Queer Cinema: Schoolgirls, Vampires, and Gay Cowboys

by Barbara Mennel

Queer Schoolgirls, Vampires, and Gay Cowboys illustrates queer cinematic aesthetics by highlighting key films that emerged at historical turning points throughout the twentieth century. Barbara Mennel traces the representation of gays and lesbians from the sexual liberation movements of the roaring 1920s in Berlin to the Stonewall Rebellion in New York City and the emergence of queer activism and film in the early 1990s. She explains early tropes of queerness, such as the boarding school or the vampire, and describes the development of camp from 1950s Hollywood to underground art of the late 1960s in New York City.

Mennel concludes with an exploration of the contemporary mainstreaming of gay and lesbian films and global queer cinema. Queer Schoolgirls, Vampires and Gay Cowboys not only offers an introduction to a gay and lesbian film history, but also contributes to an academic discussion about queer subversion of mainstream film.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Pop Culture, Art, Film, Queer

136 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Brendan]

Rating: 3 1/2

Points for being informative. There are numerous specific films discussed, and placed in their broader societal contexts. Demerit for the writing style: very awkward and needlessly intellectual; not surprising that the author is a professor.

In conventional love stories, the heterosexual couple coincides with the happy ending. In contrast, in films about gays and lesbians, up until the late 1970s, a homosexual union constitutes a problem for the narrative that has to be resolved by the film's conclusion, often tragically so.

The effects of feminist lesbianism and the generational shifts from pre- to post-Stonewall male gay culture appear in films throughout the 1980s and were soon overshadowed by the emerging AIDS crisis.

... during the first decade of the twenty-first century, gay and lesbian topics have become more visible, acceptable and thus, also financially viable.... Yet industry forces are such that films have to satisfy the common denominator of audiences' tastes.

[mage. · Rating 2 out of 5]

look i hate kissing jessica stein too but this book was biphobic and transphobic lol

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much information for the Short Cuts series to cover, but still good. Mennel included a good amount of movies that were supposed to be socially conscious and movies which were supposed to be camp/artsy.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this bad boy up at the museum of moving image. Lowkey read like a gd textbook…. HOWEVER, it gave me a million recs for queer movies. I’ve watched 4 so far and had already seen a handful :) PS: this book came out in 2012 so it only discusses films up to that year. Would love to read a more recent book like this that goes into the 2020s

[Odie Bergstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting insights into the history of queer cinema. Felt a little outdated, but such are a lot of books from 10+ years ago. I’d be interested in Mennels views on more recent queer movies (i.e. Call Me by Your Name, Love, Simon, or even the addition of queet characters in childrens television)