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Gaia C. (15.05.25)
On Friday May 16th the Open Door, formerly known as the GSA, will be hosting its first movie night with the film Strange World.
As the school assignments come to an end during the last weeks of May, Open Door has decided to host a movie night for all the students in the Middle and Upper School. It will be a time for the students to relax, get to know each other, enjoy some popcorn, and learn more about the club hosting the event.
Strange World: Why this Movie?
The choice of this movie was not casual. Strange World was produced by Walt Disney Animations and released in 2022. It is a science fiction adventure film that follows the journey of a multigenerational family while discovering their “strange world”, as well as themselves. The movie is rich in emotional moments between the family members, truly bringing together its characters as well as the families watching the film. Other than exploring the characters, the movie discusses the underlying theme of global warming and the consequences of our everyday actions. The irony in this? Strange World faced multiple controversies since its release date not because of the plot revolving around global warming, but because of Ethan Clade, Disney’s first openly gay teen character.
Ethan Clade, the teen explorer (CBR)
Ethan and Diazo together right before the adventure (CBR)
Being one of the three protagonists, Ethan is the first example of an LGBTQIA+ main character in a Disney movie. Strange World doesn’t have an underlying homophobic tone, with Ethan’s parents and friends not questioning his sexuality at any point. As the movie is PG and targeted towards families, there aren’t any sexual scenes or inappropriate actions, not even a kiss. The word gay is not spoken once. And yet, even if Ethan’s relationship is far from being the focus of the movie, Strange World received overwhelming backlash from parents stating they’d rather “educate my child about sexuality on my terms.” (Cudalini and Medium).
How Far Did the Backlash Go?
In May 2023, exactly one year ago from now, a Florida primary school teacher was fired after showing Strange World to her 5th grade class due to the parents’ opposition to the protagonist’s sexuality.
Jenna Barbee, the educator, was reported to the Florida Department of Education after one of the parents of the 5th grade class came to know about the movie and its content. LGBTQIA+ media had already been banned from kindergarten up to 3rd grade after the “Don’t Say Gay” law of 2022, but Barbee was apparently unaware of it later being extended to her grade level as well. She states that the reason she showed the movie to the students was because of its connection to climate change and ecosystems, while the parent argued: “You showed a movie that wasn’t sanctioned school material, thus stripping the innocence of my 10-year-old.” (CNN).
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