Today, Patrick and Ryan M. are discussing Backstagers 1, originally released August 17, 2016. 

Patrick: Earlier this month, The Atlantic published an article by Angelica Jade Bastién titled “Hollywood Has Ruined Method Acting”. Bastién’s article responds directly to the marketing hype surrounding Jared Leto’s performance as Joker in Suicide Squad, but the piece is quick to point out that physical hardship is too frequently tied to performances that the culture deems impressive. Leonardo DiCaprio won an Academy Award because he put himself through discomfort, pain and real danger in order to achieve his performance in The Revenant. Does that actually mean that his acting was any better? Bastién argues that DiCaprio’s workman-like suffering creates the illusion that he’s doing something more substantial — and pointedly, more masculine — than merely acting. The implication, of course, being that acting is a soft skill, too feminine to be respected without being amplified by eating a buffalo heart or loosing a bunch of weight or something. James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh’s Backstagers 1 sets up a similar paradigm, elevating one art form over another by projecting mythological hardship on top of it. For a series so in-tune with nuances in teenage homosexuality, its disappointing to see such a regressive view of gendered activities and behaviors. Continue reading →