MovieChat Forums > White Squall (1996) Discussion > Homo-Erotic

Homo-Erotic

posted 20 years ago by akfilmguy
78 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone else think this movie is a bit homo-erotic? Scott Wolf and Ryan Phillipe should get it on already. ;-)

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[–] anitric2000 20 years ago

I think it can only be seen that way by people who find men erotic (a category I can fall into). But for those who approach it objectively, it's just a slice of life. So, yes I agree, but no, i disagree. Do you see what I'm saying?

"Last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off..."

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[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] anitric2000 20 years ago

Which must be why you instantly had to look at a posting titled "Homo-Erotic." I have no interest knowing any more about you! Nasty!

"Last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off..."

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] anitric2000 20 years ago

You disgust me.

"Last survivor of the Nostromo...signing off..."

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[–] shannonm75 20 years ago

Why must people think "dirty little thoughts" about the film? It was not about gays. Just a bunch of guys on a boat and you see how they went for the pretty Dutch girls. It was a good movie and I'd rather not hear about this so-called "homo erotic". It was just a movie.

~ Fingernails on a chalkboard equals an Internet troll.~

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] MeanerWithTheScenery 16 years ago

I'd rather not hear about this so-called "homo erotic".

What you would or wouldn't rather hear about really is no one else's responsibility. If you'd rather not hear about homo-eroticism then try as hard as you can not to click on posts titled HOMO-EROTIC. A challenge, I'm sure.

“Friends! Help! A guinea pig tricked me!”

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[–] schuhj 14 years ago

Amen.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] kdelezynski 19 years ago

Believe it or not, that's how straight guys actually bond; it's a fraternal brotherhood kind of thing.

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[–] robhimself626 20 years ago

what is truly disgusting is how even in the 21st century there are people with such hate and prejudice in their minds and so-called hearts. i am an american as well as a homosexual so there is certain bias as to how i ended up in this post. what is in question is how someone with such blind disgust of gays ended up in this post. were you so obviously looking for queers just so you could bash us with your own loathsome presence?

this nation you seem to know so well is the home of the free. we are all free to be who we are and to accept each other and most importantly OURSELVES. the french, might i add, also enjoy such liberties.

so please, s0uthernf0lk, take your bigotry elsewhere...you come here only to insult people who are happy with themselves they way they were created. what a sad, sad, specimen you are.

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[–] shannonm75 20 years ago

I'm not here to bash anybody. I don't know about everyone else. I just didn't like the fact that someone assumed something or misunderstood something out of the movie. Everyone has their opinion of things I suppose. When i get bashed I just stay out of it. Cause then otherwise I'm wasting my time.

I'm not going to post in here anymore cause i don't want to hurt anyone.

~ Fingernails on a chalkboard equals an Internet troll.~

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[–] press-37 20 years ago

I watched the movie the other night, and I agree that it was "a bit homo-erotic." Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. But the director seemed to take a particular interest in showing lots of closeups of shirtless boys and seemed to frame them in a manner that I've not seen before in other ship movies. It's difficult to describe "homo-erotic" in this case, since it was basic PG material and did not include any overt homo-erotic acts. However, it reminded me of the old Sparticus movie. I couldn't help but notice this aspect of the movie.

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[–] x111b3825 20 years ago

Puhleeze...never been on a boat in the sunny Caribbean? How unfortunate for you.

Most of us take our shirts off because we like the sun, we like it when the girls do too, but they hardly think us "homo" erotic. Nice way to demonstrate how one's mind wanders though....what would Freud think of this?

Yeah, Spartacus was made specifically for the gays at large too. C'mon, get over it Rock Hudson.

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[–] press-37 20 years ago

Shirt removal in and of itself is not homo-erotic. I've watched plenty of "ship" movies with people in various states of dress. But "White Squall" is the only "ship" movie I've seen so far that had a homo-erotic quality. My wife noticed this aspect of the movie before I did. But this is just an opinion. You can disagree. But I am surprised by the tone of the disagreements. For some reason, people are viewing this obervation as some sort of insult to the movie or an insult to homosexuals. It's not. There's nothing inherently wrong with having different types of eroticism in movies.

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[–] deannalaudicino 19 years ago

let me just say that I will take a boat full of hot, wet, great-bodied men any day!!!

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] kreemer 15 years ago

Great movie. So what if it's Homo Erotic because it is. Nothing to do with who's gay and who's straight and who's right and whether or not it was made that way. Eroticism is a label applied by those who see arousal in what is being termed Erotic. SO. YES. IT IS HOMO EROTIC. So what? Good film. Not excellent but I cried.

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[–] shannonm75 19 years ago

quote:But the director seemed to take a particular interest in showing lots of closeups of shirtless boys and seemed to frame them in a manner that I've not seen before in other ship movies./quote

I just assumed they were catering to a female audience,lol. Most girls like to see topless guys walking around all sweaty. I mainly enjoyed it for the adventure-being away from home and out there in the middle of nowhere.

Spiders eat Internet Trolls...

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[–] craigdurnin 18 years ago

i honestly dont think it's homo-erotic.lets net forget people the was working hard in the baking sun. i think i would be working in as little as possible

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[–] RomeoKnight 14 years ago

Closeups my a**. So every time there is a group of men/boys wearing no shirt you see it as homo erotic? Perhaps you are homo yourself living in a closet. Or you are showing us off about your "masculinity" telling that you have a wife and all and make fun of people (secretly) who don't have wives and automatically think they are homos.

There was NOTHING homo-erotic in this film.

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[–] iamjillsnipple 20 years ago

it's people like s0uthernf0lk that utterly disgust me and should be sent to their own country (not france, you dont deserve france) you make me want to move out of this redneck hick country. i am a male, i am hetrosexual and have lived in the US all my life. but the ignorance that seems to be so prolific between the sierra mtns and the hudson river is downright embarrassing.

"gay people should be sent to another country." -- congratulations, s0uthernf0lk, you win the award for most ignorant, uneducated comment of the month. if you send all the gay people to their own country, let me know, I'll move. I'd rather live in a country of gay people (who believe it or not are normal, and in all likelihood have far more intelligence than you) than live in a country full of people who believe as you do.

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[–] sea-shellbell 19 years ago

iamjillsnipple--Thank you. I am just as concerned with the amount of ignorant gits in this country as you are. Thank you for eloquent statement.

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[–] FilmPolice 18 years ago

It's now over a year since you posted this message but I just saw it and had to respond...
Thank you! Well said! As someone who considers myself lucky to live west of the sierra mountains, I am embarrassed also when I hear ignorant and hateful sentiments. Your response to that person was great!

http://hometown.aol.com/cabran6242/myhomepage/sanfrancisco.html

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[–] squall-11 17 years ago

Homophobia level in this thread is about 85%, get lost already losers.

Great movie.

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[–] johnrupertg 16 years ago

I am sure everyone has at one time or another had jillsnipple. I am not so sure about iamjillsnipple, and to what extent either he or she may enjoy that.

Since gay people are so not tolerated here in the United States perhaps living in Iran would be more amenable.

I am neither homophobic, nor ignorant, I am, however, disappointed in the way in which a group of people who perceive themselves as being discriminated upon are indeed the biggest hypocrites and bigots in the world. A little tolerance goes a long way.

By the way the entire world is neither homosexual or homophobic. I suggest you seek professional help, as you are undoubtedly delusional.

There is nothing wrong with being homosexual or heterosexual, stupidity and ignorance on the other hand is criminal.

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[–] cjpmak 20 years ago

As far as I'm concerned, every boat/sailor movie is going to seem homoerotic. (Supporting factoid: "Sodomy, rum and the lash" was a famous saying associated with the British Navy, if I recall correctly, meaning that that was what the life of a sailor was about. Then we have Billy Budd, of course. And the term "sailor" as a greeting itself has always been a euphemism for "gay" or even trade.) Lots of young, healthy, beautiful men sequestered together in close quarters for long periods of time in an all-male environment where cooperation and harmony, as opposed to competition and fighting, are absolutely essential.

I mean, duh.

As to the film itself, yes, I thought there was a subliminally homoerotic feeling to the film, but it was a small element. Again, it seems perfectly natural for a boat movie, so it doesn't seem worth mentioning, but since someone did...

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[–] turasatana 19 years ago

Wow, this board is making me need to take a cold shower.

"Damn this gas guzzler WHICH AS AN AMERICAN I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DRIVE!"
-American Dad

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[–] LLee9999 19 years ago

As being based on a true story, the ending is still sad; though it seems a bit sexually exciting in the beginning.

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[–] wolverine5339-1 19 years ago

I don't understand why people have this opinion as the film. As a guy. If it's hot out and we're sweating, this happens especially in hot climates. In which this story takes place. Take your shirt off. As a guy we have nothing to hide. Is it the heat? Did you not notice the fans above the guys as they were taking what I presume is the SAT. (since it talks about Math and Verbal sections, and how I talk about the SAT. Just took it not even a year ago) So where is the abnormal taking off of the shirt? If there's girls... show of. If it's hot outside, survive. Basic facts. If the shirts are off at any unnecessary points, prove it. Tell me when in the film it is not necessary. You heard of dehydration right? That's why sometimes guys need to take their shirts off. It's normal. Don't see anything weird about it.

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[–] rjlaidlow 19 years ago

I don't think there's anything too wrong with putting forward an opinion about any movie - hearing different people's viewpoints on movies is very interesting and often makes you view a movie in a different light the next time you see it.

If the original commment was meant to be derogatory to homosexuals, then obviously it should not have even made it onto this board, but if the comment was meant to put forward a suggestion for a looking at the movie in a different light, then I don't see what harm it is doing.

I don't think anything in Ridley Scott's film career really suggests any sort of homo-erotic undercurrent, but in the unlikely even that White Squall is an exception, then is it such a big problem ?

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[–] pianoguy227 18 years ago

*basic facts*
Well aren't there basic facts to everything but its the subtleties that make certain people watch this movie. It ^is^ nice to have my shirt off in the summer, to feel the breeze or soak up the sun. It's a pretty common thing to see men shirtless at the beach or on boats. But realistically, the director **must** have known that filming these shirtless teenage boys (actually some of the actors were in their early 20s) had some sort of appeal to women and gay men. For straight men who have absolutely no reason to view this movie in such a way it's only natural to dismiss this appeal as simply "basic facts."

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[–] justanothercritic 19 years ago

I agree with you, in that I think the movie is homo-erotic. However, "homo-erotic" is very subjective -- especially in cases like this one where it isn't blatant. Ask a gay male or a straight woman if they noticed the frequency at which bare chests appeared and had "checked it out", they will probably say they did. Ask a straight male if he noticed, and he'll probably go, "What are you talking about?".

I think Ridley Scott intentionally framed shots the way he did. Whether or not he intended there to be any homo-eroticism overtones in the movie who knows. I would have to say he knew what he was doing.

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[–] tombo352001 19 years ago

No but I do think this movie sucked. Why do they kill dolphins? Awesome a dead dolphin nice job. I hate this movie and I hate anyone who has watched this movie. You anti-dolphin fascists.

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[–] nightwingx00 19 years ago

you totally missed the entire message of the film...i guess most of it went over your head...i cant believe that all you got out of the whole movie was that someone killed a dolphin. as for your statement "i hate anyone who watched this movie" well...i think you need to perhaps seek professional help for yourself. you definately have several "issues" that need worked out. the next time you decide to post a comment, do yourself (and all of us) a favor...DONT!!!
p.s. have a nice day!

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[–] Barclayandrew 19 years ago

Did you happen to notice the guy who killed the dolphin was thrown off the boat? (By the way, it wasnt a real Dolphin)
Onto the Homo-erotic thing, i dont see it myself.
Male bonding and gay relationships arent the same thing, if you really do believe that the movie has gay undertones then it says more about you than it does about the film.
I thought it was a very enjoyable, if tragic story of boys becoming men, and as always, Jeff Bridges was superb.

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[–] jgravely 19 years ago

Always be suspect of the self proclaimed straight guy who's constantly pointing out homoerotic and gay vibes. Always.

It's a dirty job, but I pay clean money for it.

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