'The Power of the Dog' Has a Queer Problem - The Atlantic</tle><meta name="scriptn" ntent="Wtern films have long plited the ials of stoic masculy. So what’s still so surprisg about a queer wboy?"/><meta property="kx:tle" ntent="'The Power of the Dog' Has a Queer Problem - The Atlantic"/><meta property="kx:scriptn" ntent="Wtern films have long plited the ials of stoic masculy. So what’s still so surprisg about a queer wboy?"/><lk rel="nonil" href="><lk rel="image_src" href="><meta name="thor" ntent="Spencer Kornhaber"/><lk rel="ia:markup_url" href="><meta property="article:publisher" ntent="><meta property="article:opn" ntent="false"/><meta property="article:ntent_tier" ntent="metered"/><meta property="article:tag" ntent="culture"/><meta property="article:sectn" ntent="Culture"/><meta property="article:published_time" ntent="2022-01-20T16:12:35Z"/><meta property="article:modified_time" ntent="2022-03-05T16:47:26Z"/><meta name="robots" ntent="x, follow, max-image-preview:large"/><meta property="og:tle" ntent="'The Power of the Dog' Has a Queer Problem"/><meta property="og:scriptn" ntent="Wtern films have long plited the ials of stoic masculy. So what’s still so surprisg about a queer wboy?"/><meta property="og:url" ntent="><meta property="og:type" ntent="article"/><meta property="og:image" ntent="><meta property="twter:rd" ntent="summary_large_image"/><lk rel="alternate" type="applitn/rss+xml" tle="The Atlantic" href="/feed/all/"/><lk rel="alternate" type="applitn/rss+xml" tle="Bt of The Atlantic" href="/feed/bt-of/"/><meta name="referrer" ntent="unsafe-url"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-pable" ntent="y"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-stat-bar-style" ntent="black"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-tle" ntent="The Atlantic"/><meta name="keywords" ntent="medil stunt Peter, film’s twist, w herr Phil, Peter’s lisp, woman’s weapon, flash of unsubtle S&M imagery, movie Pursu, Jane Campn’s Wtern drama, Power of the Dog, queer movie’s early chapters, works of entertament, Brokeback Mounta, Amerin progrs, physil prows, social stat, important Wtern films, thor’s own experienc, shiver of Jonny Greenwood, Game of Thron, own knowledge of such scripts, Bible verse, majory of real-life murrs, kd of man, large part, Amerin Wt, story of terpersonal tensns, world of the film, Kodi Sm-McPhee, Peter’s attractns, piec of the prev hour, f of the reason, Sherlock Holm, Campn, Old Lace, Spencer Kornhaber, Jse Plemons, prtig gay works, slenr build, daty Phil, Bt Picture, Goln Glob, film, grandse self-loathg, sissy villas of Bond movi, Campn’s thematic terts, behalf of a woman, Phil, re of The Power of the DogSuch fetg, Amerin Bety’s Frank Fts, Bt Picture Drama" emID="#keywords"/><meta name="news_keywords" ntent="medil stunt Peter, film’s twist, w herr Phil, Peter’s lisp, woman’s weapon, flash of unsubtle S&M imagery, movie Pursu, Jane Campn’s Wtern drama, Power of the Dog, queer movie’s early chapters, works of entertament, Brokeback Mounta, Amerin progrs, physil prows, social stat, important Wtern films, thor’s own experienc, shiver of Jonny Greenwood, Game of Thron, own knowledge of such scripts, Bible verse, majory of real-life murrs, kd of man, large part, Amerin Wt, story of terpersonal tensns, world of the film, Kodi Sm-McPhee, Peter’s attractns, piec of the prev hour, f of the reason, Sherlock Holm, Campn, Old Lace, Spencer Kornhaber, Jse Plemons, prtig gay works, slenr build, daty Phil, Bt Picture, Goln Glob, film, grandse self-loathg, sissy villas of Bond movi, Campn’s thematic terts, behalf of a woman, Phil, re of The Power of the DogSuch fetg, Amerin Bety’s Frank Fts, Bt Picture Drama"/><meta name="" ntent="culture,culture,film,genr-sexualy"/><meta name="" ntent="Spencer Kornhaber"/><meta name="" ntent="2022-01-20T16:12:35Z"/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><script type="applitn/ld+json">{"@ntext":","@type":"NewsArticle","headle":"'The Power of the Dog' Has a Queer Problem","alternativeHeadle":"<em>The Power of the Dog</em> Has a Queer Problem","scriptn":"Wtern films have long plited the ials of stoic masculy. So what’s still so surprisg about a queer wboy?","url":","datePublished":"2022-01-20T16:12:35Z","dateModified":"2022-03-05T16:47:26Z","isAccsibleForFree":false,"hasPart":{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccsibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".article-ntent-body"},"publisher":{"@id":"},"maEntyOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"},"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":720},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":405},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1080},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1080},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1200},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":900},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1600},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":900},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":960},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"url":"}],"thor":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Spencer Kornhaber","sameAs":"}],"articleSectn":"Culture"}</script><lk rel="preload" as="image" href=" imageSrcSet=" 750w, 828w, 960w, 976w, 1952w" imageSiz="(m-width: 976px) 976px, 100vw"/><meta name="next-head-unt" ntent="61"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-g=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href="><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href="><noscript data-n-css=""></noscript><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/></head><body><div id="__next"><div data-tegory="story page"><div></div><nav class="Nav_root___6bX9" aria-labelledby="se-navigatn" data-tegory="Se Nav" data-event-module="se nav" id="ma-navigatn"><div class="Nav_maNav__yofcm"><a href="#ma-ntent" class="Nav_skipLk__Evjjd">Skip to ntent</a><h2 id="se-navigatn" class="Nav_visuallyHi__AbSDF">Se Navigatn</h2><div class="Nav_flexContaer__Q3LKQ"><ul class="Nav_leftContaer__cPQgJ"><li class="Nav_navListItem__cEyWT Nav_visuallyHiOnMobile__hxCGG"><a href=" class="Nav_navLk__5SUAA"><svg xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 87.83 134" class="Nav_bigA__XvGGC"><tle>The Atlantic

power of dog gay

Contents:

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH REFLECTS ON PLAYG A REPRSED GAY CHARACTER 'THE POWER OF THE DOG'

Though the ultimate du, he is somehow not like the other is bee he is gay. Is , like so many prtig gay works, a tragic romance?

IS PHIL GAY IN POWER OF THE DOG?

Extrapolate those lsons too much and you end up patently homophobic terrory—we should not assume that every abive oaf p for a Bron Henry. Is Phil gay The Power of the Dog?WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE POWER OF THE DOGTHE POWER OF THE DOG: Based on a te story?Image om Netflix Media Center.Is Phil gay The Power of the Dog?Y, many sequenc the film suggt that Phil is a closeted homosexual, keepg his homosexualy hidn om everybody else on the ranch.We’re troduced to the character as a nontatnal, hyper-mascule antagonist who is prented as beg nstant petn wh the men around him. He’s the alpha male and the others – bis his brother – speak to him like the patriarchal figure of the land.When they ask him about Bron Henry, they do so a childlike manner, as if they’re askg their father about their grandfather.As the narrative progrs ’s implied that the excsively macho exterr is actually a way to avoid anybody disverg that he is gay; an overpensatn of sorts stemmg om reprsn.

‘THE POWER OF THE DOG’ WAS INSPIRED BY THE TE STORY OF A GAY MAN IN THE 1920S

When Peter asks if they were naked, Phil’s silence suggts that they were and to rece any more of the story would fully nfirm his homosexualy.Divg eper, there are parallels between Bron and Phil’s myster relatnship and Phil and Peter’s. ”If only his character wasn’t bogged down by the need to humanize him by revealg halfway through that he is a eply closeted gay man.

To say that is appropriate to have homosexual them or allns a Wtern is like sayg p movi shouldn’t have r chas. Take another look at the source material, say that is appropriate to have homosexual them or allns a Wtern is like sayg p movi shouldn’t have r Burbank is a man who tnts and hounds his brother and sister--law so relentlsly that they are aaid of him even when he’s not around. But fact, the film mostly rerc the longstandg and problematic trope of the tortured homosexual, which only further intifi L.

IS PHIL GAY THE POWER OF THE DOG?

(The fact that Cumberbatch’s last big Osr-worthy movie, “The Imatn Game, ” volved him playg a eply reprsed gay man, this se forced to unrgo chemil stratn when he is found out, do not help. Cumberbatch, who is straight and has prevly played a gay character, has faced creased scty this role. The actor prevly played mathematician Alan Turg, a gay man, 2014's The Imatn Game.

| Cred: Netflix Early reactns to the film clud discsn on the character's sexualy, as the book the film is based on — Thomas Savage's 1967 novel of the same name — impli that he's gay, though never explicly nfirms . Last week at The Power of the Dog's Telluri Film Ftival premiere, Cumberbatch (who's married to a woman, stage director Sophie Hunter) spoke about his cisn to play a queer character seven years after he received his first Amy Award nomatn for playg gay mathematician Alan Turg the 2014 film The Imatn Game. A key scene, some reful dialogue, and Phil’s sudn sire to strike up a iendship wh Peter show that Cumberbatch’s character is gay.

The scen clue the dience to the fact that Phil’s aggrsivens is meant to mask his sexualy and the lonels he feels a time which homosexualy was disapproved of. All of the subtle elements of The Power of the Dog e together to prove that Phil is secretly gay, even though is never explicly nfirmed.

GAY WBOYS? ‘POWER OF THE DOG’ DO NOT STAND ALONE GOG THERE

Director and screenwrer Jane Campn, who adapted the book, vised the ranch where thor Thomas Savage, a gay man, grew up Montana and met wh his livg relativ.

“Savage was a gay man who was at that time, not openly gay.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* POWER OF DOG GAY

Is Phil Gay In Power Of The Dog? .

TOP