It was a harmless joke. Get over yourself. Being gay is not a big deal unless you make it one. And if you’re afraid to explain it to kids just say “hey some guys date guys… and some ladies date ladies” You will be surprised how well your kids can handle that. If you can’t do that, then you need to look deeper into your own fears and ignorance.
But it’s not too much at all, it’s one line to show that this character, who fits in very well with all of the other odd characters of the movie (Norman is very much the only sane character), just so happens to be gay. You say you want to promote tolerance and respect, and that’s how it’s done. By showing children that people who are different from us are still human (in all of our flawed wonder), and that they don’t have to be defined by their labels.
That one line helped show children that ‘gay’ isn’t an insult to be hurled across the playground (and if you want to mess with a child’s developing sexuality, then by all means encouraged them to use the word as a pejorative), but rather as just another state of being. I applaud the creators of Paranorman for bringing children’s entertainment into the twenty-first century. Yes, the stereotypical jock can be homosexual, and you wouldn’t know it.
By the way, the joke wasn’t that he was gay, it was the realization that the teen girl character’s efforts to get his attention through the movie had been in vain. That was why I laughed.
It was a harmless joke. Get over yourself. Being gay is not a big deal unless you make it one. And if you’re afraid to explain it to kids just say “hey some guys date guys… and some ladies date ladies” You will be surprised how well your kids can handle that. If you can’t do that, then you need to look deeper into your own fears and ignorance.
But it’s not too much at all, it’s one line to show that this character, who fits in very well with all of the other odd characters of the movie (Norman is very much the only sane character), just so happens to be gay. You say you want to promote tolerance and respect, and that’s how it’s done. By showing children that people who are different from us are still human (in all of our flawed wonder), and that they don’t have to be defined by their labels.
That one line helped show children that ‘gay’ isn’t an insult to be hurled across the playground (and if you want to mess with a child’s developing sexuality, then by all means encouraged them to use the word as a pejorative), but rather as just another state of being. I applaud the creators of Paranorman for bringing children’s entertainment into the twenty-first century. Yes, the stereotypical jock can be homosexual, and you wouldn’t know it.
By the way, the joke wasn’t that he was gay, it was the realization that the teen girl character’s efforts to get his attention through the movie had been in vain. That was why I laughed.
Children should not be exposed to that. Enough said.