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Stephanie Poly

The Use of Satire to Address Homophobic Views in Society

Social issues regarding minority equality have arisen countless times in American history.

One such issue that has persisted has been Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)

rights. Throughout the nineteen hundreds, LGBT rights have been addressed in countless ways

from peaceful protests to magazine articles to films. The Gay Deceivers, a film, which aired in

1969, was one such artifact. This particular movie was intended to transform the negative

stigmas regarding gays using humor through the use of satire. The use of satire in the film is used

to lighten the severity of discrimination while simultaneously criticizing homophobic views.

Homosexuals in the United States have been discriminated against harshly throughout the

nations history. Countless movements have arisen in attempt to end discrimination, however,

most have been met with considerable opposition. The first known gay rights organization was

created in nineteen twenty-four, but it was soon disbanded due to political pressure

(American). For years, homosexuality was considered a form of illness. Starting in the

nineteen fifties, LGBT advocates began to emerge more frequently in the form of organizations

and journal articles. Each sought to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, but negative views

regarding gays still dominated society. With the Cold War looming, gays were banned from the

military, as they were seen as a security threat due to their mental illness. Countless other gays

were fired from their regular jobs for the same reason. During the nineteen fifties thousands of

gays were fired in what later became known as the lavender scare (Johnson). It was not until

the early nineteen sixties that homosexuality began to be decriminalized. With discrimination

running high, and a fear of being enlisted to fight in Vietnam, a moment of kairos to discuss

homophobia was ignited, as countless young men pretended to be gay to avoid being enlisted.
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In The Gay Deceivers, director Bruce Kessler and actor Michael Greer criticized

homophobia using the enlistment of men in Vietnam as a basis for their argument. As opposed to

openly criticizing homophobia, however, the film uses satire to make light of the situation. The

main purpose of using satire is to demonstrate to the public how ridiculous misconceptions about

members of a persecuted community actually are. The intended audience, though mostly

targeting critics, is really meant for anyone regardless if they are homophobic or not.

Since the film has such a broad audience including both gays and homophobes, it faces

extreme constraints both politically and morally. The film follows the lives of two straight best

friends, Danny and Elliot, who pretend to be gay in order to prevent the draft for the Vietnam

War. Danny and Elliot eventual join a gay community to prevent further questioning by

suspicious Colonel Dixon, who seems to be following them, believing that they lied to avoid the

draft. The community Danny and Elliot join is set in a stereotypical normal suburb with

picturesque white, picket fences and homes with families. These families, however, are solely

gay, married couples such as Malcolm (played by Greer) and Craig. The movie thus faced

constraints from two ends. For one, since the film was actually about two straight men deceiving

the community into thinking they were gay, the actors and director had to be very careful in

depicting the protagonists positively, in order not to offend actual members of the gay

community (Weiler). At the same time, Danny and Elliot couldnt be depicted as being overly

ostentatious since homophobes would consider the movie distasteful and wouldnt reflect on its

purpose.

Regardless of the mixed views on the film, the satire it employed was used as a device to

persuade the audience to adopt an unprejudiced opinion of gays. Satire is a form of unexpected

humor that arises from the compilation of multiple incongruous elements (Fife). In this particular
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film, satire arises through the contrast between a fear of being enlisted to fight in Vietnam, and

the act of two friends pretending to be gay. Although these elements seem to be incongruous,

they work in unison, as the film suggests that the fear of being enlisted to fight is greater than the

threat of being perceived as gay. These two elements also work in the film to suggest that the

discrimination inflicted on gays is nearly as bad as what someone would face on the battlefields

of Vietnam. This underlying meaning works to make discrimination tangible to homophobes.

Satire furthermore is meant to relieve tension. With heavy topics such as discrimination

and war, the satirical component was meant to lighten the dismal atmosphere at the time. By

doing this, the intended audience is able to gain a fresh perspective on these topics without being

too overwhelmed by the deep moral components each encompasses. Satire is also coupled with

irony, a form of nonliteral expression meant to address a situation through transparency. That is

to say, irony is used as an indirect means of creating an argument that forms when something

unexpected occurs (Averbeck). Through its unpredictability, irony can then stimulate humor.

The use of satire and irony in the film allows both sides of an argument to be

acknowledged for a widespread audience. Had The Gay Deceivers relied solely on the

discrimination against homosexuals, the movie may have been too severe for critics to accept.

Humor in this sense, causes the argument to be strengthened as it forces critics to agree with the

underlying connotations being suggested. If satire is successful, the audience will find the

presented argument humorous. For this particular movie, if the argument is found humorous,

than it is implied that discrimination against gays is ridiculous.

Using satire as a device allows the audience to understand the ludicrous attitudes that

have arisen in respect to gays. In this regard, the movie plays on the emotions of its audience.

This isnt to say the movie evokes a strong sensitive response, but rather seeks to have the
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audience sympathize with its characters. Danny and Elliot, who are actually straight, slowly

become isolated from their normal community for being too flamboyant for homophobes. This

isolation leaves the audience to believe that those doing the labeling, not the individual, cause the

perception of gays as abnormal and sinful.

Malcolms character is particularly important to the development of satire and its overall

message. Michael Greer, who plays Malcolm, is actually gay, giving him the credibility to

represent the gay community in a positive way. Malcolm is very expressive and effeminate

which causes his character to be humorous, but his character is never smeared. Malcolm not only

constantly seeks to help Danny and Elliot settle in as newlyweds, but is also portrayed as

having a very good relationship with his own husband, Craig. This greatly contrasts Dannys

relationship with his actual fianc that ends. This situation is ironic as the abnormal couple

persists in their relationship while the straight couple cannot.

In contrast the straight characters are portrayed as rude, especially in relation to Malcolm.

This contrast adds to the satirical effect but also poses the question of whatever it is that makes a

person bad. At one scene in the movie, one of Elliots girlfriends tramples Malcolms flowers

and proceeds to criticize him for not knowing what type of flowers they actually were. As she

walks away, Malcolm gasps to Craig, I may not know my flowers, but I know a BITCH when I

see one! This iconic line is humorous in the sense that it blatantly calls out homophobes for

their ignorance. Essentially Malcolms character indicates that just because someone is

heterosexual or normal doesnt mean he or she is a good person.

In order for the satire to work throughout the film, however, the humor must be

contrasted with serious moments. For instance, Elliot is fired from his job as a lifeguard for being

a danger to the community. Although Elliot has not changed, the perception of him amongst
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his family and friends has because of a stigma he is associated with. This fictional film can then

be connected back to real events such as the lavender scare, reminding the audience that the

fictional plot is a depiction of reality.

In a plot twist, the film concludes by revealing that Colonel Dixon, who was seemingly

following Danny and Elliot, was actually gay the entire time and trying to keep straight men out

of the army. This twist ending accomplishes two tasks: first, it shows that gays are not as rare as

people may have thought, meaning the minority isnt that much of a minority. Additionally, it

demonstrates to the audience that discrimination is itself ridiculous. For the Colonel to be

discriminating against heterosexuals is satirical and ironic since it is seemingly absurd to

discriminate against the normal majority. This irony demonstrates to the mostly straight

audience that discrimination of any kind is flawed.

The Gay Deceivers was a satire that played off of stereotypes about gays in order to

highlight the stigmas associated with people who were degraded for being homosexual. The

movie uses the stigmas that gays were diseased or abnormal, in order to prove to the

audience homophobic views are misleading and offensive. The comedic appeal of the film makes

audience members more comfortable with homosexuality while satirizing critics. As there are

still stigmas associated with gays, the artifact is relevant today as the issue of minorities (in this

case homosexuals) being perceived of as less is recurring. Although homosexuality was

decriminalized years ago, it still took until two thousand sixteen to legalize gay marriage in all

fifty states. Additionally, the recent mass shootings at Pulse, an Orlando LGBT bar, further

serves as evidence that discrimination towards gays still needs to be addressed and resolved. The

Gay Deceivers may not have eliminated stigmas, but it was a progressive step in attempting to

bring about equality.

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Works Cited

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, 2013. Web. 20 Oct.

2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/stonewall/>.
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Averbeck, Joshua M., and Dale Hample. "Ironic Message Production: How And Why We

Produce Ironic Messages." Communication Monographs 75.4 (2008): 396-410.

Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Fife, Jane. "Peeling The Onion : Satire And The Complexity Of Audience Response." Rhetoric

Review 35.4 (2016): 322-334. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

The Gay Deceivers. Dir. Bruce Kessler. Perf. Michael Greer. 1969. DVD.

Innocenti, Beth, and Elizabeth Miller. "The Persuasive Force Of Political Humor." Journal Of

Communication 66.3 (2016): 366-385. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web.

20 Oct. 2016.

Johnson, David K. "The Lavender Scare." University of Chicago Press. University of Chicago

Press, 2004. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

<http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo3614333.html>.

Weiler, A. H. "The Gay Deceivers Movie Review." New York Times. The New York Times

Company, 31 July 1969. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?

res=9F00E1D81E3AEE34BC4950DFB1668382679EDE>.