Post World War II, the Homophile movement was consciously disavowing openly homosexual acts in attempt to shift the attitudes of social majority by shaping an image aligned with –philia (fondness and love) in opposed to sex (Suâarez 127). Meanwhile, filmmakers under the scrutiny from Motion Picture Production Code were made to abide by the rules of “don’ts and be carefuls”, unable to employ passionate, sexual, and “pervasive” scenes in the plot (Mondello). During this time, Kenneth Anger made Fireworks (1947). An unapologetic portrayal of a young man’s homoerotic dreams and desires clashing with social repression of the time. With his transgressive films exploring gay identities and subcultures of fetish and sadomasochism, Anger positioned
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On the surface, Scorpio Rising demonstrates the youth culture that found identification in clothing and gestures from mass culture icons like Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) and James Dean in Rebel without a Cause (1955) (Suâarez 162). But it illuminates a presence of bisexual tendencies unbeknownst to those in biker subculture, who stereotypically produce the image of straight masculinity. It is the outside gaze that decodes the existence of bisexual imagery within the clothing and the hooliganistic acts of the bikers similar to initiation ceremonies in all-male …show more content…
Scenes of muscular men slowly gearing up into their leather jackets and putting on chains and accessories is almost comparable to over-the-top dress and make up of drag queens. The erotic display of the biker’s muscles is again a visual reference to work of artists like Tom of Finland and softcore gay magazines like Physique Pictorial. Moreover, the leather clothing is a symbol pertaining to the gay subculture of leather community that has been similarly appropriated from the popular icons like Brando and Dean.
During the party scene in Scorpio Rising, when the bikers are fooling around, the hooliganistic acts among them is fused with the soundtrack lyrics and sound effects. As they are holding down and stripping a man while pouring mustard over his belly, The Everly Brothers’ song “Torture” plays as the soundtrack, and a noise accompanies the imagery that is similar to a pig’s wailing. This fusion creates a sadomasochistic iconography that often aligns with leather
On the surface, Scorpio Rising demonstrates the youth culture that found identification in clothing and gestures from mass culture icons like Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) and James Dean in Rebel without a Cause (1955) (Suâarez 162). But it illuminates a presence of bisexual tendencies unbeknownst to those in biker subculture, who stereotypically produce the image of straight masculinity. It is the outside gaze that decodes the existence of bisexual imagery within the clothing and the hooliganistic acts of the bikers similar to initiation ceremonies in all-male …show more content…
Scenes of muscular men slowly gearing up into their leather jackets and putting on chains and accessories is almost comparable to over-the-top dress and make up of drag queens. The erotic display of the biker’s muscles is again a visual reference to work of artists like Tom of Finland and softcore gay magazines like Physique Pictorial. Moreover, the leather clothing is a symbol pertaining to the gay subculture of leather community that has been similarly appropriated from the popular icons like Brando and Dean.
During the party scene in Scorpio Rising, when the bikers are fooling around, the hooliganistic acts among them is fused with the soundtrack lyrics and sound effects. As they are holding down and stripping a man while pouring mustard over his belly, The Everly Brothers’ song “Torture” plays as the soundtrack, and a noise accompanies the imagery that is similar to a pig’s wailing. This fusion creates a sadomasochistic iconography that often aligns with leather