Not Sure how this will go down but.....

Handsome Bob

Hey all.:)

First of all I'm not gay. But I feel I have to share something with you all. I don't know if many of you are aware, or even care, but I think the character of John Paul McQueen in Hollyoaks was brilliantly portrayed. It took away the stereotypes and really grounded the issue of how society approaches it's attitude towards homosexuality.

I am interested to hear, if you followed it I mean, your views on this character because I think this character really influenced a lot of people in a positive manner. I'd love to hear your views on this.

shay_562

Didn't follow it that closely, but yeah, by and large it seemed fairly well written and portrayed. I did like how they ended it with a few giant nods to the internet fans (the "Sunset Ending" background etc), even if I do find said shippers a tad on the CRAZY side of extreme.

Not sure how many people it really affected though - not in a bolshy or dismissive way, but would the average viewer of Hollyoaks (teenage girls, I'd assume) really need all that much education these days on the whole "gay people are people too" platform. I'd be much happier seeing a well-portrayed gay storyline in something like Corrie or Eastenders, if you're going with the "soap operas shaping people's cultural views" thing.

rainbow kirby

shay_562 wrote: »

Not sure how many people it really affected though - not in a bolshy or dismissive way, but would the average viewer of Hollyoaks (teenage girls, I'd assume) really need all that much education these days on the whole "gay people are people too" platform.

You'd be surprised at how many teenage girls *do* need that bit of education on such matters though!

Bottle_of_Smoke

shay_562 wrote: »

Not sure how many people it really affected though - not in a bolshy or dismissive way, but would the average viewer of Hollyoaks (teenage girls, I'd assume) really need all that much education these days on the whole "gay people are people too" platform. I'd be much happier seeing a well-portrayed gay storyline in something like Corrie or Eastenders, if you're going with the "soap operas shaping people's cultural views" thing.

Yes they do. How many girls come out with "oh me and my gay friend went shopping here , me and my gay friend did blah there..."

If I was gay I'd be offended by that. you don't hear people saying "my black friend's great for buying hip hop records with" "My asian friend's great for buying spices with" It's as if they're saying they're only friends with the gay person because they're gay and its some sort of fashion thing

unreggd

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Yes they do. How many girls come out with "oh me and my gay friend went shopping here , me and my gay friend did blah there..."

If I was gay I'd be offended by that. you don't hear people saying "my black friend's great for buying hip hop records with" "My asian friend's great for buying spices with" It's as if they're saying they're only friends with the gay person because they're gay and its some sort of fashion thing

Yeah the girls in my year in school used to do that

I think its really offensive to constantly associate someone with their race, sexuality, skin color

Handsome Bob

shay_562 wrote: »

Didn't follow it that closely, but yeah, by and large it seemed fairly well written and portrayed. I did like how they ended it with a few giant nods to the internet fans (the "Sunset Ending" background etc), even if I do find said shippers a tad on the CRAZY side of extreme.

Not sure how many people it really affected though - not in a bolshy or dismissive way, but would the average viewer of Hollyoaks (teenage girls, I'd assume) really need all that much education these days on the whole "gay people are people too" platform. I'd be much happier seeing a well-portrayed gay storyline in something like Corrie or Eastenders, if you're going with the "soap operas shaping people's cultural views" thing.

Ha ha true enough! I remember reading an article in a paper covering James Sutton (he played McQueen) and he said he was overwhelmed by the amount of letters he got from fans saying "you're portrayal of a gay character helped me come out". I think up until Hollyoaks tackled it homosexual characters have been treated stereotypically on TV, and it is still happening. I think Hollyoaks gained a lot of new viewers with the storyline as I found it intruiging and refreshing to watch the progression of "your typical teenage male into Prison Break and Football" coming to the realisation that he was gay.

Hollyoaks may be on the surface very materialistic when it comes to their criteria for actors and actresses, but I think they really excelled with JP's initial storyline (it got very surreal eventually) and their anorexia storyline.

elekid

The "Todd" storyline in Coronation Street was on tv the summer I came out and while it wasn't the only reason I chose to come out at that time I'm sure it did have a big influence on my decision. Just seeing Todd coming to terms with his sexuality on tv made me feel like I wasn't the only going through it and I ended up giving serious thought to telling people for the first time in my life. It also helped that he was portrayed as a fairly ordinary guy rather than being any of the stereotypes gay characters often end up as on tv.

It's funny to think how nervous I was about telling my parents that I'm gay considering that my dad is a big Emmerdale fan and he's sat through plenty of scenes in it with gay kissing etc. without batting an eyelid! Gay plots in soaps can do a lot of good if done right.

Marshy

Yeah, John Paul was alright, preferred Craig myself. Their storyline was a bit frustating but I guess it was well written all the same.

Thought the whole ending with Kieron being killed was a bit much but at least it didn't end in total heartbreak when Craig and JP went off together. Or maybe thats changed since? Haven't really followed it of late...