La Ron S. Readus
patreon
Actually, Pixar's Luca IS a Queer Story! (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2021-06-02 20:00:03 +0000 UTCYes, we ARE doing this again.
Because one, it’s Pride month. And two, let’s just be honest; if I titled it anything else you wouldn’t have clicked on it...
______________
Readers, back in late April of 2021, Petrana Radulovic wrote an article based on an interview by Luca’s director Enrico Casarosa...
/Confirming that its story isn’t a queer romance between the titular character and his friend Alberto, nor is there going to be a straight one with the inclusion of the female secondary character Giulia./
In fact, according to Casarosa, he, and I quote:
/“Was really keen to talk about a friendship before girlfriends and boyfriends come in to complicate things...about their friendship in that pre-puberty world.” Endquote/
Now the reason why this is even a topic of discussion is that months before Soul was simultaneously released in both theaters and regular Disney+, this first image of Luca was released online via the Twitter account of Walt Disney Studios.
The tweet described the movie centered around the aforementioned character, and I quote
/“As he experiences an unforgettable summer in a seaside town on the Italian Riviera.” Endquote/
Ever since that tweet was released on July 30, 2020, the queer community have since compared the plot to the 2017 coming of age gay romance film “Call Me By Your Name,” who -- coincidentally -- is directed by a dude named Luca.
It stars alleged cannibal rapist Armie Hammer and winner of the 2020 White Shounen Prettyboy award Timothy Chalamet, who respectively play a 24 year old graduate student who spends the summer with the family of his college professor in Northern Italy and doesn’t turn down the advances of his 17 year old son. (Stares at the camera, tilts head)
So with the film sharing the setting and possibly a similar story -- this one possibly being of adolescent crushes and love instead of paedophilia disguised as romance -- a small group of queer individuals rightfully so made comparisons; both before AND after they learned about the sea monster angle the film took.
I say that because apparently the knowledge of at least Alberto being a sea monster was available and confirmed by Variety the same day Walt Disney released the tweet
/Stating in an article released by Rebecca Rubin that the character in question that Luca would go on this journey with is in fact a sea creature from another world that would threaten that bond the two would develop over the course of the movie./
And while that might’ve swayed away people from making the comparisons, it only made them stronger for some, comparing Alberto’s character to a more...age appropriate version of the one Armie Hammer played in the version of Montero starring straight white people.
Nevertheless, despite some of us knowing that Disney would never allow a movie intended for worldwide release to center around a queer romance under the threat of it doing terrible overseas -- specifically China...
That didn’t stop those with wishful thinking that this would be the first feature-length film produced by Disney -- let alone DisneyPixar -- that would feature a story centered around two male characters crushing on each other and coming to terms with that.
If anything, those of us who -- unfortunately -- KNEW better just saw the comparisons to the indie flick, made a note that the film would be considered queerbait at best if they decided to try and go with that angle, and moved on with our lives.
/Then the first trailer for the movie came out, and those of us who knew the sea monster angle discovered that its not Alberto that’s one, but Luca as well/
Combine that with the knowledge the trailer gives that the Italian town they’re specifically in usually HUNTS folk like them, and we see what the actual story is and why Luca’s director said what he said when addressing the gay romance buzz that the original tweet from Walt Disney Studios produced
/Going on to say in that same Polygon article, and I quote, “I was really keen to talk about a friendship before girlfriends and boyfriends come in to complicate things.” Endquote/
So was Luca initially intended to be a film about two boys discovering their queer identity by falling in love with each other thanks to the similarities it has with “Call Me By Your Name”? No.
But that’s the thing about art, Readers; it’s subjective
Because once I found out that this Luca movie wasn’t a romance and saw what it ACTUALLY was, I also saw how queer people could interpret the story its telling in order to better relate to it.
Basically the story of Luca and his best friend Alberto -- two sea monsters who want to have an unforgettable summer on the surface world in an Italian town that’s known for hunting sea creatures according to the trailer -- can be interpreted and analyzed to be an allegory of queer people experiencing both the wonders and the dangers of the world for the first time.
/Like queer youth, Luca and Alberto -- while scared, curious and anxious in their own right -- have the ability to blend in and just be like everyone else in order to experience everything that this world has to offer, but they sacrifice not being able to be their authentic self as a result./
Trailers that have come out SINCE the initial teaser show a gang of antagonists who look like they’re catching on to sea monsters roaming around the city and are purposefully pursuing them
/Which is a clear allegory for queerphobic hatemongers and supremacists./
Then you have the red-headed Italian girl they befriend Giulia
/Who -- according to tried and true yet predictable story tropes and scenarios -- will stumble upon their secret, and probably give in to her father’s initial mindset before realizing that way of thinking is wrong and become their ally in their right to exist and not be hunted by the townsfolk whenever they’re widely exposed./ do both a regular read and a screen read
This was IMMEDIATELY how I translated the story behind Luca once I realized what it was initially going to be about. So much so that I tweeted about the possible allegorical comparison.
In return, instead of seeing it as one way of interpreting this work, some decided to shut down the comparison altogether. Mostly due to the fact that it wasn’t the intent of the creators, and thus the allegory has no meaning.
So now we once again have to have the conversation of artistic intent versus aesthetic interpretation.
Also known as, did the author INTEND for there to be symbolic meaning when they made the door red, or is the meaning we’re putting behind it absolutely pointless?
The answer...is NO. It is NOT pointless. Because art -- or, in this case, media -- is subjective, anyTHING can mean ANYTHING to anyBODY
Just because Luca isn’t a queer romance, does not mean that its bones do not provide the skeleton for someone to interpret it as a queer story. Because it does.
Because stories about acceptance branch farther than just two young sea monsters that can turn into human boys spending an Italian summer together in a town that usually hunts their kind.
Any young queer person, a person of color, and ESPECIALLY a combination of the two, can watch Luca, and easily see themselves in both Luca and Alberto along with the adventure they the undergo.
Alberto’s longing to want and explore more than what his bubble allows, consequences be damned...
And Luca’s anxiousness in doing so because he KNOWS what the consequences are if they reveal too much of themselves or are immediately perceived as a threat.
But when someone isn’t willing to put in the work in order to see this aesthetic interpretation of this piece of art-slash-media by saying “that’s not what the creator intended; stop trying to find meaning where there isn’t any...”
You are not only denying that individual both a voice and a sense of representation, especially if the pool for it was EXTREMELY shallow to begin with...
But it also shows just how limiting your own imagination, acceptance and lack of critical thought actually is.
Just because the creators of Luca had no intention of making the movie present itself as an allegory for queer youths seeking validation -- whether it be through romance or acceptance of their true selves...
Doesn’t mean that someone closeted or otherwise can’t see Luca and Alberto’s plight of being sea monsters trying to experience the joys humanity has to offer as a relatable experience.
And to deny someone that allegory -- that representation -- just because the creators said that wasn’t what they were aiming for in telling that story is as spiteful as it is ignorant.
Like I stated earlier; It’s the situation of “The Red Door has no symbolic meaning because the author said it has no symbolic meaning” all over again.
Only instead of saying that because you either don’t feel like utilizing more than 3 brain cells in your High School English class or wanna challenge your teacher because you’re a contrary asshole, you’re robbing someone of seeing themselves in another character by using the excuse of artistic intent.
A situation that, let’s just be honest, has only been recently brought up in geek-based pop culture arguments whenever racial minorities, queer people, or said amalgamation of the two tend to see themselves in the traits, personalities, or decisions of certain characters initially rooted in spaces that are heavily gatekept by straight white folk.
Does that mean we shouldn’t be cautious of any and all executions of aesthetic interpretation? Absolutely not.
After all, that’s how we got to the point where a lot of extremist far-right republicans and self-deprecating incels interpreted the philosophy used in The Matrix. And whenever the Wachowski sisters see that shit happen, they’re quick to flush the toilet.
What it DOES mean is that when it comes to the artist's intent versus aesthetic interpretation, we shouldn’t allow the relatability it grants to be taken away when it's analyzed by a people or a community that has very little to no sense of mainstream representation.
Especially when the mainstream representation it DOES have can be easily edited out in order to cater to the masses that don’t want to see it, and the attempts made to make their own as a result is constantly ignored to the point of surprise when it’s actually chosen to be recognized over something broadly more acceptable to the majority.
So yes. The story of Luca can be an allegory for queer youth and people of color exploring a world that -- while some people and places have made excellent strides in accepting them for who they truly are -- is still dangerous for them to be in as their true unbridled selves, with individuals representing said danger constantly getting in their way.
And while that may not have been the original intent of the creators when they made the movie, I feel that if they saw a queer child coming to terms with who they are and heard that this movie helped them in some form or fashion, the last thing they’d do is try and set the record straight.
And if they do...fuck ‘em.
But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below if you’re looking forward to watching DisneyPixar’s Luca.
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, a film you’ve seen that spoke to you on an aesthetic interpretative level that doesn’t necessarily match the creators initial artistic intent.
Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
