Mainstream filmmaking often presents a simplistic narrative of progress, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ representation. Michael Koresky's book, Sick and Dirty: Hollywood's Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness, contests this view. It argues that queerness occupied a complex role in Hollywood, being intertwined with factors like box office performance rather than solely attributed to sexuality. Koresky examines the Hays Code's impact and explores films and writers to reveal the multifaceted nature of queer representation in cinema. His work aims to reframe the discussion around queer history in Hollywood.
"Future generations have come to accept on-screen images of the past as simply the way things were, but to believe people were naive rather than part of a heavily policed system is to misunderstand where popular art comes from."
"Frequently, gay filmmakers flourished and perished not because of their sexuality but because of their box office performance, a shrewd observation Koresky develops as he charts the inception and death of the Hays Code."
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