Introduction: Placing the Self within the Frame

Abstract

In the closing sequence of the romantic drama Beautiful Thing (Hettie MacDonald, 1996, UK) (see Figure 0.1, also discussed in Chapter 6), playwright Jonathan Harvey leaves us with the image of two young gay men dancing in close embrace within the public space of a housing estate, accompanied by the intimate ballad ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.¹ In a pivotal moment of John Scagilotti’s documentary film Coming Out in the Developing World (John Scagliotti, 2003, US) (see Figure 0.2, also discussed in Chapter 7), we hear the story of Dilcia Molina who participated in the first gay and lesbian pride march in Honduras, and was the only person not to conceal her identity (her family was tortured because of this). The representation of fictional characters in Jonathan Harvey’s play, and the public appearance of Dilcia Molina, although set in entirely different textual media forms, I argue both progress identity ideals in new storytelling, enabled by diverse writers and performers.