The works of television and film creators such as Alan Ball ( Six Feet Under and True Blood), John Waters ( Hairspray), John Cameron Mitchell ( Shortbus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Clive Barker ( Hellraiser, Gods and Monsters, Dread) and Bryan Singer ( House, Superman Returns, X-Men and X2) fit into this category.
Web sites, films, magazines and other cultural products made by out queer people can usually be defined as being queer media. Auteurs: Has this media product been created by queer people? Benshoff and Sean Griffin, in their book Queer Cinema: the film reader, elaborate three general criteria for identifying cultural products as queer: Auteurs, Forms, and Reception. Because of this shift, seriously engaging with and thinking about the images we consume has become more important than ever. With the exception of the most simplistically supportive or bigoted representations, there is room for much discussion and debate in determining a positive or negative LGBTQ presence. One of the most difficult things about approaching film and television’s use of queerness is that there will rarely be a single verdict on any given cultural product.
