HOMOSEXUALITY IN experimental FILM: THE 1990s
Hustler White (1996)
dir. Bruce LaBruce
perf. Tony ward, bruce labruce
Canada, Germany, USA
Runtime: 79 Minutes
![Picture](/uploads/1/8/0/6/18060971/2576627.png)
By the nineties, the depiction of gay sex in film has penetrated the mainstream. At this time, there is a continued use of non-simulated gay sex in avant-garde films, though its intentions are not simply to arouse. Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro’s, Hustler White is a satirical black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their clientele in Santa Monica Boulevard, California. LaBruce plays Jurgen Anger, a European writer researching gay prostitution. He meets Tony Ward’s Monti and develops an infatuation with him, following among his bizarre and explicit exploits with hustlers and pornographers.
LaBruce and Castro depict a sordid array of gay sex acts centering on extreme gay s&m culture. The sexually graphic scenes include a man being bound and cut with razors, choking and asphyxiation, interracial group sex and the infamous stump penetration scene involving an amputee. There is a clear attempt at shock value by LaBruce and Castro, though it is more calculated than it may appear. Hustler White, like all of LaBruce’s films, is an attempt to challenge the conservatism of audiences. When one views the film and its range of hardcore content, they are constantly negotiating their own sexual preferences. The way LaBruce alternates between arousing and disgusting the viewer confuses their sexual desires. Despite the uncomfortable sexual content, LaBruce and Castro humanize the characters that engage in this world, particularly with Monti. Though Monti is a prostitute, he is also a single parent, which is revealed in a heartwarming scene of him bathing with his child. Amidst the barrage of sexuality, this is the one scene in which nudity is not sexualized. We are reminded that while these characters are sexual beings they are also human beings.
LaBruce and Castro depict a sordid array of gay sex acts centering on extreme gay s&m culture. The sexually graphic scenes include a man being bound and cut with razors, choking and asphyxiation, interracial group sex and the infamous stump penetration scene involving an amputee. There is a clear attempt at shock value by LaBruce and Castro, though it is more calculated than it may appear. Hustler White, like all of LaBruce’s films, is an attempt to challenge the conservatism of audiences. When one views the film and its range of hardcore content, they are constantly negotiating their own sexual preferences. The way LaBruce alternates between arousing and disgusting the viewer confuses their sexual desires. Despite the uncomfortable sexual content, LaBruce and Castro humanize the characters that engage in this world, particularly with Monti. Though Monti is a prostitute, he is also a single parent, which is revealed in a heartwarming scene of him bathing with his child. Amidst the barrage of sexuality, this is the one scene in which nudity is not sexualized. We are reminded that while these characters are sexual beings they are also human beings.
NOTABLE FILMS:
1990 -Jollies (Sadie Benning)
1990 - Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich)
1992 - Flaming Ears (Ursula Puerrer, A. Hans Scheirl, Dietmar Schipek)
1992 - It Wasn't Love (Sadie Benning)
1992 - Swoon
1993 - Zero Patience
1994 - Super 8 1/2 (Bruce LaBruce)
1995 - Achilles (Barry Purves)
1997 - 1919: The Winnipeg General Strike as Seen Through the Window of a Bathhouse.
1995 - The Celluloid Closet
1996 - Lilies
Mainstream:
1993 - Philadelphia
1993 - The Wedding Banquet
1994 - The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
1994 - Priest
1994 - The Sum of Us
1996 - Beautiful Thing
1996 - The Birdcage
1997 - In & Out
1998 - Edge of Seventeen
1998 - The Object of My Affection
1999 - Better Than Chocolate
1990 -Jollies (Sadie Benning)
1990 - Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich)
1992 - Flaming Ears (Ursula Puerrer, A. Hans Scheirl, Dietmar Schipek)
1992 - It Wasn't Love (Sadie Benning)
1992 - Swoon
1993 - Zero Patience
1994 - Super 8 1/2 (Bruce LaBruce)
1995 - Achilles (Barry Purves)
1997 - 1919: The Winnipeg General Strike as Seen Through the Window of a Bathhouse.
1995 - The Celluloid Closet
1996 - Lilies
Mainstream:
1993 - Philadelphia
1993 - The Wedding Banquet
1994 - The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
1994 - Priest
1994 - The Sum of Us
1996 - Beautiful Thing
1996 - The Birdcage
1997 - In & Out
1998 - Edge of Seventeen
1998 - The Object of My Affection
1999 - Better Than Chocolate