Was Nix Gay? - Lord of Illusions (1995) Discussion

[–] faranelli 19 years ago

Sexuality probably had little to do with Nix's motivations. His lust/passion was for the power that 'magic' gave him and he saw in Swann the same potential for power. In many ways that made them soul mates as they were inextricably linked to one another. There was definately an attraction but I doubt it was ever centered around sex and more around the intimacy they shared through the magic of Illusion. It is doubtful there was anyone else alive that Nix could relate to with his Magic as we saw when he so easily sacrified his faithful but powerless followers. Mentor/prodigy relationships are often quite intimate but are usually platonic though not always.

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[–] Hotwyre6 19 years ago

Not impossible. Directors often throw a bit of homosexual subtext into their films (Tarantino did this in Reservoir Dogs but it largely went unnoticed). I think the idea with Nix is that he probably buried any sexuality he had in his quest for destiny. If Swan was his outlet for a relationship (settling for a mentor/apprentice arrangement in place of something else is not uncommon) because he had a sort of impotency, it would add even more dimension to this unforgettable antagonist. But I think the idea of subtext is to let the viewer fill in the blanks, so it probably isn't set into stone that Nix was queer.

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[–] yogi115 10 years ago

As has been often been said, " Power is the greatest aphrodesiac of all!"

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[–] bok602 19 years ago

Let's also don't forget that the writer/director himself is openly gay and that homo-erotic and out-and-out gay themes and characters are front and center in many of his works.

In the commentary track of the DVD, Barker coyly uses the term "sexually ambiguous" several times.

"If you don't know the answer -change the question."

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[–] tienkou 19 years ago

Let's not forget about Butterfeld he crazy about Nix and really jealous of Swann

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[–] kinghereafter 18 years ago

Well Nix does kind of propose to Swann at the end, doesn't he? Also, some of the final dialogue Between Nix and Swann reminded me of an old movie called "The Sergeant" which was about a gay U.S. army sergeant who had affections for one of his subordinates named Swann. I'd say yeah, there was some demonic Brokeback Mountain vibe between the two of them.

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[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stayhooper67 17 years ago

I think it depends on how you look at it. Maybe there were some undertones dealing with that.

But if you notice...

He gets BEYOND pissed at Swann at the end when Swann glanced at Dorothea and admits he still loves her. Also Nix keeps telling Dorothea she was the reason Swann turned on him and how she took him away from him. How they were going to spend the rest of time together in the dark, just the two of them as it always should of been.

Hummm...

"You know, your clothes may say disco, but your eyes say rock n' roll."

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[–] uncloned023 15 years ago

Nix was utterly asexual in that regard. He was consumed by his power and its effect on people. He was attracted to Swann's ability to wield the same power, and he likely lusted after the idea of corrupting Swann in the same manner he himself was corrupted.

Butterfield on the other hand is openly in love/worship of Nix and despises Swann for being Nix's chosen one, and Nix openly derides Butterfield about this in the beginning of the film, suggesting he's personally amused by such petty squabbles.

Nix resents Dorothea because she took Swann's interest away from true magic before Nix could fully corrupt him. But that has nothing to do in any sexual way.

Many cult leaders use sex as merely another form of control, but what really gets them hard isn't having people willing to have sex with them at the drop of a hat as much as it is having the power over those people to the point where they will do whatever is asked of them without question.

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[–] love_horror 13 years ago

I am stunned that people are taking the OP's question seriously, which obviously was a joke.
As faraneli & uncloned said, it was more of Nix's lust for power & a mentor prodigy thing.

<profile updated> The absence of love is abject pain.

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[–] Zero_Wolf 13 years ago

These sort of threads pop up in the boards for many movies on IMDB, it is true. And usually the assertion is entirely without merit, but merely made to troll.

In this case, given the writer's body of work, I don't think it's an entirely implausible possibility.

While it's true Nix was mad with power, and that was his overwhelming drive, I don't think one can easily dismiss all the, frankly, quite overt homosexual elements.

Which is not to suggest that Nix was interested in anything like what one might consider a healthy relationship (by which I mean mutual respect and equality between two consenting adults, the homosexual aspect notwithstanding), but something more akin to the paedophilia of the ancient Greeks, which sometimes doubled as a mentor/prodigy relationship.

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[–] ozymandias312 13 years ago

It wasn't necessarily a sex thing at all. Everything is not always all about sex. There really are other kinds of relationships and bonds.

Oh, yeah, what Faranelli said almost six years ago.

Ozy

And I stood where I did be; for there was no more use to run; And again I lookt with my hope gone.

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[–] Blahaha_87 12 years ago

It wasn't necessarily a sex thing at all. Everything is not always all about sex.

No, everything is not always about sex, but like another poster said; you have to look at the writer/director. Clive Barker's work is often overtly sexual.

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[–] TheSolarSailor 10 years ago

ut if you notice...

He gets BEYOND pissed at Swann at the end when Swann glanced at Dorothea and admits he still loves her. Also Nix keeps telling Dorothea she was the reason Swann turned on him and how she took him away from him. How they were going to spend the rest of time together in the dark, just the two of them as it always should of been.

Hummm...

You are taking the scene at face value while ignoring other elements. The whole scene in question was about the power Nix had to share with Swann. He wants a completely undistracted Swann whose only concern is appreciating his accomplishments. He can't have that if Swann still dwells on Dorothea. Bigger things are going on here than homosexuality. The allegory is most definitely there, but that is where it stops. In universe, there is nothing gay here at all. Nix's anger is over the fact that Swann still dwells on a lump of flesh, a blob of mud and $h*t as seen through a God's eyes. Swann is limiting himself by dwelling on her, limiting himself from truly embracing everything the world of magic has to offer, and limiting his ability to appreciate what Nix is going to accomplish. Nix derides Harry for thinking that a little love will make all this bad go away. Love simply isn't a factor here. Nix doesn't have gay love for Swann while simultaneously deriding the notion of love.

- - - - - - -
Whose idea was it for the word LISP to have an S in it?

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[–] Slainmonkey 12 years ago

What they had together was "magic"........sorry

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[–] CBikle 11 years ago

Nah, based on dialogue, I think Nix had moved beyond any kind of recognizable sexuality; I think his interest in Swann was as a "peer" who could appreciate all the bad stuff Nix was going to do and would serve as a worthy audience for it.

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