The 11th edition of GLAAD Film LGBTQ Representation Index, a yearly research that examines “the quantity, quality, and diversity” of LGBTQ characters in motion pictures distributed in a calendar year by 10 Hollywood distributors, has just been made public.
The findings showed that 100 films, or 28.5 percent, of the 350 titles released in 2022 contained an LGBTQ character, the highest percentage ever identified in the study’s history as conducted by GLAAD. However, it should be remembered that, according to GLAAD, the number of films recorded has also increased in the current environment of peak content.
There were 292 LGBTQ characters in the 100 films, with 117 (or 40%) of them being people of colour. 163 men, 119 women, and 10 nonbinary people made up the 292 total. Six of the men and seven of the women characters were transgender. A record amount of nonbinary characters were represented in the showings. Another record was that 12 out of 350 films had a transsexual character. A high number of 11 LGBTQ characters were found to have a disability.
Although the data indicated an increase in LGBTQ representation, not all characters received a lot of screen time. More than half (165 of 292, or 56%) of the LGBTQ characters appeared in the movie inside the first five minutes, and 86 of them did so for less than a minute. While 32 (11%) were between five and ten minutes, 95 (33%) took longer than ten minutes, and 79 (27%) was between one and five minutes.
GLAAD expanded the number of studios it tracked from seven to ten distributors for the 2022 report. A24, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros. Discovery were among the firms mentioned. For the first time, three studios—A24, NBCUniversal, and the Walt Disney Company—received a rating of “Good” based on their output. No studio has so far received a “Excellent” rating from GLAAD.
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, The Inspection, The Whale, Aftersun, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won the Oscar for best picture, were all produced by A24 and featured LGBTQ characters. Bros, Nope, Tár, Spoiler Alert, and They/Them were all released by NBCUniversal. Disney and its affiliates are responsible for the films Better Nate Than Ever, Lightyear, Strange World, Fire Island, and Zombies 3.
The findings were presented by GLAAD on Thursday, and a press conference was conducted in the Village at Ed Gould Plaza at the Los Angeles LGBT Centre in collaboration with SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild representatives.
Actress Alexandra Grey, actor and co-chair of SAG-AFTRA’s national LGBTQ committee Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, WGA vice president Michele Mulroney, and GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis were also scheduled to attend.
Jason Stuart, JJ Wienkers-Alvendia, co-chair of the WGA’s LGBTQ writers committee, Spiro Skentzos, and Phillip Picardi, director of marketing and communications for the Los Angeles LGBT Centre.
The goal of the joint press conference, according to the organisation, was to “challenge film studio leadership on their commitments to the LGBTQ community and audiences at-large and outline the critical need to reach a fair deal and get striking creators and writers at all levels back to work, or risk erasing gains in LGBTQ representation in recent years.”
“It is imperative that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reach a fair agreement with the striking writers and performers — that these gifted creatives can return to work as soon as possible, so that the advancement in LGBTQ representation remains on track,” added Ellis.
“The telling of LGBTQ tales in film has a strong and unbreakable connection to culture-change. When it comes to LGBTQ representation on television, erasure is the price of lost progress since more people than ever before are empowered to live freely and openly. This is an existential struggle, as has always been the case with the LGBTQ movement.
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