I didn’t see the movie Ratatouille, so I can’t confirm anything, but while checking out Hero Complex last night, they linked to fellow LA Times Blog Daily Dish.
Laure Murat of the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies takes the exploration of this topic much further in her lecture Thursday, in which she delves into Remy’s embodiment of “the lonely gay, both refined and the object of disgust, excluded and successful” and the animated movie as “the story of the Oedipus conflict, mixed with issues of race and species…. If ‘anyone can cook,’ any queer guy has a role to play in this world — at least in Paris.”
It should also be noted that among her fields is “Gay and Lesbian Studies”. That’s not in the Dish article, but it is in the profile paged linked to. What I find amusing is the comments to that article. Even gay people think she’s off her rocker. I’ve noticed a few occasions when people on both sides of any debate (including “my side” on occasion) will reach to prove a movie actually promotes “their” point of view or is another example of pushing an agenda they’re against. I remember a movie that was all about pointing out alleged gay subtext (as a good thing) in a number of old movies (like the early days of color), and while some of the examples made sense, others made no sense at all.
Couldn’t it just be possible that it’s just a movie about finding your (non-sexual) place in the world, despite what anyone tells you? Why ruin a message constantly lost elsewhere (I’m surprised kids movies are still getting away with it when the rest of the world tries to kill their hopes and dreams, “age” them as quick as possible, and kill their childhood) with a controversial agenda that isn’t the filmmakers, but YOURS!
And since when did we straight men can’t cook? (Do I get a pass for using a box mix when I make brownies?) Ever hear of male chefs? Ever watch the Food Network? This, people, is why I tend to push “writer’s intent” in certain discussions.
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