Out of the Kryptonite Closet
Type de matériel :
16
Though otherwise mediocre, the CW Network television series Supergirl (2015-2021), chronicling the adventures of Superman’s cousin, gained prominence for powerfully challenging the comic-universe canon of the titular heroine’s sexuality, albeit unintentionally. When, during Season 2, the show cast Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor (the good sister of Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor), they did not expect that the Irish actress’s strong lesbian appeal would transform the friendship scripted between her and Kara Danvers/Supergirl into something immediately perceived by fans and viewers—even non-LGBTIQ+ ones—as a deeply romantic relationship. Encouraged by the strong queer following of the show, who boosted ratings spectacularly, Supergirl writers began cultivating this alternative subtextual scenario, upgrading Kara and Lena’s original short encounter into the main plot axis of the entire show. While, however, fans (rightly) clamored, seeing the two women’s interactions, that “there is no heterosexual explanation for this” and demanded that their romance—and Supergirl’s bisexuality—be acknowledged as canon in both the CW and the DC universes, the writers and producers of the show insisted at constantly gaslighting such expectations by either pairing Lena or Kara with male suitors or reiterating, to the point of absurdity, their status as “friends,” thus eliciting accusations of shameless queerbaiting. The article chronicles the development of “SuperCorp” (the joint moniker of Lena and Kara’s relationship) as a dominant plotline even beyond the show through the “prosumptive” (to use Alvin Toffler’s term) influence of queer fandom; it further hails “SuperCorp” as a sign of current cultural inclusiveness for queer/minority characters, but also of social media culture granting a creative voice to fans that in the past were merely passive viewers.
Réseaux sociaux