Posted by airsign at svr42.smuc.ac.uk on April 03, 2000 at 19:54:19:
This is a super long one but stick with me, it's a good question...
So I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone can answer...
As one of the best films of the nineties (in my humble opinion), Chasing Amy has nonetheless led me to wonder about more than a few issues, not surprisingly mostly gender-related...
I am most intrigued by Alyssa's confusion in relation to sexual orientation. Is this all biological? Is it socially defined? Is it a combination of both? Is it neither? In the film, I got the message that it was less about Alyssa 'making up her mind' than it was about her trying to gather the courage to step outside her life as a lesbian, especially when her social, professional, and personal worlds revolved so much around this part of herself.
I am also really intrigued by the conflicting images of masculinity, from Holden's immature, although well-intentioned, wanna-be stud to Banky's slightly confused and totally biased teenage attitude. Throw in Hooper to give an analysis of gay culture from a (black) male perspective and I am left utterly perplexed...
Are these characters stereotypical? What do they represent? Is Chasing Amy a film about moving outside of stereotypes, or is Kevin trying to avoid stereotypes in general?
Bottom line is, I never let a critic or a director tell me what to think about any given film. But I'm looking for a few more opinions on this one (especially yours, Kevin), because I've yet to make up my mind on what Chasing Amy really ends up saying. Either way, it's brilliant and a testiment to the freedom and advantages of independent film. Well done.