Gay/Lesbian Genre

[tsammo]

Why was this genre removed?

[NA9D]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

I don't think it has been.

But there has been a large amount of requests for the name of this genre to be changed to something else. Many people with young children object to that genre name being shown on their boxes.

The content should still be there though...

[jpeacock]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

The genre is definitely gone from the genre list, it was replaced by 'Other' which contains gay/lesbian now plus other random stuff. Definitely harder to search for that content as you have to scroll through all the non-gay/lesbian content within the Other category.

[NA9D]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

I think one reason why this was done is because some people would never watch a Gay/Lesbian categorized film. For example, the movie "Philadelphia" may have been categorized that way and thereby could have been excluded from people's list of browsed movies when it really wasn't a true "Gay/Lesbian" film.

I also think that the term overtly indicates a specific type of sexual behavior. Many people with children, regardless of how they feel about the lifestye, do not feel that it is appropriate for young children to see that in a genre list and then ask about what it means. It's less controversial for everyone. Look at the positive - if this is the type of content you want, be happy that Vudu has some selection that you probably would not find elsewhere.

There are a lot of genre/categorizations that could be made that aren't. Choices have to be made to scale the list somehow. Too many genres are also overwhelming...

[nycstef]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

I say bring back this category. Netflix has it and it hasn't hurt them any...

[dg900rr]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

i'm happy to not see it. keep it off.

[paulrus]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

i'm happy to not see it. keep it off.

Agreed. I'm happy that Vudu doesn't censor content, but I don't want to start having to answer questions from my kids because of a category listing.

Keep the content, but don't bring back the category.

OR

Bring back the category and give me the ability to block and filter content and categories.

[Nded]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

....Bring back the category and give me the ability to block and filter content and categories.

I believe that is where the Vudu is headed. It's just not the highest priority for UI changes at this point. Frankly, I'd put this AFTER the Vudu has more HD titles available then Netflix, which should be soon at the 70 per month pace! Not sure where I'd put this vs. support for closed caption functionality (I'm sure some of you will tell me ). The G&L content is still there for those who want it, the tender eyes and ears of the youngsters are safe for now.

[dg900rr]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

as far as i can remember...gay/lesbian is not a genre anyways. (don't recall ever hearing of that category in the award shows...)

gay or lesbian is a theme around a character not the film-style/scenery/plot of the movie/show.

is Philadelphia a gay/lesbian movie??? no. it is a drama.
is Brokeback Mtn gay/les movie??? nope. western/melodrama (aka drama).

if you put this in, then it opens the flood gates for many other minor-sub genres...cars, guns, kissing, aliens, animals, water, fireworks....

the only place this has as a genre filter is in the adult area as sub filters...

[nycstef]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

It is a genre listed on Netflix and it's useful for people who specifically want to watch Gay and Lesbian themed movies. And by the way, there are plenty of movies--both mainstream and independent--that cater to this audience. There are also several cable TV channels that cater to Gay and Lesbian viewers. On the other hand, I don't think there are many movies or TV shows that cater specifically to "cars, guns, kissing, aliens, animals, water, fireworks." If there were, then there would be requests for these categories.

And if some people are sensitive then yes VUDU should add the ability to block and categories. But bring back the category for those who want it!

By the way, on Netflix these are the genres given and each genre has several sub-genres. I think they make sense because it is useful for subscribers:
Action & Adventure
Anime & Animation
Children & Family
Classics
Comedy
Documentary
Drama
Faith & Spirituality
Foreign
Gay & Lesbian
Horror
Independent
Music & Musicals
Romance
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Special Interest
Sports & Fitness
Television
Thrillers

Philadelphia falls under these genres/subgenres:
Drama
Social Dramas
Gay & Lesbian
Courtroom Dramas

Brokeback falls under:
Romantic Dramas
Drama
Gay & Lesbian
G&L Dramas
G&L Romance
Westerns
HD DVD

[dg900rr]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

snip....There are also several cable TV channels that cater to Gay and Lesbian viewers. On the other hand, I don't think there are many movies or TV shows that cater specifically to "cars, guns, kissing, aliens, animals, water, fireworks." If there were, then there would be requests for these categories.....snip



oh but there are shows and tv channels for things like cars (how about Bullit? or Christine? speed and spike tv channels. how about a monster truck movie??), guns (OLN, dirty harry), Kissing (Oxegen, never been kissed.), Aliens (sci-fi and history, MIB, close encounter, alien, alien2, alien3,), Animals (animal planet, benji, flipper, old yeller)....

there are enought of these to warrant sub catagories lik g/l, but they are not needed.

[nycstef]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

It's a strange point you're trying to make... If enough demand develops for any of the genres you list, but then VUDU would be smart to cater to that demand.

There are already many, many films specifically catering to g/l movies. Look at how many queer film festivals there are... (do a Google search, you'll be surprised at how many there are) ... I'm not sure about it, but I've never heard of a "kissing film festival." And if there have been "gun film festivals," or "car film festivals," or "animal film festivals," etc, they are pretty rare.

I think there is indeed a big demand for a category specifically for g/l films. That's why it's needed. And that's why Netflix and most video stores, such as Blockbuster, also have the category. That's why VUDU originally had it listed, and I hope VUDU will bring it back eventually...

There are many types of movies that I am not interested in, but I just disregard those categories. I don't really understand why "dg900rr" seems so passionate about this issue? Hmmm....

[paulrus]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

Actually a better idea would be to support tags. That way you could just do a sort by tags rather than categories. So if I wanted to search for guns, cars, aliens - it would sort everything that fit those tags.

[NA9D]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

There are already many, many films specifically catering to g/l movies. Look at how many queer film festivals there are... (do a Google search, you'll be surprised at how many there are) ... I'm not sure about it, but I've never heard of a "kissing film festival." And if there have been "gun film festivals," or "car film festivals," or "animal film festivals," etc, they are pretty rare.

All what you talk about is because the g/l is typically an "activist" social lifestyle. It's "politically correct" in this day and age and some g/l activists want it to become a protected minority class. But then let's take a look at it this way:

If we treat g/l as a protected minority then it is on equal footing with all other minority classes (African-American, Hispanic, Asian, etc). The only non-protected class of person is white men of European descent. Therefore, if Vudu were to treat all these classes equally we'd have to have genre's for

- African American
- Hispanic
- Asian
- etc.

Now there may be some Asian categorizations simply because they are typically foreign language. But I don't think Vudu breaks down individual genres for African American films or Hispanic films. Each of those groups has a unique sub-culture in American society with films tailored to those sub-cultures. But we don't have them as "genres."

The g/l community in America is a sub-culture. Films made about it are NOT a genre. The g/l community wants to define it as that because they are highly evangelistic and want to basically push it in everyone's face. But the films are NOT a genre.

And the bottom line is that many people in America find the incessant pushing of the g/l lifestyle to be emblazoned over everything as pushy and offensive. It's your choice what you want to do in your own home and in your own bedroom. Why must I know what that choice is? I don't spout my sexual preferences in public. Why must the homosexual community do the same?

It's not a genre. The categorization is based solely on the fact that it's g/l solely because of sexual overtones. It is better for Vudu not to have any sort of "sexually related" categories due to the large number of people with young children who have the box. And also being that g/l is a sub-culture, it is being treated equally and on par with the Italian-American sub-culture which has no category on Vudu.

Bottom line is this:

The G/L films made are mostly obscure films that no one has ever heard of and that haven't made it to mainstream. Those who want to watch those films can't easily find them w/o a specific category on Vudu. The same can be said for any of those other sub-culture films...

[MaxH]

Re: Gay/Lesbian Genre

Actually a better idea would be to support tags. That way you could just do a sort by tags rather than categories. So if I wanted to search for guns, cars, aliens - it would sort everything that fit those tags.

I really like that idea...unfortunately, I believe it would require a major software revision in order to handle hundreds or thousands of tags instead of 20 or so genres, plus it would require the metadata to be reviewed and revised to add tags for every current and new movie, so I don't know if that's even possible without bringing all other development to a grinding halt. I'm not abandoning all hope yet, I'm just sayin', I'm not holding my breath.

I've actually suggested a way to "screen out" genres from even being browsed, which would make some people here happy. I know I'd like to use that to temporarily screen out all horror flicks when I'm browsing for movies with my five year old daughter. Some of the movie posters are pretty disturbing.