GLAAD just announced their nominees for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The GLAAD Media Awards claim to “recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community.” Most of the nominees are what you would expect: Milk, Brothers & Sisters, Torchwood, Ugly Betty. But as you might have guessed, I have issues with some of the nominees. For instance…True Blood for Outstanding Drama? Besides being the worst written and acted show on television, True Blood is a classic case of a homo bait and switch. They lure you in with heavy-handed metaphors comparing vampire rights to gay rights, but then make a strong case that vampires who strive to fit in with “normal” society are tolerated, while the vampires that want to adhere to their true nature and identity are evil and must be destroyed. Plus, the one gay character on the show is actually a drug-dealing hustler. I don’t know how fair, accurate and inclusive that is. Also, while it’s nice to see an Outstanding Comic Book category, I’m a bit surprised by the nomination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While Buffy’s recent experiment in lesbianism was more for shock value than anything else, gay characters like Willow and Andrew are still portrayed as sexless sidekicks to the main character. At best, they are comic relief; at worst, they are considered dangerous and potentially treacherous. Considering some of the great independent comics out there with far more inclusive and realistic portrayals of gay characters, the inclusion of Buffy seems like a waste of a nomination.
Here’s a partial list of the nominees. You can see a full list here.
OUTSTANDING FILM – WIDE RELEASE
Brideshead Revisited (Miramax Films)
Milk (Focus Features)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Columbia Pictures)
RocknRolla (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
South of Nowhere (The N)
Torchwood (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Greek (ABC Family)
Reaper (The CW)
Skins (BBC America)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Joss Whedon (Dark Horse Comics)
Final Crisis: Revelations by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)
Secret Six by Gail Simone (DC Comics)
Young Avengers Presents by Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell, Kevin Grevioux and Matt Fraction (Marvel Comics)
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GLAAD just announced their nominees for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The GLAAD Media Awards claim to “recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community.” Most of the nominees are what you would expect: Milk, Brothers & Sisters, Torchwood, Ugly Betty. But as you might have guessed, I have issues with some of the nominees. For instance…True Blood for Outstanding Drama? Besides being the worst written and acted show on television, True Blood is a classic case of a homo bait and switch. They lure you in with heavy-handed metaphors comparing vampire rights to gay rights, but then make a strong case that vampires who strive to fit in with “normal” society are tolerated, while the vampires that want to adhere to their true nature and identity are evil and must be destroyed. Plus, the one gay character on the show is actually a drug-dealing hustler. I don’t know how fair, accurate and inclusive that is. Also, while it’s nice to see an Outstanding Comic Book category, I’m a bit surprised by the nomination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While Buffy’s recent experiment in lesbianism was more for shock value than anything else, gay characters like Willow and Andrew are still portrayed as sexless sidekicks to the main character. At best, they are comic relief; at worst, they are considered dangerous and potentially treacherous. Considering some of the great independent comics out there with far more inclusive and realistic portrayals of gay characters, the inclusion of Buffy seems like a waste of a nomination.
Here’s a partial list of the nominees. You can see a full list here.
OUTSTANDING FILM – WIDE RELEASE
Brideshead Revisited (Miramax Films)
Milk (Focus Features)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Columbia Pictures)
RocknRolla (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
South of Nowhere (The N)
Torchwood (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Greek (ABC Family)
Reaper (The CW)
Skins (BBC America)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Joss Whedon (Dark Horse Comics)
Final Crisis: Revelations by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)
Secret Six by Gail Simone (DC Comics)
Young Avengers Presents by Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell, Kevin Grevioux and Matt Fraction (Marvel Comics)
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