Grey's Anatomy

"No, I have a headache I need coffee." Callie.
"I have a cure for a headache that doesn't involve coffee." Arizona.

'Grey's Anatomy's' Callie and Arizona's relationship is one in which is accepted by their peers and Arizona's family but when it comes to Callie's family they are not quite as understanding. Her father even goes to the extent of cutting her off financially, as her father sees it is is a sin and even quotes from the bible too her which only infuriates her and she too quotes from the bible which seems to go in her favour. The relationship between these too never seemed something that had to be hidden due to people not wanting them to be together for numerous reasons. When Callie finally introduces her father to Arizona it's a somewhat comical situation as her father threatens to kill both her ex-husband and the man that she committed adultery with. 

Mr Torres: "So you're dating again. Well, that's good. That's healthy. I'd like to meet this new gentleman suitor."Callie: "Yeah. Yeah, no, um, sh... They're pretty busy cos they're a doctor here. But, um, you'll love them. You will love them. Because, they're smart, and funny, and both handsome and beautiful and very supportive. Daddy, please be ok with this. (bring Arizona over) Dad. This is Arizona Robins. This is who I'm dating now."Arizona: And, I really hope you draw the line at throwing women against walls. 

Thankfully he does not throw her against the wall but through his lack of willing communication with Arizona it's obvious that he is neither happy nor comfortable with the idea. His only logical resolution/ultimatum is to make Callie follow him home where she can return to being a heterosexual lifestyle. With Callie refusing to follow her father home he stops the rest of her family contacting her and he clears her bank account and freezes her trust fund. Leaving Callie completely broke and worried about what her future holds as she has to pick up more shifts at the hospital just to support herself and suddenly everything she does she has to think about whether she can actually afford it and how much money she will have after. The situation is resolved after Callie's father returns with the priest to try and show her that it's not an act that god understands but once Callie and her father start to quote the bible to one another it seems as though they will never agree on Callie's new relationship or partner. However by the end of the episode he shocks her by reconciling with her and asking of her a few favours i.e. marriage and grandchildren. 
I found this programme useful because even though Callie's father was not willing to accept her or her new found relationship she did not just give up on it. She instead tried being faithful to herself and to how her father brought her up. She is indeed thankful for everything he has done but she can not just give up on something that brings her happiness and some that she loves. 
Also with Arizona's father even though we did not see her coming out to him we hear the story and it seems that even though he doesn't understand it he still accepts her because as he sees it she is still the child he has brought up and still has the same values and beliefs.

Hollyoaks John-Paul & Craig

With the case of John-Paul and Craig it was inevitable they were going to end up together after John-Paul declared his love for him only to then try and say he was going through a confused state and is in fact not gay or in love with Craig. The two started off merely as acquaintances but were soon best-friends and spending every free minute with one another even when they were with their girlfriends. Originally John Paul is quite good at hiding his true sexuality and even convinces himself to date his friend Hannah and double date with Craig and Sarah. He soon seems to be fighting his conscience and abruptly dumps Hannah leaving her distraught and emotional. However John-Paul is soon talked around by his and Hannah's mutual friends and he soon rekindles his relationship with Hannah and tries to do all the things a caring boyfriend would do which in the long run just makes him miserable. On one of their many dates after having fallen in the lake by the pub 'The Dog in the Pond' and gone back to Hannah's to dry off the two consummate their relationship which makes Hannah feel ecstatically happy whilst John-Paul seems a bit withdrawn from the whole situation until Craig starts to badger him about how it was and to rate Hannah out of 10. The whole Hannah and John-Paul relationship was a sham from the start, Hannah and John-Paul should have realised that it would never work especially since John-Paul kept having mood-swings, kept ending and re-starting the relationship and continuously lied to hide the fact that he is in fact a homosexual and to make matters worse fancies his best-friend.

With the John-Paul and Craig relationship it was affair/secret from day one. After John-Paul finally came out as being gay and became comfortable with it there was the initial tiff between them due to Craig feeling slightly uneasy but that was soon forgotten when Craig realised he'd lose his best-friend if he was too suddenly become homophobic. The friendship then took an unexpected turn when John-Paul seemed to be getting over Craig, Craig seemed to be not able to cope with it, was somewhat jealous and soon realised that he was just as attracted to John-Paul as he is too him. There is a new found twist when the two sleep together but rather than Craig being just as happy as John-Paul he is instead disgusted with himself and goes on to call John-Paul a faggot when he tries to console/comfort him. Which is kind of confusing for both the viewing audience and John-Paul as Craig is the one who came crying to John-Paul's house. Wanting to know when he got over him and whether have sex with a man felt wrong.

"Get your hands off me! FAGGOT!" Craig.

However from that moment Craig is drawn to John-Paul spending his free time with John-Paul rather than Sarah whenever he can, dating the pair of them knowing that it is not fair on either on them but sort of keeping Sarah to hide the fact that he is in a homosexual relationship and is indeed in love with John-Paul and just loves Sarah the way friends love one another. When it finally comes out that Craig and John-Paul are sleeping together, the two families are up in arms. Craig's family because they seem to be somewhat homophobic and can't understand why he has chose to be this way. Whilst John-Paul's family are not happy because they think he should have left Craig alone as he was already with Sarah. But no-one seems to understand or see that Craig pursued John-Paul, John-Paul kept rejecting his advances but Craig wore him down until he could have both for his own personal pleasure. In the end Craig admits that John-Paul means more to him than Sarah after getting caught fooling around with her at his engagement party to Sarah.The trouble being that Craig is slightly embarrassed by the prospect of being gay and is unable and unwilling to kiss or even touch John-Paul in public leaving the two to go their own separate ways. They reunite sometime later and Craig has now embraced his gay side and is no longer afraid to be intimate with John-Paul in public. This time when Craig leaves John-Paul goes after him and the two walk off in the sunset together. Happily holding one another intimately on the train without a care in the world.

This programme partially related to my short film in the way in which Craig feels the necessity to hide his romance with John-Paul from his family and friends. He feels as though he is unable to tell anyone as they will not accept it nor understand which is true to some degree because even when Craig admits to loving John-Paul to his mother she's quick to ignore it and tell him to beg Sarah to take him back. His older brother Jake was totally disgusted by the notion of his brother being more interested in men and made no secret about it and even flinched when Craig squeezed past him. His family eventually came to terms with it but it seems like it is something they neither discuss nor acknowledge.

Eastenders Syed & Christian

Eastenders Syed and Christian love affair

A few days before filming is about to commence one of the girls drops out. Why? She claims she has too much uni work to do, the usual excuse.So I'm left with what do I do? Who can I get a such short notice?! Thankfully two of my guy friends offered to do it, they were alright with portraying the roles of being gay (as one of them is gay) the only issue was the language I had used in the script. They felt some of it was to effeminate for them to say, so I found if we used the basis of what the script/line was saying but let them improvise it might prove to work better. The only issue was I had found/done research on lesbians/bi-sexual women and bi-curious women. I was now obligated to go back and look for gay/bi-sexual/bi-curious men which wasn't too much of an issue as all soaps appear to have at least one gay guy in them. I felt it was necessary so that I could view the way in which they communicate with one another, whether or not when one of them comes home from work do they too kiss on the cheek or merely greet one another with a hug, a mere hello?

I came across 'Eastenders' the somewhat confused and hidden relationship Christian and Syed had. I thought I would be able to relate to it due to one of them being gay, the fact that it had to be hidden and that once again it was not understood by someone outside the relationship, however in their case it was Syed's mother and not a boss.

I found that even though Christian is an out and proud gay man he is not an effeminate guy he comes across as quite a macho man. As in he is not exactly stereotypical with his way of speaking or the attire he wears. He is even able to play quite believable straight husband for his friend when she finds it hard to go back to her secondary school reunion alone. So I figured the character formerly known as Grace who is now Greg could act somewhat like Christian and maybe use some of Syed's characteristics as well.

The L Word Jenny and Nikki's charade of a relationship

I found that this programme and Jenny and Nikki's relationship related well to my script and short film because Nikki was told to hide her sexual orientation from her fans. Both her agent and some of the producers and directors one the film both Jenny and Nikki are working on feel that if the male fans knew she was a lesbian they would see no point in supporting/admiring her if she is never going to be interested in them. So in a rather stereotypical fashion they advised well more insisted that Nikki go to a premier of one of Nikki's other films with the only male co-star. This seems to throw any ideas that any of the cast is gay/lesbian but at the same time stirs up this whole media frenzy of is Nikki and the co-star dating? Primarily when it came out Nikki's agent and the producer of the film had to have serious words as the agent was threatening to pull her from the film, it seems though it is more acceptable to lie than to come out and say I'm gay, it's as though they do not think that it's possible that men can still fancy/admire a woman just because she is gay/bi-sexual. Then again the agent may have caused such a commotion over it because he tends to say to say to Jenny that she is underage. However it's still a case of keep your homosexuality hidden or your career will die when it comes to your male audience however you female and lesbian/gay audience will most definitely grow as they will feel somewhat proud that you did not conform and hide it but instead stood up and was counted as one of the gay/lesbian/bi-sexual/transgender in the film industry.

"What the f*** is up with everybody these days? Am I like some idiot that I'm out I mean is the joke on me I don't get it." Alice.

South of Nowhere

[after Spencer's mother has found out about her daughter's sexuality] "Why can't you just accept that this is who I am?" Spencer

"Because who you are is not acceptable!" Paula

I found this show to have some relevance to my short film due to the way in which Spencer's mother and Ashley's mother act about their two daughters being gay. Both the girls dad's seem to be happy with it as long as the girls are happy. However Ashley's mother sees it as a life style choice that always leads to some girl staying at her house which she always has to find some way of getting them to leave due to them either just moving in, taking her prescription drugs or any other bad influence. It's affected Ashley's mother in such a way in that they hardly have a mother daughter relationship anymore but instead a rather awkward relationship in which Ashley's mother constantly lets her know what a disappointment she is and to make matters worse when Ashley's half sister Kyla moves in after they find out about her due to one of the conditions in her recently late fathers will. Ashley's mother seems to treat Kyla how she should be treating Ashley, she appears to favour Kyla and invite her to events, when Ashley brings this to her attention her mother instead turns it around to say stop trying to make Kyla uncomfortable. Ashley eventually has to let her know that just because she is gay she hasn't changed she still wants and craves her mothers love and attention.

With Spencer's mother it's a battle as well when she finds out through walking in on the two of them she is disgusted by what she has seen and literally throws Ashley out of the house in her bra and the denim skirt that she was able to quickly pull on. Paula seems to see it as something that she needs and will fix. She bans the two girls from seeing one another or even contacting one another by means of confiscating Spencer's mobile phone, not allowing her on the computer and keeps Spencer out of school for a few days. Ashley continues to call and try to see Spencer but Paula is adamant that she won't. She even tries to get the help of an outsider who claims he can stop Spencer's homosexual feelings by explaining that she only likes her due to any other reason than that Spencer loves her. This soon backfires when Spencer storms off to her bedroom and her father walks in to see Paula and the unexpected guest. He soon lets Paula know how he feels and that she should be ashamed of herself. Things do not get better straight away it takes Ashley and Spencer running away and being pursued by a man that could be a rapist/pervert. Paula does not accept it with open arms but she decides that she will have no part in trying to stop it anymore. She finally stands up for Spencer when her mother comes to spend the weekend for Spencer's 18th, the grandmother is unable to accept the revelation and decides to go home early but Paula is soon quick to say that it has not changed Spencer and that she has learnt to accept it and that she should also.

Sugar Rush

"Dear God, please stop me perving over Sugar and help me find me a fit guy to perv over instead. Or if it turns out you're OK with the whole same-sex thing, then stop Sugar messing me about and help her find her way into my bed." Kim.

'Sugar Rush' is a teenage based programme set in Brighton. Within the first episode we are introduced to Kim a young teen female who seems somewhat infatuated with her bestfriend Sugar. The two seem inseparable but for completely different reasons, Kim because she hopes Sugar will one day return her affections and Sugar as some to drink with, rely on and maybe in some strange way to make her feel more confident since she is so sexually experienced compared to Kim.

Yet again it's another one them scenes Kim and Sugar share a kiss which ends up meaning a lot more to Kim than Sugar. Only for Kim to then awkwardly blurt out that she fancies Sugar only to then hide away from her through the fear of rejection. Sugar does not reject her but instead seems to like the attention but at times mocks it through frustration of Kim not listening or paying enough attention to her .

"Jeez, Just because you're a pussy-lover don't make you deaf as well does it?" Sugar.

The two eventually sleep together in the last episode of the first series but why? Why does Sugar finally give Kim what she wants? Is it because she knows she is soon going to end up in prison for having stabbed someone, because she wants it too and sees it as she gets to be Kim's first well as in first when it comes to sleeping with a girl or merely her way of saying goodbye Kim before the law catches up with her? For as I see it in the next series Sugar has not intention of rekindling any sort of sexual relationship with Kim and neither of them seem to mention it. It's almost as if it's something that has happened and that the two will never discuss again. It sort of leaves the viewing audience to make up their own minds about what it could possibly mean.

I felt this show had some correlation to my short film due to the occasional awkwardness between Kim and Sugar, I thought it would give me an incite on how to cause tension whether it be of a sexual nature of just merely tension between the characters.

90210

"If i'm having these feelings for a girl does it mean i'm gay?" Adrianna.

"No, it's a little gay. What? It is." Naomi.                  

I've been watching '90210' since the second generation made an appearance. Initially it was a show that I could relate to due to the cast members portraying characters who are relatively the same age as me and going through the same adolescent/young adults 'problems'. The show seemed to show the everyday makings of adolescents/young adults such as teenage pregnancy, drug problems, parties and just wanting to have fun.

It seems the second series took a twist though with the character Adrianna. Primarily she was a drug addict, pregnant and always going for auditions (also as though she was the sole breadwinner for her and her mother.) and the only male who seemed to give her any attention or have time for her was Navid. However that all changed she gave birth and had the baby adopted, she went to rehab to try and clear up her drug addiction, her and Navid broke up but Navid still tried to take care of her and make sure she was drug free.

Which seemed to be quite a challenge because Adrianna got quite good at deceiving people her bestfriend Naomi included. Who seems to rekindled her once close knit friendship with her ex-bestfriend Silver. So after her stint of being deceitful Adrianna has joined an aa group to try and help her. It seems to be going well and she has found a friend Gia in the group who she is close to and attends the same school as her. A sip of alcohol at a party soon makes Adrianna doubt how strong she truly is and makes her beckon the help of Gia who just happens to be at the same party. Gia seems to calm Adrianna and sort of pay back for helping her Adrianna makes Gia's ex-girlfriend jealous by first sitting on her lap and then kissing her, which seems like nothing to Adrianna but to Gia the start of a straight girl crush. Amazingly enough it seems as though Gia is not even going to let Adrianna know until she gets tired of hearing about Navid and blurts it out in an agitated way.

Adrianna has the usual reaction which is to avoid Gia until she works how how to react about her sudden declaration. But after spending a night with Gia watching films Adrianna starts to question whether or not she likes her more than a friend so seeks advice from Naomi and Silver. The two of them seem to think that if Gia makes Adrianna happy that maybe she should pursue something with her, it doesn't necessarily mean she is gay but maybe she just has a connection with someone she didn't expect in this case a girl.

Imitation of Life

"I'm somebody else. I'm white... white... WHITE! " Sarah-Jane 

'Imitation of Life' is a film based upon the life and journey of Lora Meredith her daughter Susie, Annie her new found accomplice at the beach and her daughter Sarah-Jane. The film begins with the struggles that both single mothers are going through, Annie because she is unable to find work and somewhere for her and Sarah-Jane to live and Lora because she too is unable to find work with in the acting industry.

The two's luck soon seems to change when Lora invites Annie and Sarah-Jane to co-habit with her. Lora becomes a successful actress and takes Annie along with her. The two girls are growing up rapidly with Sarah-Jane still trying to pass off for being white due to her rather pale complexion. Susie however is still biding for her mothers love and attention, but it seems her mother always has a new film or theatre show to work at which always seems to make her leave the country or be away from home for long periods of time.

I feel as though Sarah-Jane treats her mother is the way in which she thinks people will ostracise her when they find out she is in fact mixed heritage rather than white as her personal appearance appears to deceive many i.e. her elementary school teacher and her short-lived relationship with her boyfriend who is quick to batter her when he finds out her true identity.

I feel this film can have some relevance to mine in the fact that they both contain a character who feels the necessity to hide there true ethnicity and sexuality to conform to what one believes is right and another is almost encouraged to believe that it is not the norm and that by hiding a part of them will make them fit in with society.

"So, honeychile, you had a mammy!" Showgirl"Yes. All my life." Sarah-Jane