Harry M. Benshoff’s article, The Monster and the Homosexual, talks about the role homosexuals play in horror films and how it is associated with a negative connotation. Benshoff discusses the fears of heterosexuals that homosexuals play within the cinematography industry. From instilling noxious family values to infecting audience members with their twisted and unwarranted style of living. Since the majority of horror film audiences is comprised of young teenage girls and boys in addition to male and female couples, this could lead to young people questioning their sexual identity. He examines just how similar homosexuals and monsters are as they both wreak havoc on the innocent, even going as far as to compare gays (using the example of the AIDS epidemic) to that of vampires which are known for ‘infecting’ people. Especially in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, homosexuals were depicted as unorthodox and predacious beings. Querness was highly discouraged not only in films but in everyday life as straights in addition to Benshoff believe it offsets narrative balance and encourages individuals to begin questioning the status quo which is why gays are portrayed as monstrous figures.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 gives life to Harry Benshoff’s article with Jesse having all these homosexual tendencies and morphing into the on-screen monster, Freddy at several points during the film.
Fire seems to be a recurring theme throughout this film from the basement being used as an incinerator, the toaster catching on fire, the bird blowing up in flames and at the beginning of the movie with Freddy driving the bus taking Jesse and two girls to what initially appears as the fiery depths of hell. From before Jesse was introduced to Freddy, thanks to a diary, Jesse had nightmares almost every night leaving him to wake up screaming, soaking in a puddle of his sweat as he feared his own sexual identity. As Benshoff describes in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, being gay was seen as an anamalous and indecent way to live (pg.127-128). Churches even preached homosexuals would go to hell as a result of their living style and shameful acts of pursuing the same sex. This would further explain Jesse’s nightmares, his repressed sexual frustration and how the movie begins and ends in what looks to be ‘hell’.
(The bus was tilting back and forth as Jesse and two girls are trying to escape Freddy.
Source: New Line Cinema, 1985, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge).
Throughout the film as Jesse’s repressed queer sexual desires grow stronger, so does Freddy’s grasp on Jesse and the violence which he unleashes into Jesse’s life. According to Benshoff, queerness is meant to make a mess of the stability of the storyline and inspire doubt around what is normal within our own sexuality (pg. 119). Jesse’s heterosexuality is put into question by the audience as he goes out to a gay bar at night, has a high-pitched scream, the sign on his bedroom door which reads: “no chicks allowed”, and Jesse’s bizzare relationship with his classmate Grady as he confides in him for help. To add to this suspicion, the opening scene depicts Jesse as that of a ‘freak’ and an outsider. Growing up in the 80’s and being outwardly gay or others suspecting an individual of being gay meant automatically being categorized as a freak and an outsider.
(Jesse pleading for Grady’s help as he struggles to not let Freddy take control of him.
Source: New Line Cinema, 1985, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge).
The Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 producers seem to be attempting to manifest fear within the audience showing when you have homosexual tendencies as Jesse seems to have and you further act upon them, nothing good is bound to come from it. The media links homosexuals to child maltreatment, rape and brutality which is rooted in the film as Jesse is standing over his sister watching her sleep as Freddy’s voice eggs him on to kill his sister. Was this Hollywood’s way of trying to imbue fear into the minds of teenagers about homosexuality?
In conclusion, repression of one’s sexual desires seem to be the main theme of the film alongside Benshoff’s article which further paints gays as villains within society. While society has become more accepting of the idea of a homosexual lifestyle, it still seems to have a negative representation in the public’s eye.
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