Fire Island, Brokeback Mountain and Call Me By Your Name are just three of the blockbuster films that would’ve been impossible to make even less than a century ago.
From 1934 to 1968, the Motion Picture ProducersAnd Distributors of America implemented the Motion Picture Production Code, a.k.a. the Hays Code, which regulated what was considered morally appropriate to show moviegoers. These regulations governed whether movies featured topless women or vulgar language, and how men and women slept in the same room.
But the most harmful policy was the ban on depictions of same-sex relationships. In America, LGBTQ+ was almost completely ignored until the introduction of the ratings system in the 1970s.
Some filmmakers like Rebel Without a CauseDirector Nicholas RayRumoredly bisexual, Crawford slipped around the Code, leaving subtle clues regarding the sexual identities of the characters, particularly Plato Crawford.
However, it was not until movies such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975) And The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), it was revealed that the LGBTQ+ Community could FinallyYou can see yourself represented on the bigscreen.