. In this sense, Rope is the gaze of society to a mirror whose post war disillned reflectn star back at self self-nscly, ambiguoly unr the veil of homophobia.

In the mask of nnotatn, the existence of homosexualy is portrayed like a Hegelian dialect: where the possibily of homosexualy is opposed by the possibily heterosexualy and the mutual ntradictn rencil to a higher tth that only the viewer n discern. Miller argu that “Every disurse that speaks, every reprentatn that shows homosexualy by nnotative means alone will th be implicly hnted by he phantasm of the thg self, not jt the form of the name but also, more basilly, as what the name njur up: the spectacle of “gay sex” (Miller, 123).

GAY CODG HCHCK FILMS

While Ripley‘s homosexual unrton are certaly more blatant, there’s somethg fely there Bno’s tert Guy — part of may be social climbg, but part of may very well be sexual. What’s so fascatg about the queer subtext Hchck’s films is that he knew, as a director and a provotr, that makg the simple suggtn of homosexualy was enough to create unease, to raise the stak for both his characters and his dience. Beards are so sexually charged and erotilly ialized among today’s scffier populatns of gay men that one might fet the fact that beards are still, technilly, fetish objects.

Coprophilia is sexual stimulatn om fec, and while the general populatn’s rponse to is bound to be pretty strong, this fetish is more mon than you might spect, particularly among gay pig players, fistg enthiasts, and kky leather men. Dpe s populary wh a more niche sectn of the gay male populatn, is generally nsired an unhygienic fetish to explore, sce handlg and nsumg human fel matter rri wh certa health risks. Proment gay clothg brands like Nasty Pig and Cellblock 13 draw their sign spiratn om tried-and-te sports wear, and standard gay circu attire will always feature a pair of football pants wh the ont lacg beckongly open.