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Is Torchwood Homophobic? Fans Debate
San Francisco, 11:19 PM
Thu Dec 17
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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Is Torchwood Homophobic? Fans Debate |
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07/20/09
I just felt the cast was character assassinated in episode 4. They were just horribly DUMB and there were repercussions.
07/17/09
Also, I think RTD&Co probably thought they needed to kill a main character to show us they were serious with this. They could only kill Gwen or Ianto. If they killed Gwen, they would anger feminist fans. They were screwed no matter what.
Still, I am seriously sad about Ianto.
07/18/09
" If they killed Gwen, they would anger feminist fans. They were screwed no matter what."
sounds like they screwed themselves by only having one female to choose from in the first place.
07/19/09
08/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
Torchwood has always been unpredictable, and I think that's part of what makes it so interesting. I remember the first episode, where Indira Varma's name popped up in the intro credits like any other main character. Then she turns out to be the villain of the episode. Stuff like that is what I watch this show for.
07/17/09
07/17/09
(Why doesn't io9 have spoiler tags?)It was cancelled.(/spoiler tag)
07/17/09
I was gutted when Ianto died and cried bucket loads during the last part of the episode because he was a lovely, sweet character.
Its a shame that as a society we're trying to move on from such backwards attitudes towards race and sexuality and making leaps and bounds in terms of characters on TV, yet the this death has been made into something bigger than it should be. Care because a character you love has died and not make it into a hate filled diatribe against people who are trying to break down stereotypes.
07/17/09
Did that truly happen in the show? I don't know.
07/17/09
A primer, since you haven't seen the show.
The show has had 5 main characters from day one. Two, not gay, died last year. One, gay, died this year. One main character, gay, did not die. One main character, not gay, did not die.
This wasn't a situation where a character was created for a series solely so they can be killed off, which was the case in many of those instances you're referring to.
(note - all the characters have had their particular bi-sexual encounters of one form or another, I'm just summarizing as simply as I can)
07/18/09
07/17/09
While I'm on that topic, nobody on Torchwood is gay. Everyone is bi, they've all been portrayed as being interested in members of both genders.
07/17/09
Ianto died in a horrible way, because of a story direction that was taken. No one hates Ianto, no one in the BBC deliberately did it 'because they hate fags'. Fuck me, people have enough misery in their lives without making themselves feel even more vicitimised. Grow up, get a life, and enjoy the cleverly ploted sci fi, and great fiction.
07/17/09
Ianto and Jack have had an open relationship for 2 seasons, and im sorry to say this..but on BBC 2 & 3 they still had huge viewing figures and the formula as never changed....moving to BBC1 didnt make a damn difference. And just for the record, John Barrowman aka Jack is gay in character and real life. But he'll have pop apperances in Dr Who (watched by a younger audience) and the new season of Torchwood if its ever made. If the BBC is that homophobic, maybe Jack should have died too. What a load of old bollocks.....this is the most stupid thing ive ever heard, especily when the main character is gay!!!
Idid go on a site were people wanted to send coffee beans to the BBC and some young girls talked about self harming..its all gone fuckin topsy turvy!! When DATA died I was gutted, but I didnt want to take a toaster into the bath with me!! Jeebus people!
07/17/09
I would have rather seen Jack try to work something out and be happy for a while, rather than just another pile of angst.
07/17/09
Between the physical pain and emotional pain in watching those around you die, being immortal can kind of suck.
07/17/09
Until CoE, Jack and Ianto's relationship was pretty loose. In CoE, it was clear that it was becoming much deeper and I was disappointed that it got cut off so soon.
Granted it would have taken major plot alterations to avoid it, so I pretty much understand. I guess I'm just not a big fan of the harsh tragic direction it took, as a personal preference.
07/17/09
And I think that was part of what they were going for with Jack - showing that much more graphically to also highlight the emotional pain he also goes through as a result.
07/17/09
If anything, Torchwood is less homophobic and more homonormative than the real world.
The example of Clem being able smell that Ianto was queer was simply showing one man's prejudices, an old secluded man.
The biggest commentary on orientation was Ianto's struggle for definition in CoE - was he queer? Bi? GayforJack? And the answer was just that he loved Jack, which everyone in his life was amazingly okay with it; supportive, even.
So all the vitriol seems surprisingly unwarranted. I'm pretty sure everyone's just pissed that Ianto died and the Hub exploded and Jack is gone and Gwen is effing pregnant. Which is kinda like burning Torchwood to the ground and then salting the earth. (Nice going, RTD.)
07/17/09
And for that matter, am i to believe that there are no black men over there, since the cast is all white save one woman? Where are all the latinos? EQUAL REPRESENTATION! I CALL RACISIM!
07/17/09
But then there are those "ensemble" shows that have exactly 1 person from each race or gender or sexual orientation (I'm looking at YOU Virtuality). They seem so ridiculously forced.
As far as Torchwood goes, I'm disappointed it didn't work out for Freema to join up.
07/17/09
They did a great job covering the width and breadth of modern reactions to homosexual relationships. The kids are fine with it, middle-aged people vary, and some shut-in old homophobes still hang around spewing filth.
But are we really to believe that there are only white families in Britain? Or that if 10% of the population is culled, and that 10% is "unwanted" that they wouldn't be going right to the immigrant neighborhoods? Considering how openly and honestly Torchwood has portrayed queer characters, I'm disappointed that they ducked the race/ethnicity issue so completely.
07/17/09
But one of the key characters in the program, who was created specifically for this mini-series, was black. Never mentioned it, never had any reference to her race whatsover, which is how it should be at the end of the day.
07/17/09
Sometimes, in real life, the black guy really does die first, and gay guys die, too. And in the context of the show, maybe Ianto bought it for the same reason that most fictional girlfriends (and, sometimes, it seems, boyfriends) end up in refrigerators- to create dramatic pathos.
07/17/09
Like I said I don't have the same POV on the issue as some homosexuals do. I'm Latino so I'm still trying to grasp the notion that Anthony Hopkins played Zorro in a movie.