This abstract was provided by the publisher.
In Bisexual Characters in Film Wayne Bryant perceptively surveys the various ways in which bisexually behavioral characters have been represented in films over a period of 80 years. His research is based on over 200 films from 25 countries, reveals common themes that tell us much about the ways screen writers, directors, producers, actors, censors, and audiences have felt about people who—in the words of the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz—'go both ways,' and about cultural attitudes toward gay men, lesbians, and heterosexuals as swell. Bryant deftly isolates and identifies the intended and effectual functions of bisexual characters by observing not only how they appear and what they do on screen but also, in some cases, how decisions about their appearances and actions were arrived at. The author also discusses thematic uses of bisexuality in camp and comedy, and surveys the contributions to film of bisexual actors, directors, screenwriters, and others. Of particular interest are Bryant's chapters on particular classes of representations: the ‘killers and psychos,' the victims, the stereotypes of married sexuals [sic], ‘anything-that-moves' satyrs and sluts, bisexual male hustlers, and exemplary positive and non judgmental depictions.; Bisexual Characters in Film is an important contribution to the study of twentieth-century sexual culture.
—Michael S. Montgomery, MA, MS
Humanities Reference Librarian and Selector for philosophy and gay, lesbian, and bisexual studies
Princeton University
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