This film (as far as i'm concerned) has a strong lesbian subtext. any thoughts on this?
click the link below for a brief photo essay related to this subject
http://illbuythatforadollar.blogspot.com/2007/11/gold-diggers-secret-of-bear-mountain.html
The "REAL" Secret of Bear Mountain: lesbianism? Thanks to the OP for bringing this up. I just watched this movie for the first time last night (a recommendation by Netflix...go figure) and I had the same exact thoughts.
I've read through other comments on here that vehemently defend this film as NOT having gay undertones, but I can't help but disagree, and here's why:
1) Beth was infatuated with Jody the moment she saw her, without knowing anything else about her. They even slow down the camera while Beth watches, looking like she just had her breath taken away. It screamed physical attraction. "That was my first glimpse of Jody--the finest woman I know."
2) Jody was made to look incredibly butch, almost outrageously so. Ok, I "get it" that she idolized Molly and cut her hair short like her, etc. etc., but she not only dressed like a boy but acted like one in the extreme. Her demeanor and appearance went above and beyond a typical tomboy character, imo.
3) What was up with the whole dancing on the boat scene? Out of the blue, Jody starts emulating Travolta's sexy Saturday Night Fever moves, gyrating her hips, shaking her butt, while Beth watches from below, enthralled. This was perhaps the most eyebrow-raising scene of the movie for me.
4) I agree w/ another poster who pointed out that Beth's feelings for Jody were extremely strong, considering she had just met the girl like a week ago. Telling her mother "you can't change how I feel about her", etc.
5) Beth practically shuns away the attention she gets from two good-looking boys at the picnic/party and goes off to find Jody instead.
7) I have a suspicion that Jody's kleptomania was a metaphor for her sexuality. All the adults are uptight about the fact that she's different and "unsafe"; Beth's mother gets nervous about Beth going off with her alone, the other girls in town talking about her being different, etc. There's many examples of this throughout the movie.
These are all just my observations, of course. I enjoyed the film, and I don't think there's anything wrong whatsoever about homosexuality.
I'm not surprised that I'm not the only one to notice the undertones--I think the film's real message is acceptance.
(as of May 2009, that link is null).
I watched this movie, with the sole intent of looking at it as, not a children's movie, but as one about two young girls that feel a sexual connection to each other. Honestly, I can't see it.
Okay, where Jody does that John Travolta dance in her friend's face is sort of gay, but that's the only thing I could see.
Referring to a friend as beautiful the way that was done in this movie isn't quite gay. She was giving her a boost of confidence, letting her know that she's loved.
The statement of "you can't change how I feel about her" came right after Beth's mother and the sheriff were telling her about how Jody was a bad person. They couldn't change that Beth thinks Jody is a sweet, honest, misunderstood person.
And just moment's before Beth shunned the two cute boys, they, along with the two girls, were all talking trash about the girl that saved her life. Then she finally sees the said girl for the first time over a week, who signaling her secretly. Beth doesn't seem shallow enough to immediately swoon over two guys that were talking bad about her friend, especially when she was trying to secretly go over there to see her.
I tried, I really did, to find the 'hidden' message in this movie, but I didn't. Fail.
I just stumbled upon this movie on one of the premium channels. I was really surprised to find a thread about the relationship these girls had as being "gay". It never occurred to me while watching it.
I'm completely with you, anlongtao. The only thing I would add is, when Beth went to talk to Jody behind the bush at the private party, she invited Jody to come to the party by saying, "there's a couple of cute boys..." (or something to that effect).
If there is supposed to be a "gay subtext" why is Beth trying to entice her with "cute boys"?
I think society in general is trying to become the opposite of homophobic. Many people are trying so hard to be Politically Correct and accept LGBT, they are seeing it everywhere. As if they are trying NOT to see a specific thing (i.e. a car), all of a sudden you see it everywhere... because it's bouncing around in your brain so much...
This is a fun family movie... stop paint it something it's not.
"Quotes Found On The Internet are not always accurate."
-- Abraham Lincoln --
you are a victim of a cynical age. I'm trying to be very polite here. Remember Quentin Tarantino's riff of "Top Gun" this is equally silly and erroneous. Gold Diggers is a wonderful family move, subtext I don't believe, is intended or should be inferred.
shareGAYYYYYYYYYYYY
this movie couldnt be more gay if it was called, gay gayerson and lesbo dyke on gaycraze mountain.
love it!
Absolutely, yes. I actually came to this board to see if anyone else had said so. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but for one, I vividly remember the scene where Christina Ricci is gazing at the other girl while the voiceover says, "...The finest woman I know." Don't forget that in the mid-90s, "fine" was a hugely popular slang term for good-looking. I doubt they could have chosen that word without that occuring to them.
shareSo the entire police force is also gay?
Cause they're referred to as "(Insert your city's name here) Finest"...
If she would have said "ooh that girl is fine..." then okay.. I'll give it to you...
But the context in which the scene is written, is that Beth (as a grown up, years later) is telling the story of Bear Mountain and she is saying her friend is the "finest woman" she knows because in the end her friend was the exact opposite everyone believed her to be. A good person with a good heart and the best friend she ever had.
If this movie has gay themes, then so does Beaches, Now and Then, Brokedown Palace, Clueless, First Wives Club, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Thelma and Louise, Waiting to Exhale, etc...
In all these movies the story was girl's closer to one another than anyone and fighting the world against their friendships.
Beaches= "Wind Beneath My Wings" was the theme... did that make it gay?
Now and Then= Roberta was a tomboy... was she gay?
Brokedown Palace= The two of them spent years in a Thai female's prison, was there a gay undertone there?
Clueless= Tai was a tombody before meeting Cher, was Tai gay?
First Wives Club= all four were dumped by their husbands, one had a gay daughter, did that make her gay automatically?
Romy and Michelle's HSR= two girls live together after high school and are never shown to be in a relationship with any man in those 10 yrs... were they lovers?
Thelma and Louise= Chicks on a road trip alone... was that gay?
Waiting to Exhale= A lot of hugging and comforting... were they 4 lesbians?
See my point... just because a movie shows two girls hugging and standing up for each other doesn't make them gay.
For all we know, the writers were trying to show how rebellious Jody was to the point that she made herself dress and look different because she knew just how much it pissed off the people in her small town.
I think the original poster of this thread is looking to deep for something that just isn't there, to the point they're grasping at straws and taking a lot of other innocent bystanders for the ride...
Your argument is just plain ridiculous. of course the main female characters in those movies weren't gay. For example, is there a scene in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion where Romy watchs Michelle in slow-motion while a voiceover says she's the finest woman she's ever known? is there a scene in Beaches where Bette Middler says that nothing will ever change how she feels about Barbara Hershey? No, because those movies were really just about female friendship and companionship.
True, christina ricci was a tomboy in Now and Then... but was it to the same extent? her character Roberta also seemed very interested in boys and actually kisses one in the film. she also was very clearly a girl with long hair. while i agree that short hair does not a lesbian make, usually only lesbians go as butch as jody does in the movie (of course, there are always exceptions, i don't mean to sound bigoted).
But Bear Mountain takes it a step further. And the OP isn't just grasping at straws if several other people noticed it too. I think YOU are in denial, little lady.
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This movie was made in the 90's but it takes place in the 80's. I loved this movie as a kid and never thought about it that way. But I watched it the other day and gotta admit as I was watching it I was thinking, they are acting kinda gay.....but I don't think they were.....I know if someone were to save my life I would love them with all my heart, guy or girl.
shareThey were not lesbians, damnit! They were best friends, that's it!
shareyou know what? i don't think it's any deeper than a good solid friendship. i had friends my parents didn't like when i was younger and i remember saying stuff like "you know what? she's my best friend. i love her and want to be my friend. i know you don't like her, but she's my friend." im not a lesbian nor was my friend. Also, in a small town setting (considering it's been a while since i watched it, im pretty sure it was in a small town) a lot of girls are just tomboys. i live in a very similar tow setting and a lot of the girls who are "tomboys" choose to be that way because they had older brothers or neighbors and that's how they're comfortable.
so yeah. just watch it. don't read into it. it's the story of two friends who find a treasure...have a nice day.
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You are big time right, kateybella! You rock! :) Good work!
shareIt is sad how girls cannot even have a close friendship anymore without people having to turn it into something sexual. Some of you people need your heads examined.
share The relationship of these girls reminds me so much of me and my best friend. We fell in love a few years ago, but had a talk and decided we both wanted a normal life, so I got married, and she's still trying to find a guy who will accept and love her, even though she is a lesbian. We still interact the way those girls do.
That said, I also have heterosexual girl friends who I am very close to, and I would never be so flirtatious with them.
Is anyone else in a "friendship" like the one these girls had?
Another thing to consider: Imagine Jody was a boy, what would you think about their relationship then? Would they still be "just friends"?
First of all, i'm slightly disturbed by the above post, in that you and your female friend, by your own mutual assertion, professed to be in love with one another, however, you consciously decided to repress your true feelings and pursue a 'normal' life and find understanding men to marry. Oh dear...
This ladies, is not a way to live. Whether you are gay, straight, bi, trans or any other minority for that matter, we are all normal, and ultimately deserve to find happiness and love in our lives. To potentially have denied yourselves true happiness together due to perceived social obstacles, I personally find incredibly sad.
Back to the movie...
I first saw this movie at a young age (about 13) and as a young lesbian I definately associated with the relationship between Jody and Beth and likely projected my desire for this relationship to be young love between the two girls. Truth is, young girls often have close relationships and even crushes on other girls during puberty, which may or may not ever come to anything. That being said, I defy any young lesbian viewer who didn't want to be the heroic Jody saving Beth's life and being her 'special someone'.
As a gay audience we are starved for images of ourselves in mainstream cinema and are keen to appropriate stories with gay subtext. This includes relationships as formentioned in Beaches, Thelma and Louise, Fried Green Tomatoes and Now and Then.
Particularly with Now and Then, the tomboy character of Roberta (again played by Christina Ricci and Rosie O'Donnell as the adult Roberta) was always intended to be a lesbian - as quoted by Rosie O'Donnell here on IMDb - however when it came to it, the powers that be had an over-dub at the beginning of the movie by the adult Chrissy character stating that 'Roberta lives in sin with her boyfriend, yet is normal'. In my version, I imagine this overdub stating 'Roberta is a proud lesbian Ob/Gyn doctor, yet is normal' Also it may be perceived that the relationship between Roberta and Chrissy may be potentially romantic both as adults and in their youth - for example, when young Roberta gives up her sweater to Chrissy when she is cold, Roberta remaining in the Gaslight Edition through the years and maintaining her close relationship with Chrissy, and at the end of the movie Roberta and Chrissy exchange a 'Thank you' and 'I love you' in time for Chrissy's dweeby husband to appear. (It is also mentioned in the film that young Chrissy wants to marry a rich doctor - which adult Roberta has become, while Chrissy's husband is instead a dentist!)
Watching movies is ultimately very subjective and audiences may decipher and interpret text/subtext in a way that relates to them dependent on the original script, direction or the actors performance. I'll always perceive the story in the case of Gold Diggers as having a lesbian subtext due to the way I related to the story, and would even go as far as suggesting that it is a sweet coming out story for the two girls. Even if the matter is not clarified or overtly stated in the movie, the hints remain, while at the same time ensuring a wider appeal to family audiences.
As we leave Beth and Jody hand in hand (!) in the final frames of the movie, I think 'The Flying Song' sung over the end credits says it all... "It's easy to love somebody, it's easier than to be loved. You say you want to be somebody, why don't you be yourself."