This Friday, December 11, 2020 comes out "The Prom", directed by Ryan Murphy, with Nicole Kidman, James Corden and Meryl Streep. A resolutely queer musical, which we watched with Clara, a journalist concerned by the subject.
The Prom tells the story of Emma, a high school student who is forbidden to go to prom with her girlfriend. Once again, Ryan Murphy, openly gay director to whom we owe the very queer Glee, Ratched or American Horror Story, tackles a subject close to his heart. "I wish I had a movie like The Prom when I was a teenager. Like Emma, I'm gay and grew up in Indiana. I felt like an alien, an alien. Like Emma, I couldn't bring a date to the prom ", he wrote on Instagram. So, The Prom touch the hearts of young LGBTQI + people? In the editorial staff of aufeminin, we discussed this with Clara, a video project manager concerned with the subjects of the film. We explain why this musical is a must see if you are LGBTQI + … or not.
"The Prom", a film that avoids clichés
Even today, LGBTQI + movies and series tend to focus on coming out. Latest example to date, Happiest Season, Christmas comedy 2020 that does not avoid the cliché of the lesbian finding herself literally hidden in a closet. YesThe prom deals with the subject, the film also and above all presents a whole range of LGBTQI + representations, as the director knows so well, by focusing on the adolescent period with more subtlety than in Glee : "The film is not just about coming out. It presents a larger panel of queer representations in adolescence", Clara believes.
When Ryan Murphy Rightly Deals With Harassment
Another theme highlighted by Ryan Murphy: the pernicious harassment that many LGBTQI + adolescents suffer. Certainly, at no time is Emma physically abused. But the attacks appear in a more subtle way, which Clara found very correct. "It's really good to see a movie with two lesbian girls and no beating scene, but more bullying, like canceling prom or telling Emma she can trade her girlfriend for a boy". Good idea, therefore, to deal with micro-attacks, rather than playing the card of the bloody drama already seen and traumatic.
In addition, Clara appreciated that the film focuses on the violence experienced by a lesbian couple. "LGBTQI + women suffer a lot of micro-aggression, she recalls. Men too obviously, but among women, this reality is often overlooked ". The Prom emphasizes here this double punishment, at the intersection of sexism and homophobia, inflicted on the women concerned.
"The Prom": a liberating musical
In The Prom, all the letters of LGBTQI + are represented and that feels great, especially as they exist in music! Impossible to remain indifferent to the song "Unruly heart", that Emma sings and broadcasts on the Internet. "In this sequence, we see different profiles of LGBTQI + youth. Racialized people, transgender people… This scene really moved me.", Clara tells us, before adding: "There Emma said things that I immediately identified with. The song explains that you don't choose how you feel."
The bet thus seems successful of a fair representation for all the spectators: "The other scene that I adored, and that I would have liked to see when I was a teenager, is the finale. Emma and Alyssa arrive at the ball, the doors open and there: we see couples, people, transgender people, homosexuals… "
It's the first time I've watched a teen movie, where I tell myself that at 16, I would have identified with the main character.
And this is the strength of Ryan Murphy: to offer pop, even ultra kistch, playful works, to better play with stereotypes and evoke strong themes."That's all him, confirms Clara. We start with something that will inevitably be colorful, but which will talk about serious subjects. It offers enough perspective, and burlesque, to be able to treat them correctly ".The Prom discusses the ignorance that stems from homophobia and how prejudices built up from childhood can break down, opening up everyone's mind. A pill of good humor despite the heavy social issues mentioned … Ryan Murphy in all his splendor.