The film that was watched at the Reelout Film Festival was called Orpheus’ Song. Orpheus’ song is about two friends from Berlin, Germany. The friends, Philipp and Enis, win a trip to Greece. They unpack their things at the hotel and sleep the first night there. They then decide to go on an excursion and end up getting lost on the island that their outing took place. On Philipp and Enis’ journey, they get into an argument and begin fighting with one another. As they are brawling, they stumble upon a man named Hercules, hoping that he knew how to get back to the city.
The three spent the night in a cave, drinking, eating pomegranates, and having fun. The next morning, the two wake up hungover and realize that Hercules was nowhere to be found, and their wallets were emptied of all of the money that they had. The two then explore the island some more end up at a beach and splash and wrestle in the water for a long while. As night approaches, Philipp and Enis are lying beside each other, and Philipp begins to kiss Enis. At first, Enis resists but eventually gives in. They then spend the night together. After the intimate act with each other in the morning, Enis was reluctant to speak to Philipp. It lasted for a long while after they returned to Berlin from Greece. Enis eventually gives in to his feelings for his best friend, so he leaves his girlfriend. They go away together to Greece, leaving their old lives behind.
One of the primary forms of interlocking powers related to gender studies is the representation of sexual orientation. One of the primary purposes of the movie is to experiment with the personal experience of figuring out what a person’s sexual orientation is. Enis was reluctant to interact with Philipp after the discovery of his new feelings in Greece. The film represents reality, in a way where someone who is thought to be heterosexual may not be. And that he may be a part of a sexual orientation that is believed to be a less ‘popular’ power. In Hill Collin’s article, Race, Gender, Sexuality, & Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality and Identity, she highlights that differences, for example, in sexuality, may make it difficult for some people to connect: “Differences in power constrain our ability to connect with one another even when we think we are engaged in dialogue across differences (Hill Collins 545).” In Hill Collin’s case, Enis is struggling to acknowledge his different feelings, which is why he withdrew from Philipp.
Another main form of interlocking power is possible that the film is also representing discrimination. Nearing the end of the movie, Enis had broken up with his girlfriend in order to be with Philipp. His girlfriend was clearly not pleased with the situation due to Enis’ breaking up with her, possibly because he was leaving her for another man. However, the movie did not specify this. A possible reason why discrimination against sexual orientation is because of how socially and historically constructed it is, and there are still many older and younger people who are against it. The situation has gotten so worse that there are anti-gay speech media platforms, such as websites. (Cooper 244). Although different sexual orientations have become more mainstream, there are still some countries that do not allow it, or it is uncommon.
As the audience can see, the two main characters, in the beginning, are straight, white males. Whiteness is socially constructed and has a very pronounced position within social boundaries (Daniels 43). There could be many reasons as to why the producers of the film chose two white men to be the main characters. Even if the two actors are revealed as gay, there is an excellent possibility that they will be accepted by the majority of the audience, just because of their skin colour. There are slight hints of white supremacy due to almost all characters being of Caucasian background. Daniels says in her article, The Intersectional Internet. Race, Sex, Class, and Culture Online: “Whiteness shapes housing, education, politics, law, social science research methods, and indeed, frames much of our (mis)understanding of U.S. society (Daniels 43).” Caucasians first commenced the majority of aspects of life; “Whiteness is crucial in structuring the lived experiences of White women across a variety of contexts (Daniels 44).” Daniel’s article is mainly about women and feminism, but it can be related to the case of Orpheus’ Song; for example, whiteness is crucial in structuring experiences of white men as well.
What was done well in the film was that the producers used two countries that do not have compulsory heterosexuality. Compulsory heterosexuality is when a country essentially encourages heterosexuality, to the point where it is inevitable and inescapable. Having the locations in which Orpheus’ Song was filmed not have compulsory heterosexuality; it gave the producers the freedom of using a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality. With both Germany and Greece not being strict about sexual orientation, it allowed the situation in the movie to be more accepted.
Overall, Orpheus’ Song was produced well. They did an excellent job of progressively making the two friends become closer emotionally leading up to their sexual acts. The producers made it clear that they support the LGBTQ+ community. The film identified the tension between the two friends after they kissed, and how the stigma of homosexuality was evidently affecting Enis. The growing relationship between the two encapsulated the audience, which made the film so well produced.
Works Cited
Cooper, Cynthia. Race/Gender/Class/Media 3.0: Considering Diversity Across Content, Audiences and Production. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2013.
Daniels, Jessie. The Intersectional Internet. Race, Sex, Class, and Culture Online. Peter Lang Publishing, n.d.
Hill Collins, Patricia. Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality and Identity. 2nd ed., Sage Publications, 2016.
Orpheus' Song Film Review 