Kit Harington asks, why no gay actors in Marvel movies
Kit Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones', raised a valid objection against Hollywood at the Toronto International Film Festival. He criticized the industry saying that homosexuality was not given adequate representation. Reportedly, Kit's bone of contention is with the common misconception that masculinity and homosexuality cannot go hand in hand. Here's what he said.
The patriarchal construct of toxic masculinity
Kit addressed the misconception that patriarchy leads us to believe that homosexuals are less masculine than heteronormative males. He said, "There's a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can't somehow go hand in hand." Pointing at Marvel, he said that it was strange that there were no actors in Marvel films who were gay in real lives and portrayed superheroes.
A change is going to come
Kit raised some serious questions at the film festival. The 31-year-old actor was joined by his colleagues from his recent film 'The Death and Life of John F Donovan', Emily Hampshire, Thandie Newton, and director Xavier Dolan. Newton remained more optimistic than Kit though, saying that a change was taking place in the industry, but people would have to keep pushing the envelope.
Is Marvel only at fault here?
Kit names Marvel and fans might rush in to defend their beloved films. However, the truth is that Marvel sets the bar high for themes of social awareness in superhero movies. Their recent films 'Thor: Ragnarok' and 'Black Panther', have adequately addressed immigrant and racial issues. With Captain Marvel, sure to bring in feminist tropes, we naturally expect them to help normalize homosexuality.
DC has already taken a step in the right direction
DC had started including socially relevant themes even before Marvel, with Wonder Woman's message of women empowerment. Notably, they have also begun to normalize homosexuality as they will introduce a lesbian superhero, Batwoman, played by a real-life lesbian actress, Ruby Rose.
Relating to superheroes, and why their messages matter
This editor believes that the normalization of homosexuality must begin during an individual's formative years. Non-heteronormative children need to look up to superheroes for comfort, and should be able to relate to them. Therefore, if they see a real-life homosexual actor play a superhero, it boosts their confidence. Especially, if male superheroes are portrayed by homosexual actors, it destroys the myth of toxic heterosexual masculinity.
