What's the Joke Again?

I'm continuing to read and hear arguments about Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming film Brüno that assert the character itself isn't homophobic—while at the same time seeing promotional materials for the film that completely undermine that premise. The New York Times, for example, runs this slideshow, which contains promotional images such as these:

—accompanied by text like:

Ultimately the tension surrounding "Brüno" boils down to the worry that certain viewers won't understand that the joke is on them and will leave the multiplex with their homophobia validated.

Gee, I can't imagine how gay advocates/allies could possibly be worried about that.


[Arriving at the MTV Movie Awards (top left), and arriving at premieres in Berlin (top center), Madrid (top right), Amsterdam (bottom left), London (bottom center), and Paris (bottom right).]

Sacha Baron Cohen wants us to believe that Brüno isn't a central part of the joke, but he composed the character from spare parts of the worst gay stereotypes, promotes the film with images of the character that heavily rely on the premise that anything gay/feminine is inherently absurd, and shows up to public appearances dressed in ass-bearing glittery gold lederhosen.

If the character isn't a central part of the joke, then why is he so easy for homophobes to laugh at?

Something's that really getting the hell under my skin about this movie is the evident total lack of even passing consideration given to the potential powder keg of audiences comprised largely of gay men, who have been overtly reassured that Brüno is a pro-gay movie, and straight homophobic men, who have been implicitly reassured that Brüno is an anti-gay movie.

It seems remarkably irresponsible to me to actively court stamps of approval from gay groups, in order to ensure that gay men will see the film, while also promoting the stereotype of the sexually aggressive predatory gay, which piques precisely the sort of straight homophobic men who invoke the "gay panic" defense after they've beaten or killed a gay man they perceived to be propositioning them.

I can't be the only person who's concerned about bringing these two demographics together to see a film in which it's anything but clear that violent homophobia isn't being endorsed. After all, the film seems quite clearly not to be about exposing homophobia via merely exposing straight men to a gay character, but provoking straight men via sexual aggression into situations in which they feel physically threatened, e.g. crawling into their sleeping bag or dropping your pants in front of them.

Unless we're meant to believe that most gay men are such wanton sex fiends that they would be just fine and dandy with a naked man they hardly know crawling uninvited into their beds or dropping his pants in a professional setting. That's certainly the flipside of the implication that straight men who react with discomfort in such situations are homophobic, as opposed to averse to unwanted sexual aggression.

That's not about homophobia; that's about consent. Or the lack thereof.

Which brings me to another problem with this clusterfucktastrophe: Making Brüno a sexually aggressive gay man not only reinforces one of the most pernicious stereotypes about gay men—which, aside from hardly being gay-positive, also potentially endangers its own gay audience members—but also effectively serves to mask the reality that straight men are the least likely victims and most likely perpetrators of sexual violence, even as the film itself serves as a sort of rape apologia by turning sexual aggression and low-level sexual assault into comedy fodder.

Coupled with the demonization of the feminine as the basis for much of the humor, what's left is quite possibly one of the most dangerous films for gay men, trans men, women, and androgynes—all disproportionately targeted by sexual violence—in recent memory.

And none of them have film crews following them around, or the inherent "off-switch" of playing gay when you're really not, to protect them, unlike the brave social commentator Sacha Baron Cohen is alleged to be.

Spudsy emailed me earlier today (which I am quoting with his permission): "I went to the movies on Saturday and they had a preview for Brüno, and sure as shit, people were laughing at him, not at the supposed exposed homophobia. In fact, they didn't show any of the "homophobes" in the preview; it was all about him acting outrageous."

So…what's the joke again?

Or should I ask: Who's the butt of the joke again?

[Previously on Brüno: One, Two, Three.]