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Brogan Hammer
Professor Brent Cowley
Film 1070
8 October 2010
A Mid-2008 Night’s Dream
Homosexuality in film has changed dramatically over the years. As society’s attitude
towards homosexuality has evolved, so has its representation in film. Even in 2008, the year that
Were the World Mine was released, the film went through many obstacles in its attempt to be
widely distributed to the public. Because of the labels put on films containing homosexual
material, Were the World Mine was turned down by numerous festival screenings but was
ultimately a success (Soares). In the film Were the World Mine stereotypes, symbolism and
conflict resolution are used to broaden viewer’s perspectives of homosexuality through film.
Directed and written by Tom Gustafson, Were the World Mine was meant to be a
humorous approach towards the negative labels on homosexuality by representing the effects of
trading places with someone else to see things in a new light (Soares). The humor is derived
from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Timothy is cast as Puck in the school play
and is inspired by his play lines to create his own love potion much like the substance placed on
the sleeping lover’s eyes in the play. After loading the concoction into his pansy, used as a play
prop, Timothy discovers that the when the potion is sprayed onto the eyes of a person he or she
will fall madly in love with next person he or she sees. Timothy then uses this pansy to
transform the anti-gay members of the town into love stricken homosexuals so that they can
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experience a day in Timothy’s shoes. The town quickly falls into chaos and to restore free will
to the love crazed people the antidote is sprinkled onto the audience from the ceiling of the
auditorium during the play.
According to the film Were the World Mine one must walk a mile in another’s shoes to
understand things in another perspective. Ms. Tebbit, the eccentric teacher that guided him
through his twisted journey of playing Puck on stage and off, plays an important role in the
development of the story. Ms. Tebbit recognized the judgment that was going on within the
town and had given Timothy all of the resources needed to show the town the other side of the
situation. Timothy had been thrilled that he had discovered a way for people to experience
things the way that he did and give them a chance to really know the feeling for themselves and
to fully understand what he was going through.
Nora Bellinger is a perfect example of the transformation of the town. When Nora
discovers that Timothy is a homosexual she is disgusted and bickers with Timothy’s mother of
the immoral and unnatural circumstances of a homosexual relationship. But once Timothy
exposes Nora to his love potion and she becomes the unwanted admirer of his mother, her
perspective is shifted because of the experience. When Nora is given the antidote and goes back
to being her heterosexual self, she has a new understanding of Timothy and the fact that love is
blind and being homosexual doesn’t make you a bad person. Like many of the townspeople
Nora believed that homosexuality was unnatural and a chosen lifestyle, but after the town’s
experience with homosexuality that stereotype was no longer widespread.
There are a number of homosexual stereotypes presented in Were the World Mine. The
first and most obvious stereotype is that all gay men are feminine. This stereotype is very broad
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and involves several aspects including abilities, behavior, and appearance. Timothy attends an
all-boys school and appears to be the only homosexual person in the small town. The first scene
of Were the World Mine is Timothy being pummeled by dodge-balls in gym class as he isn’t
able to compete at the same level as his heterosexual peers. This scene reflects a very negative
stereotype because not all men have natural athletic abilities. From a very young age our society
expects males to be masculine, rugged, and athletic but that is an unrealistic standard because of
the diversity found in any group of people. Athletics, or any other activities or talents, are
learned skills and an individual would only excel in these areas if he or she had a particular
interest and dedication to the activity (Stossel and Binkley).
Were the World Mine proves the stereotypes of gay men’s abilities to be false when it
reveals that a popular school rugby team member is also gay. The film does a fantastic job of
expressing the individuality of gay characters as being just as diverse as heterosexual characters.
This is done to improve viewer’s perceptions of homosexual individuals as being just as unique
and talented as heterosexual individuals.
Gay men’s behavior is stereotyped in many instances as well. Timothy’s peers tease him,
speaking with a lisp, while Timothy doesn’t have a lisp. But when the town is turned gay and
there are interviews taking place on the news, and gay couples are speaking out about their lives
and relationships, there are instances of gay men talking with very thick lisps. But the film never
suggests that those people didn’t have lisps before they were turned gay, so the viewer can
assume that is simply how that individual talks and not just because they are gay. Timothy’s
appearance can also be noted as a stereotype as he dresses very unique in comparison to his peers
at school. Many people associate fashion and accessories with gay men when in reality not
every gay individual has an interest in fashion (Stossel and Binkley). Were the World Mine
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creates the image of Timothy being very unique and creative with his appearance rather than
using it in a negative way in the case of many stereotypes.
Probably the most controversial stereotype is that there is some nurturing element that
makes an individual gay. In Were the World Mine Timothy’s mother suspects that she did
something to make her son gay while he argues that he just simply is what he is and nothing
could have caused it. Some studies have found that there is no correlation between social
environment and sexual preference. There have been physiological studies done that have found
a difference in certain areas of the brain between heterosexual and homosexual individuals
(Johnson). These studies provide evidence of homosexuality being natural and not being a
choice (Thomson and Devine).
The entire film follows the idea of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the twists of
individuals blinded by love. Symbolism is seen in several cases like the use of the pansy,
Timothy’s mother using her wedding dress to create Timothy’s play costume, and the use of
Shakespeare’s play and language. The pansy represents the change of character and for people
to understand things from a new perspective. The ending scene of the movie is Ms. Tebbit
handing the pansy out towards the audience as if to spread the experience to the next place that
needs a perspective transformation. When Timothy’s mother, Donna, cuts up her wedding dress
to make Timothy’s play wings, it symbolizes the peace that she has found within herself and her
acceptance of her relationship with her gay son. Donna had suffered immensely from the
divorce of her husband and had trouble accepting another change in her life like her son’s
sexuality. Using her wedding dress for her son’s wings was a symbol of her commitment to him.
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A very widely used symbol throughout the entire movie is the use of Shakespeare’s
language style. Once an individual was affected by the love potion he or she took on a different
frame of mind, almost of an entirely different time period like Shakespeare’s day. It was
apparent that many opinions were the same in the play and the film and homosexuality was used
for humor, that there was nothing wrong with it, and that love can come in many forms.
The use of songs and choreography in Were the World Mine were effective in adding to
the story as well as giving the film a fantasy element. The costume and makeup used in
Timothy’s daydreams creates a lot of interest that couldn’t be accomplished otherwise. The
camera angles were often focusing on one individual during these scenes to capture more detail
of facial expression. The daydreams added to the story by making the viewer relate to Timothy.
In his daydreams the world was the way he would have it, he was accepted and got the man of
his dreams while in reality he had no romantic life at all and was an outcast in most situations.
This element draws viewers to have sympathy towards Timothy and support him in his quest for
acceptance and to be understood.
The conclusion of the movie shows everyone being much more open minded and
accepting of what they once viewed as being morally wrong. After experiencing a day in
Timothy’s situation the townspeople had a much better understanding of what it is like to live
with circumstances that are not those of the majority. Timothy didn’t hold anything against
those who had once hated him simply because he wasn’t just like them.
The town in Were the World Mine was much more judgmental and closed minded than
modern society. However, in the film industry, the town was a more accurate portrayal of the
attitude towards open homosexuality than the general public’s opinion. The town was living
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very closely to their religion and believed that homosexuality was evil and wrong. The majority
of modern society does live by some sort of religious standards but is more open minded to
individual’s life choices.
Were the World Mine is very effective in portraying homosexuality as something that is
not to be feared or ridiculed, but something that should be accepted and understood. Although
there are many stereotypes presented, the film doesn’t enforce them but rather acknowledges the
stereotypes and proves them to be untrue. Symbolism is used to carry the film’s theme while
adding to the story. The director created the film in order to give viewers a different perspective
by posing the idea of not judging until an individual has shared that experience or joy. Conflict
resolution is effective in concluding the movie as well as enforcing Gustafson’s message. Were
the World Mine has been a great success in spreading its message of acceptance and Gustafson
will continue to work in the film industry to further the breaking down of the industry’s
intolerance towards homosexuality (Soares).
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Works Cited
Johnson, Ryan D. "Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture." 30 April 2003. allpsych.com. 5 October 2010
<http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html>.
Soares, Andres. "WERE THE WORLD MINE: Tom Gustafson Interview." 8 December 2008.
www.altfg.com. 5 October 2010 <http://www.altfg.com/blog/interviews/tom-gustafson-interviewwere-the-world-mine/>.
Stossel, John and Gina Binkley. "Gay Stereotypes: Are They True?" 15 September 2006. abcnews.com. 4
October 2010 <http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2449185&page=1>.
Thomson and Devine. "Homosexuality: biologically or environmentally constructed ." 5 May 1998. 5
October 2010
<http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/HNatureProposalsArticles/Homosexuality.biologicall.html>.
Were the World Mine. 2008. 5 October 2010 <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476991/>.