AKT Now ad stars act consequences of homophobia

Gdn report on a new ad to raise awareness about the consequneces of homophobia:

Ian McKellen, Paul O'Grady and Samantha Fox star in gay awareness ad

Albert Kennedy Trust campaign aims to highlight difficulties gay people can face if they are victimised

Mark Sweney 9.6.01 http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/09/samantha-fox-ian-mckellen-paul-ogrady-ad

Samantha Fox turning tricks as a prostitute. Sir Ian McKellen being doused with a bottle of cider by teenagers while sleeping rough. Paul O'Grady huddling for warmth in an all-but-derelict house. These unsettling images of the three stars appear in a new TV campaign for charity the Albert Kennedy Trust aims to raise awareness of the often difficult life that lesbian, bisexual, gay and transexual people can face when they are victimised. The campaign – made by ad agency TBWA – also features comedian and TV presenter Sue Perkins, Hollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson and Andrew Hayden-Smith, whose credits include Byker Grove and Doctor Who. Set to Radiohead's Creep as sung by Scala choir, the ad aims to show that with a few unfortunate turns anyone's life could end in life-threatening situations such as homelessness and prostitution. Perkins said: "We live in a really fortunate corner of the world – we're affluent and we're lucky, and for people to still suffer because of the prejudice of some is unforgiveable." The agency and the actors donated their time for free – McKellen is a patron of AKT – and the campaign is the first that the charity has been able to run. "We've used some well-known personalities in these tough situations to help let young LGBT people know where they can turn for support," said Robert Harwood-Matthews, president of TBWA UK. "TBWA London is hugely proud to be a part of a such a groundbreaking campaign that hopes to increase awareness and shift behaviour towards a cause that too often goes unrecognised." AKT was founded following the death of Albert Kennedy, a 17-year-old who was the victim of a homophobic attack, ending in his death after falling from a multi-storey car park in 1989.

Further Eastenders egs

Although it was C4 and Brookside that broke the taboo of the lesbian kiss, Eastenders was the groundbreaker with the first male gay couple featured kissing, as touched on in an earlier post. Another example here from a long-running storyline about a decade later:

If you watch this on the YouTube page, you'll see a real mix of views, including some strong homophobic opinions.
More recently they've gone for a storyline which throws religion into an already combustible mix (though will we still see a gay kiss on TV as noteworthy in a decade's time?); this is apparently an unbroadcast clip, trailed on the BBC's website:

This is the broadcast scene that caused a rumpus:

At A2 we get more into wider aspects of the media, including the ideology or values of media such as the press. This is a perfect example; here's 3 publications covering this 'story'; one is a notoriously homophobic, right-wing source which caused outrage itself with its vicious attack on Boyzone singer Stephen Gately in the week of his death and funeral - can you guess which one that is?
Complaints pour into BBC after EastEnders screens gay kiss before the watershed
TV ratings: Gay kiss lifts EastEnders to nearly 8m
EastEnders gay kiss watched by nearly 8 million

Hollywood: playing gay straight?

A controversy has been sparked by claims that Hollywood refuses to cast gay actors to play characters - see http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/04/hollywood-gay-actors-ramin-setoodeh for more

Useful Resources

See various articles at http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-role.htm