Gay Men at the Movies

Scott McKinnon is a postdoctoral research fellow at Western Sydney University and an honorary research associate at the University of Sydney.

'The book is not a history of gay films or a history of gay men as film actors, writers, directors, or producers. McKinnon's focus is on gay men as film audiences rather than as filmmakers. The films considered here are popular cinema, meaning movies screened in commercial theaters and reviewed in the mainstream media. McKinnon is not interested in developing new insights or analyses of these films but rather in understanding "the historical processes of interpretation and meaning-making undertaken by audiences." At the movies, we engage not only with a film, but also with a space, with an audience, friends, and a neighborhood, so that going to movies is an act of social and cultural interaction and participation. Thus to understand how movies have shaped gay culture, identity, and community, we need to contemplate the place, context, and ongoing memories of film viewing that become part of our individual histories and a collective past. '

• Introduction Part One: Friends of Dorothy in the Emerald City Chapter 1 – The 1950s – Censored from view for all to seeGay space, cinema-going and censorship in 1950s SydneyRegular guys and ‘sister boys’: Tea and Sympathy Friends of Tom Lee: Rebel without a Cause, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Some Like it Hot Chapter 2 – The 1960s – Undeniable Gay space, cinema-going and censorship in 1960s SydneyPoor unfortunate souls: Victim and Advise and ConsentThe real lives of English youth: A Taste of Honey, The Leather Boys and If... Chapter 3 – The 1970s – Strike up the band Gay space, cinema-going and censorship in 1970s SydneyA memory of times gone by: The Boys in the BandThe thrill of the new: Sunday Bloody Sunday and A Very Natural Thing Chapter 4 – The 1980s – Arriving at last, leaving too soonGay space, cinema-going and censorship in 1980s SydneyThe Hollywood gaze: Fame, Partners, Cruising and Making Love An independent eye: Taxi Zum Klo Chapter 5 – The 1990s – When we were cool Gay space, cinema-going and censorship in 1990s SydneyMade for them or watched by us? The Sum of Us To enlighten and remember: Philadelphia and Longtime Companion Chapter 6 – The 2000s – In the shadow of the mountainGay space, cinema-going and censorship in 2000s SydneyThe film that got us good: Brokeback Mountain Staying home or going to the festival: Another Gay Movie and Shelter Part Two: Memories of Dorothy: Memories, Movies, Gay Men Chapter 7 – Gay kids at the movies – Movie memory and queer childhoodsOn-screen memories: ChildhoodRemembering childhood cinema-going Chapter 8 – Others like us – Movie memory and the search for communityMovie memories at the movies: IdentityLearning, reciting and refuting memory Chapter 9 – We were there – Movie memory and the search for a queer pastHeroes and villains: Braveheart and AlexanderCreating ‘our’ history: Stonewall and Milk Conclusion: Gay Men at the Movies