Max is gay, but you wouldn't guess that from looking at him on the outside. Unlike most gay male characters of the nineties, like Jack or Will, he is overweight. He's attractive, yes, but not exactly stylish. It's never quite clear what Max does for a living. He is much like Jack in the sense that he's a bit of a freeloader, yet he somehow always has money. He's more what you would think of as a laid back heterosexual guy. He's not necessarily promiscuous, in fact he is much less so then all of the other characters on the show who are straight. He is a bit ridiculous though, but he's not the only one. Everyone else on the show is a bit silly and easy to laugh at because we can see that they are just caricatures of ourselves. If anything, Max is not a caricature of a gay man, but a caricature of a slacker, who tries his hardest to get out of work and make as much money as possible without working a real job.Another thing about the show that I think is important is that they were not afraid to show guy on guy kissing when Max gets back together with his old boyfriend. He woos him by lighting candles outside his apartment. The writers of the show might as well scream, "They are just like us!" And what's the big deal about showing men kissing anyway? It is probably stems from the fact that so many heterosexual men take pleasure in watching women kiss, while most heterosexual woman don't necessarily enjoy watching men kiss. The other factor is that so many men, even those who claim to have no problem with gay people are still extremely homophobic in the sense that they think guy-on-guy is gross. The more they see it on the TV however, the more likely they are to change their minds and simply get used to it.
I love this show! I am extremely fond of their portrayl of a gay character. Max is like half female half "bear" and totally hysterical. I do agree with you on his character type, that Max is a slacker. It is kind of unfortunate that he is being portrayed that way because, he is a minority in the group. This type of portrayl could be detrimental to the way people view gay guys. Hopefully, though, people will be more interested in their interactions, rather than stereotyping.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that the more people see man on man kissing, the more likely they are to become more accepting of it as a normal thing, rather than overreacting about it. I have to admit the first time I saw a man kissing another man it was difficult to wrap my head around it. This is unfortunate for the human race, to have been engrained for 100's of years to be so unaccepting of people just the way they are. It makes this world that much more intolerable and it angers me that I was even taught to be that way. Now don't blame my parents, they were NEVER this way. But, the kids around me were. It didn't help that I lived in a stuanch Mormon state. These conflicting thoughts make it difficult for kids to make up their own minds on how they feel about these things. But, clear your mind, I am 100% for being who you are.
I guess I got of tangent. Anyway, this show is still awesome and I hope that it is on for many seasons!