Film as a reality creating force
And Then We Danced
(2019) dir. Levan Akin
Julia Hagstedt
European Studies: Politics, societies & cultures Bachelor’s degree
Bachelor thesis, 15 credits Spring semester, 2020-05-22 Supervisor: Cecilia Hansson
Abstract
In this thesis, I have analyzed and problematized the discourse surrounding And Then We
Danced (2019) dir. Levan Akin, by analyzing the film itself by using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu, and investigating what role the film has played in the call for action regarding LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia. I sought out to answer the research questions of how the film
And Then We Danced (2019) portrays how one can adapt ones habitus and social field, how
the film provoked the political discussion about LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia, and how the reception the film received reflected where Georgia, Sweden and the EU stands regarding the road to LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia. Using Bourdieu, I came to the conclusion that the film portrays how one can adapt ones habitus and social field through Merab’s character arc in the film, and the director used his cultural capital (embodied, institutionalized, and objectified) to not only produce the film itself, but giving a social subfield (Georgia’s LGBTQ+ community) acknowledgment and recognition by involving them in his film. Because of the reaction the film received, it amplified the need for social change in Georgia, reaching news across the globe, putting the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Georgia on the global political agenda. The way the reception the film received reflected where Georgia, Sweden and the EU stands regarding the road to LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia is quite accurate to where they stand politically regarding the issue. Georgia is divided on the issue as they both protested against the film while simultaneously selling out out all of their tickets to see the film, Sweden remained supportive and proud of the film throughout the entire process, and the EU much like Georgia is quite divided as they both funded the film, but does not have a united front on where they stand regarding the issue.
Table of contents
1.Introduction……….3
2. Background: The history of homosexuality in film and New Queer Cinema…..4
3. Previous research ………. 6
3.1 Studies on Queer Cinema - Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee…….6
3.2 Queer theory and homosexual representation in film ………...8
3.3 Using Bourdieu’s toolbox………...… ….10
4. Problem area and research question ….. ………...12
5. Theoretical framework………...13
5.1 Bourdieu’s toolbox …. ………...14
5.2 Epistemological and ontological standpoint ….. ………...16
6. Methods, material, source critical reflections, and limitations …. …………..….17
7. Data and analysis……….… ……….19
7.1 And Then We Danced (2019) - Plot Summary ………...… ..19
7.1.1 Key scenes and Pierre Bourdieu………...21
7.2 Homophobia and Pride in Tbilisi, Georgia …. ……….….25
7.3 Georgia: production, reception, reaction …. ……….28
7.3.1 Production………....28
7.3.2 Reception & Reaction - Protests in November ….. ………30
7.4 Sweden: production and reception …. ………...31
7.5 Europe in the film, EU funding, and the EU double-standard ….. ………....32
8. Conclusion….. ………...…..34
1. Introduction
Media matters. How groups of people are represented through media changes the way we think about each other, and ultimately, it can change how we govern each other. In a conservative society where traditional values are dominant, LGBTQ+ rights are rarely considered important, or even considered at all. In orthodox-christian Georgia, 88% of the population thinks that homosexuality can never be justified , and on the 17th of May 2013, 1 Georgia made headlines, as a peaceful demonstration of about 50 LGBTQ+activists demonstrating for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia were violently attacked in the capital, Tbilisi, by thousands of people led by Georgian Orthodox Church leaders. Inspired by the LGBTQ+ activists, Swedish-Georgian director, Levan Akin, sought out to make a drama film featuring two Georgian men falling in love with each other in this very place. In this thesis I intend to analyze and problematize the discourse surrounding And Then We Danced (2019) dir. Levan Akin, by analyzing the film itself by using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu, and investigating what role the film has played in the call for action regarding LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia. And Then We Danced is a 2019 Swedish-Georgian drama film directed by Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin, set in conservative orthodox-christian Tbilisi, Georgia, and it features a romance that blossoms between Merab (played by Levan Gelbakhiani) and Irakli (played by Bachi Valishvili), two male dancers at the National Georgian Ensemble. This is not the first LGBTQ+ oriented film to have been produced in Georgia, first there was Prisoner of Society (2018) dir. Rati
Tsiteladze and Comets (2019) dir. Tamar Shavgulidze, however, the reception and reaction
And Then We Danced received at its premiere in Tbilisi and Batumi, sparking protests that turned violent, is not something that the other films did. I intend to conduct my research by first analyzing the film (including key scenes, characters, and quotes) and how it portrays how one can adapt one's habitus and social field. Then, I will investigate the production of the film by reading interviews with Levan Akin where he addresses the production and discourse surrounding it, as well as the reception and the reaction the film has received. To investigate the latter, I will divide the reaction/reception aspect of the analysis by contextualizing them into three perspectives; Georgia, Sweden, and the EU.
1Caucasus research resource center, ‘JUSHOMO: Justified or not - Homosexuality (%)’ (2011) retrieved from
The research questions I intend to answer in this thesis are: How does the film And Then We
Danced (2019) portray how one can adapt ones habitus and social field, how did the film
provoke the political discussion about LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia, and how does the reception the film received reflect where Georgia, Sweden and the EU stands regarding the road to LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia?
2. Background: The history of homosexuality in film and New Queer Cinema
The Swedish/Georgian film And Then We Danced is quite an unique film, perhaps not the synopsis, but the production and reception of the film is. There is no existing literature nor research on the film, which is not surprising as it was released in 2019, and is currently only available on certain limited streaming services. There are films with a similar synopsis to the film, like God’s Own Countrydir. Francis Lee, A Moment in the Reeds dir. Mikko Mäkelä,
but few modern gay films has provoked such a political reaction as And Then We Danced has. The history of depiction of homosexuality in film is sparse, and often controversial. In the documentary The Celluloid Closet(1995) dir. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, it is said that when homosexuality was depicted, it was something to laugh at or something to pity, or even something to fear. However, one of the earliest depictions of same-sex affection, is in 2 the filmWings (1927) dir. William A. Wellman, a film that proceeded to win the Best Picture Academy Award from the first ever Oscar gala that was hosted in 1929. This was because 3 during the 1920’s, as long as one maintained one’s proper gender role, same-sex affection was allowed to be portrayed, and even celebrated. The documentary describes that this later 4 changed, as the Catholic Church organized mass boycotts against films depicting same-sex affection, and created a group called “The National Legion of Decency” in 1933, that sought out to publicly oppose abnormal sexual behaviour on film. This led to the creation and later 5 strict enforcement of the Production Code Administration (PCA) in 1934, which heavily censored what could and could not be depicted in Hollywood movies.
2The Celluloid Closet (1995). Epstein Rob, Friedman Jeffrey, Sony Pictures Classics, USA
3ibid
4Benshoff M. Harry, Griffin Sean, Queer Images: A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America (2005)
Rowman Littlefield Publishers, p.22
Homosexuality was still depicted in films after the PCA, but they were depicted as nazis, predators, or villains, like the character Marya Zaleska in Dracula's Daughter (1936) dir. Lambert Hillyer, and the characters Leopold and Loeb in Rope (1948) dir. Alfred Hitchcock.6 When the PCA was neglected in the 1960’s however, a new depiction of homosexuality arose, which was the self-hating and suicidal homosexual. In the films Advice and Consent (1962) dir. Otto Preminger, andSergeant (1968) dir. John Flynn, the homosexual characters commit suicide, as they are told by the heterosexual characters that they are wrong and filthy, making both the homosexual character hate themselves, as well as making audiences watching said films hate them as well. 7 After the initial starting point of the gay liberation movement in 1969, which many claim to be the Stonewall Riots, where members of the LGBTQ+ violently demonstrated against police raids that began in the early morning hours of June 28th, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, Hollywood started profiting from this political movement, making films that depicted homosexuality in a more positive light, with films likeBoys in the Band (1970) dir. William Friedkin, Cabaret (1972) dir. Bob Fosse,
and Making Love (1982) dir. Arthur Hiller. 8
The documentary later describes how homosexual depiction changed once again as the LGBTQ+ community became the focus of hatred in the 1980’s and 1990’s, because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Homosexual individuals became villains in grand Hollywood9 productions once more, however, low-budget independent films, likeParting Glances (1986) dir. Bill Sherwood, presented a new Queer identity, which lead to what the academic B. Ruby Rich referred to as “New Queer Cinema” in 1992. New Queer Cinema is often associated 10 with the avant-garde and underground, and aimed to challenge and push further debates regarding gender and sexuality, exposing the limitations of non-New Queer Cinema, presenting human identity and sexuality as socially constructed, fluid and changeable, rather than fixed. In the documentary, the film11 My Own Private Idaho (1991) dir. Gus Van Sant, and the documentary Paris is Burning (1990) dir. Jennie Livingston are mentioned as pieces
6ibid 7ibid 8ibid 9ibid 10ibid 11ibid
that defined this early era of New Queer Cinema. In the book 12 New Queer Cinema: The
Director’s Cut (2013), B. Ruby Rich identifies an emergence of LGBTQ+ films in the 2000’s with films like Milk (2008) dir. Gus Van Sant, and Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) dir.
Abdellatif Kechiche, but the film that marked the most significant change in the history of homosexuality in film, is Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee. Brokeback Mountain13 presented a true romance between two male characters, and when one of them is killed, they are killed in a way in which the audience was not meant to cheer for. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, it won 3 of these awards, but it did not win the award for Best Picture like it’s predecessorWings. Rich however argues that it did not need to, as Brokeback Mountain already had caused a seismic shift in the public perception of homosexuality. 14
3. Previous research
3.1 Studies on Queer Cinema - Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee
In the article ‘The Ethics of Alterity: Adapting Queerness in Brokeback Mountain’ by Matthew Bolton, the author addresses the issues of an audience, asking what happens to an author’s intentions for their audience when they are translated into a new medium. As the 15 title suggests, Bolton uses Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain” and Ang Lee’s 2005 adaptation, and focuses on the debate in queer studies regarding how queer texts should treat their predominantly straight audiences by either easing them into sympathy by stressing similarities between the straight and queer, or by making them uncomfortable by insisting on the difference queerness makes. However, rather than taking a position in the initial debate,16 he instead examines what Brokeback Mountain actually does, focusing on the intersection between how the filmmakers’ decisions in adapting Annie Proulx’s short story affects its politics, and how the filmmakers political strategies affected the process of the adaptation. 17
Bolton frames the debate over the film’s politics by using a debate between the film reviewer Mendelsohn, and the producer Schamus as the film’s ideological goals, and their positions
12ibid
13Rich B. Ruby, New Queer Cinema: The Director's Cut (2013), Duke University Press 14ibid
15Bolton Matthew, ‘The Ethics of Alterity: Adapting Queerness in Brokeback Mountain’, Adaptation, Volume
5, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 35–56, p.35
16ibid 17ibid
that represents a fundamental conflict between a “Levinasian ethic of alterity that prioritizes the gap between the subject” and the ethic of identification best characterized by Schamus’18 claim that Lee’s film queers its audience. Bolton argues that even though19 Brokeback
Mountain raised quite a bit of cultural furor on the political right, the academic discussion of the film tends not to take conservative complaints very seriously. Instead, commentary on the film concentrates on asking what queer films should do and how this particular film meets or fails to meet those goals, and as a result, much of the academic conversation about the film has revolved around a discussion of the kinds of radical work Brokeback Mountain does not do or the communities that it neglects or fails to address. 20 Bolton writes that these conversations highlight particular facets of the film, such as the presentation of masculinity, the film’s racial homogeneity, and the problematic assertion that the film’s protagonists are gay, but in each case the governing question is to what extent and in what ways Brokeback
Mountain is a queer film. 21
Bolton goes on to focus on the debate between Mendelsohn and Schamus, as Mendelsohn in his very positive review praisesBrokeback Mountain as a movie specifically about the closet that beautifully and harrowingly exposes the self-hatred, repression, and frustration of internalized homophobia.Mendelsohn argues that contextualizing the story of Jack and Ennis’ relationship with reference to the universality and ubiquitous appeal of love stories obscures the actual achievements of the film by denying its queer content and shoving it back into the closet. This is partially the fault of reviewers of the film, Mendelsohn acknowledges, and he quotes several that, in his view, downplay the homosexuality of Brokeback Mountain with their praise. An example of this is The Los Angeles Times review, that describes the film as22 a deeply felt, emotional love story, where the two lovers here just happen to be men, and The Wall Street Journal’s review that promises its readers that the story stays with you not because both lovers are men, but because their story is so full of life and longing, which according to Bolton marginalizes the film’s queerness. Schamus objected to Mendelsohn’s 23 critique, arguing that Mendelsohn ‘sets up a false dichotomy between the essentially “gay”
18ibid p.36 19ibid 20ibid p.37 21ibid 22ibid 23ibid
nature of the film and the erasure of this gay identity through the marketing and reception of the film as a “universal” love story’, but acknowledges that Brokeback Mountain was marketed ‘primarily as an epic’, claiming that the film was purposefully designed to be a ‘distinctively gay story that happens to be so well told that any feeling person can be moved by it’. Bolton writes that by excising the queer content from the film’s advertising, by24 avoiding the words ‘gay’ and ‘homosexual’, by emphasizing the universality of love rather than the distinctness of the queer experience, the filmmakers twist the encounter with the queer difference into a banal reflection of a pre-existing narrative of heteronormative romance. Bolton writes that rather than being confronted with the queer face’s ‘right to25 exist’, viewers are reassured that the other is not other at all and therefore deserves no special consideration.
Bolton continues to write that Brokeback Mountain does transform its implied audience, inviting it to experience something alongside the film’s gay protagonists, and that Schamus’ ‘queering-the-audience’ ethic captures something important about the experience of watching
Brokeback Mountain. Bolton concludes that the ambiguous nature of these shared26
experiences simultaneously invites viewers to consider how much distance exists between themselves and these protagonists, even as they share the same experience, and as result,
Brokeback Mountain actually represents a synthesis between Mendelsohn’s and Schamus’ opposing ethics. 27
3.2 Queer theory and homosexual representation in film
In the article ‘First Contact: Queer Theory, Sexual Identity, and “Mainstream” Film’ (2000), Rob Cover raises questions about the role of queer theory in media critique, centering on a discussion of four recent “mainstream” mass-circulation films with significant lesbian and/or gay content.28 Cover argues that it is asserted that these films operate within accepted discourses on sexuality that require both the notions of public self-disclosure and of the “truth” of the “hetero/homo binary”, and argues that the methods used by media productions
24ibid p.38 25ibid p.40 26ibid p.51-52 27ibid p.35
28Cover Rob, ‘First Contact: Queer Theory, Sexual Identity, and “Mainstream” Film’ (2000) International
to disseminate that discourse from a lesbian/gay point of view are discussed in terms of the implications of such mass-circulation films being for many persons a “first contact” point with that discourse. He continues and explores four films with significant lesbian and/or gay29 content: My Best Friend’s Wedding, In and Out, Chasing Amy, and The Object of my Affection, and discusses them in light of queer theory, and of the construction of youth sexuality with a view toward providing an ethic on the resource nature of films that may well be that “first contact” with lesbian/gay discourse for younger persons. 30
Cover writes that a large amount of research on the construction of sexuality in mainstream media was conducted in the 1980s and early 1990s, there has been a relative drop in production of such academic discourses in recent years (keep in mind, this article was written and published in 2000). He continues and writes that the set of post-structuralist theories 31 and strategies of textual reading that are collectively known as “queer theory” have an important role to play in understanding the production of sexuality, and that the articular strands of queer theory that appeal to him are those theories developed by Judith Butler and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. He argues that queer theory has an anti-foundationalist, essentialism-questioning stance, that makes a valuable contribution when one is trying to understand mainstream media “invisibility” and “partial visibility” of non-heterosexual sexualities that emerged from within Lesbian and Gay Studies. 32 Cover writes that what needs to be asked by queer theory is how, in general, can we understand the ways in which high-circulation films construct and maintain the very binaries and identities that queer theory seeks to deconstruct and de-naturalise. 33
Cover then analyzes the four mentioned movies using queer theory, through different seven perspectives/headlines: media invisibility, reception, the safe best friend, the honesty syndrome, “other” binaries, and violence. He argues that each of these films operates to reinforce the binarial separation of hetero/homo, to discredit the idea of sexual experimentation or a sexuality that might be based on something other than
29ibid 30ibid p.72 31ibid p.73 32ibid 33ibid p.74
gender-objects-of-choice, and to insist on the essentialistic and naturalistic fiction of the fixed sexual identity. He continues and writes that while both heterosexist film discourse and34 lesbian/gay “community” discourse attempt to uphold this binary distinction between “gay/lesbian” and “straight,” queer theory, as well as some recent analytical research suggest that this may not necessarily be reflective of social reality. In his conclusion, he poses the argument that sexuality is performative and that it is should be understood and enacted through and by the reiterative language and connotative practices that restrict sexuality into certain binarial divisions that rely on gender-object-of-choice, rather than any notion of sexual fluidity that displaces gender as the central determinant in which side of the divide a sexual subject can be positioned. In other words, what is hinted at in the mass-circulation 35 films and constructed through various tools to potentially imply a negative is not necessarily in line with either the strategic deployment of sexuality by youth as suggested in the above surveys or the understandings of constructed and performative sexual identities as maintained by queer theory. 36
3.3 Using Bourdieu’s toolbox
As mentioned in the introduction, I intend to make use of various concepts and theories from Pierre Bourdieu when analyzing and discussing And Then We Danced. However, as mentioned previously, there is little to no research made on or related directly to And Then
We Dancedand its context, especially not in means of a theoretical discussion. Therefore, to look for alternative research that is still somewhat related to the research area and aim, as well as related to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, one can turn to various media studies that has adapted Bourdieu’s toolbox to their subject, focusing rather on how they write about and discuss Bourdieu, than the subject of the authors research.
In the PhD dissertation Viscosity of stigma: media experiences, intersectionality, and the life-course of LGBTQ+ consumers’ (2018) by Ana-Isabel Nölke, the author explores how
stigma experiences of two generations of LGBTQ+ consumers have changed, how this relates to their experiences of LGBTQ+ media portrayals, as well as what this tells us about how
34ibid p.87 35ibid p. 89 36ibid
marginalised consumers navigate their lives and particularly the fragmentation of identity politics through media consumption, focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other LGBTQ+ individuals, and building on Bauman’s concept of liquid modernity as well as Bourdieu’s theory of practice.37 Nölke writes when introducing Bourdieu that various consumer researchers have introduced Bourdieu’s work to the consumer culture domain, explicitly pointing to Bourdieu’s work as a way of incorporating both individual experience and social constraints into our understanding of consumption as practice. However, his 38 conceptual toolbox has not been widely used in media consumption studies, as it is only in recent years that a number of scholars has started to point out that his sociological approach can help generate a more nuanced understanding of the symbolic power of the media. Nölke 39 writes that many of Bourdieu’s concepts are not new but rather that they are based on pre-existing theories which he combined into one coherent theory of praxis, and as a consequence, it draws together and creates a comprehensive toolbox, offering an invaluable ‘enabling theory’. The author writes that Bourdieu developed his ‘theory of practice’ in an40 attempt to overcome the shortcomings of the two opposing traditions, structuralism, which focused on the social structures that regulate individual behaviour, and essentialism, which focused on individual freedom through choice. Bourdieu believed that a theory was needed 41 to account for both, bridging the sociological problem of structure versus agency and incorporating both individual practices and choice within a structured social space. Beyond his theory of practice, Nölke introduces the reader to the Bourdieusian concepts like habitus, social fields, doxa, and the different forms of capital, concepts that will be covered in the theoretical framework section of this thesis. Throughout her PhD dissertation, Nölke uses 42 Bourdieu in an intersectional manner in combination with concepts from Judith Butler related to gender and queer theory, and argues that even if Bourdieu himself did not sufficiently engage with questions of intersectionality in his own empirical work, however, does not
37 Nölke, Ana-Isabel, ‘Viscosity of stigma: media experiences, intersectionality, and the life-course of LGBTQ+
consumers’ PhD (2018), The University of Edinburgh, retrieved from
https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/31438?fbclid=IwAR1uxP8ktzsdu-RLgyuG2mHVwYw7B5KZjH_jKsVlGOTY 6X5kW7WdFL5j4to p.iv 38ibid p.97 39ibid p.98 40ibid 41ibid p.99 42ibid p.100
detract from the potential contributions that this toolbox offers other scholars that do work with questions regarding intersectionality. 43
Another example of research using and adapting Bourdieu’s toolbox to their specific subject is the article ‘Selling Subversion: An African City and the Promise of Online Television’ (2018) by Christopher A. Chávez and Ashley Cordes. In this article, the two authors investigate the process by which Ghanaian filmmakers create programs intended for distribution on online platforms, by using Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a framework, examining the Ghanaian film industry as a field of cultural production, using the show An
African City as a case study. The authors also examine further in a Bourdieusian fashion,44 how the filmmakers use various forms of capital to produce commodities that can circulate within the global marketplace, examining how the transnational nature of the show shapes the degree to which its creators can disrupt western discourses about Africa. Chávez and Cordes 45 writes that Bourdieu argues that the television and film industry may be considered a field of cultural production, one that is occupied with the production of symbolic goods, and that the success of players within this field is dependent upon their access to various forms capital, including economic, social, and cultural capital. The authors argue from a field theory46 perspective that according to Bourdieu, economic and cultural capital are said to be of particular importance in fields of cultural production, possessing high levels of at least one. 47 Chávez and Cordes investigate the different forms of capital in relation to the show, and use Bourdieu’s toolbox to explain how and why these aspects matter in relation to how the rest of the world perceives Africa.
4. Problem area and research question
The aim of this thesis is to analyze and problematize the discourse surrounding And Then We
Danced (2019), by analyzing the film itself by using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu, and
investigating what role the film has played in the call for action regarding LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia. The way I intend to frame this thesis is certainly related to what I have titled it,
43ibid p.112
44Chávez Christopher A, Cordes Ashley, ‘Selling Subversion: An African City and the Promise of Online
Television’ (2017) Television & New Media 2018, Vol. 19(3) 191–207 p.192
45ibid 46ibid p.194 47ibid p.195
which is “film as a reality creating force”. Like the authors in the previous research and background that I have presented have discussed, the way in which groups of people are represented through media, and more specifically in film, changes the way we think about each other, and the way we perceive these groups of people in reality. The power a film has should not be taken for granted, and that is something the reaction And Then We Danced received has shown. I intend to conduct my research by first analyzing the film (including key scenes, characters, and quotes) and how it portrays social fields in Georgia, and especially how the film portrays the LGBTQ+ community in Georgia, by using concepts from Pierre Bourdieu. Then, I will investigate the production of the film by reading interviews with Levan Akin where he addresses the production and discourse surrounding it, as well as the reception and the reaction the film has received. To investigate the latter, I will divide the reaction/reception aspect of the analysis by contextualizing them into three perspectives; Georgia, Sweden, and the EU.
The research questions I intend to answer in this thesis are: How does the film And Then We
Danced (2019) portray how one can adapt ones habitus and social field, how did the film
provoke the political discussion about LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia, and how does the reception the film received reflect where Georgia, Sweden and the EU stands regarding the road to LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia?
5. Theoretical framework
Adapting the theories and concepts of Pierre Bourdieu and combining them, as well as using them in the context of media studies, is not something quite revolutionary, however, it is quite new as his conceptual toolbox has not been widely used in this context. It is only in recent years that scholars have started to point out that his sociological approach can help generate a more nuanced understanding of the symbolic power of the media, therefore explaining how one adapts and interprets it in this context is still very much needed. In this section, I intend to briefly discuss and define Bourdieusian concepts/theories and how they apply to my research question, and what theoretical framework I intend to use to analyse my research question, as well as briefly explain my epistemological and ontological stance.
5.1 Bourdieu’s toolbox
Many of Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts are based on pre-existing theories which he combined into one coherent theory of praxis, and as a consequence, it draws together many of the concepts I intend to use, creating a comprehensive toolbox. Many of these theories stem from Bourdieu’s theory of practice, as it was made in an attempt to overcome the discourse and shortcomings of the two opposing traditions structuralism and essentialism, and believed that a theory was needed to account for both. Nölke, when introducing the toolbox, writes that 48 Bourdieu describes social ‘reality’ as a construct, created through social structures that are both structured and structuring, generating our thoughts and behaviour. Bourdieu’s lifelong49 concern was how humans interact socially, what it is that puts society together, and how humans can be free, while simultaneously constrained by the rules of society, and how these two phenomena interact. Bourdieu wanted to investigate how theory and objective facts about society affect all humans, and how we as humans in practice live that theory and embody those objective facts, in our own subjective ways, and how those two interact. The key 50 concepts that stemmed from this are habitus, social field theory, and cultural capital. Bourdieu writes that all of his thinking stemmed from one point: how can behaviour be regulated without being the product of obedience to rules?
The habitus then explains our likelihood to act and behave in a certain way, dependent on how we expect them to respond. The habitus is a set of acquired patterns of meaning, beliefs, behaviors and tastes, and Bourdieu defines it as “systems of durable, transposable dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures.”51 According to Bourdieu, habitus is structured by one’s life circumstances and the social environments one moves in, such as family environment and education. At the same time, it is structuring, as it influences the actors future practices, consciousness, and tastes. 52 According to Bourdieu, it is through practice that actors structure the world by producing meaning, but this structuring is only possible because of embodied schemes that are
48Nölke, p.97 49Nölke p.99
50 Grenfell Michael James, Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, (2014) 2nd ed. Taylor and Francis, p.12 51Bourdieu Pierre, The Logic of Practice, (1992) Polity Press
constituted throughout history and are acquired by the individual through socialization.53 Habitus is therefore not a product of ‘theoretical calculation’, but a ‘kind of ‘‘feel’’ for the game’54 Nölke argues that Habitus is distinct from socialisation as one is not merely socialized into reductionist class consciousness, but rather that one acquires what Bourdieu calls a practical sense of how to behave in different situations and across fields that are to a large extent subconscious. This means that the habitus does not act alone, as humans are not55 pre-programmed and acting out the implications of one's upbringing, but it is rather so that these practices are the result of what Bourdieu would call “an obscure double relation” or “an unconscious relationship” between a habitus and a field. One practice results from relations 56 between one’s dispositions (habitus) and one’s position in a field (capital), within the current state of play of that social arena (field). Practices are therefore not the result of one’s 57 habitus, but the rather of relations between one’s habitus and one’s current circumstances, or put simply, one cannot understand the practices of individuals in terms of their habitus alone, their habitus represents only one part of the equation, the fields they are active within are equally crucial. Individuals can move in several social environments, fields, at any one time,58 and in this way fields constantly influence and co-construct each other. As actors move 59 within a field, they are constantly vying for power and status by exchanging different forms of capital.
According to Bourdieu, cultural capital exists in three distinct forms. In its embodied state, it takes the form of tastes, mannerisms, and long-lasting dispositions that are built up over time and cannot simply be acquired and transferred immediately. In its objectified state, it takes a material form as a cultural good, such as books, paintings, and machines that can be exchanged for economic capital or other goods. Lastly, institutionalised cultural capital takes the physical form of certificates and qualifications that bestow official recognition and allows for a comparison and exchange between holders. He writes that cultural capital can be 60
53Decoteau Claire Laurier, ‘The reflexive habitus: Critical realist and Bourdieusian social action’, (2016)
European Journal of Social Theory, Volume: 19 issue: 3, page(s): 303-321, p. 305
54ibid 55Nölke p.100 56Grenfell p.50 57ibid 58ibid p.51 59ibid p.65
60 Bourdieu, Pierre in Richardson, J, The forms of capital (1986).., Handbook of Theory and Research for the
acquired, depending on the period, the society, and the social class, in the absence of any deliberate inculcation, and therefore quite unconsciously. It always remains marked by its earliest conditions of acquisition which, through the more or less visible marks they leave, help to determine its distinctive value. 61
5.2 Epistemological and ontological standpoint
To understand the theoretical framework that will guide and frame this thesis, it is important to note the epistemological and ontological framework this study is based upon. The epistemological standpoint that will be used in this thesis is constructivism, because of its strong thesis that all of science is constructed by social actors and that social science must be viewed as a reality-creating force. 62 There are three kinds of constructivism: social constructionism, social constructivism, and radical constructivism. In this thesis, the focus will be on the second one, social constructivism. Social constructivism (or scientific constructivism) advances the central claim of constructivism that science is constructed by social actors. The idea emerged that science is not merely influenced by social factors, as63 the older sociology of knowledge and sociology of science describes, but its actual content, as opposed to its external form, can in fact be constructed. Constructivism has certain limits, 64 and underlying it is a strong notion of how scientific knowledge is shaped not just by social factors, but by social interest as well. It rests on the notion of agency and the internal 65 structure of science being shaped by external social factors. The strongest opposition to constructivism is realism, as constructivists are “anti-realist” about the nature of causes, which they tend to see as defined by the conceptual systems within science, and they question the assumptions about truth and falsity.66 The term that characterizes Bourdieu’s epistemological approach is constructivist-structuralism, as the underlying ideas in his approach are a view of social life as one constantly is pervaded by struggles over social recognition which arise in response to the basic social reality of inequality.67 Pierre Bourdieu’s stance also comes into play in regard to the ontological standpoint in this thesis.
61ibid p.18
62Delanty. G and Strydom P., Philosophies of Social Science (2003) Open University Press, p.372 63ibid p.373
64ibid 65ibid p.378 66ibid p.377 67ibid p.324-325
Ontologically, Bourdieu describes social ‘reality’ as a construct, created through social structures that are both structured and structuring, generating thoughts and behaviour. 68
6. Methods, material, source critical reflections, and limitations
Having provided an overview over the theoretical framework that will guide this thesis, this following section turns towards the method and material that will be used, as well as the source critical reflections and limitations. In this section I intend to describe how I am going to empirically test my expectations, by outlining how I am going to analyze my identified problem. The research design I intend to use is inductive and qualitative, which means that I will examine my problem and analyze how it is caused, inferring a conclusion based on the data, generalized from my observations. The choice of research design as well as method is influenced by the data, because the material that will be used is the primary focus of the analysis, shaping the research design by proxy. Because of the material and sources that I will use to compile my data, the research method I will use will be a mixed method that is more experimental. The material that I will use is the film itself, as well as published interviews with director Levan Akin. The interviews are not mine and have not been conducted by me, but the interviews are published on various websites and newspapers online for anyone to read. The film itself is quite new, therefore there is little to no existing research related to it.
What I intend to do is to use the theoretical toolbox by Pierre Bourdieu, and analyze the film itself and the social fields that are represented in the film, as well as contextualizing the film in regards to homophobia in Georgia. I will then mix critical discourse analysis with certain specific methods related to interview methods in social research, more specifically how one analyzes interviews. I will read these interviews, focusing on production of the film, along with a various array of news/media articles about the reception and reaction the film received. To make the latter section easier to follow, I will divide that section of the analysis by contextualizing them into three perspectives; Georgia, Sweden, and the EU.
Critical discourse analysis is a type of discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted by
text and talk in the social and political context, perceiving discourse as a social practice. 69 Unlike other discourse-based research, critical discourse analysis does not begin with a fixed theoretical or methodological stance, and instead focuses and starts based on the research topic at hand. Analyzing interviews, whatever the focus of the study, focuses not only on 70 motivations and reasons, but also on social identities and how these are constructed within the social setting in which people live and work. As I mentioned, the interviews are not 71 mine, and the aims of the interviews that I intend to use are different than if I were to conduct the interview myself. The interviews are however useful to my thesis, as they, along with the film itself, serves as my empirical material, used as instruments for gaining information. Using critical discourse analysis in this mixed-method I deem necessary, because the interviews I am going to read and use are not mine, which means that I will be describing, interpreting, and explaining the ways in which the discourse in question is constructed, seeing how one discourse influences another, and how the discourse makes certain activities possible, desirable or inevitable. Using critical discourse analysis mixed with methods 72 related to interview analysis methods will detect if there are any contradictory answers in Levan Akin’s interviews and how he has personally/subjectively interpreted the production of the film, as well as detecting if there are any gaps in how he tells interviewers about he production of the film. I also want to assure that I will manage to portray all the different perspectives and reactions the film has received, positive or negative, so that it does not represent a particular principle or display a particular viewpoint.
The limitations of this thesis are very much all related to language. I do not speak or understand Georgian, thus I am limited to English, Swedish and a few German sources. The film itself is in fact in Georgian, but as it is the focal point of this thesis, I have deemed the translations provided by sfanytime.com to be the closest to an official translation of the film.
69Faircloud Norman et. al in Dijk Teun A. Van, Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction (2011)
SAGE Publications Ltd, p.358
70ibid
71May Tim, Social Research: Issues, methods and process, (2011) 4th ed, Open University Press, p.155 72Mullet, D. R. ‘A General Critical Discourse Analysis Framework for Educational Research’, Journal of
7. Data and analysis
7.1 And Then We Danced (2019) - Plot Summary
And Then We Danced is a 2019 Swedish-Georgian drama film directed by Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin, set in conservative orthodox-christian Tbilisi, Georgia. The film is about Merab (played by Levan Gelbakhiani), a Georgian boy who has been training since a young age at the National Georgian Ensemble with his dance partner Mary (played by Ana Javakhishvili). His world is turned upside down when Irakli (played by Bachi Valishvili) joins the National Georgian Dance Ensemble and becomes both his strongest rival and romantic desire. Other important characters in the film to note are Merab’s brother David (played by Giorgi Tsereteli) and his dance teacher Aleko (played by Kakha Gogidze).
When the viewer is first introduced to Merab, he is struggling at his dance practice with the National Georgian Ensemble. As his dance teacher Aleko tries to teach Merab and the other73 students a lesson about how Merab is too soft in his dancing with Mary, and that there is no sexuality in Georgian dance, the lesson gets interrupted by Irakli, a dancer from Batumi. Irakli immediately stands out from the rest as he dares to talk back to Aleko, and to prove himself worthy of being in the National Georgian Ensemble, he gets to replace Merab in practicing the duet with Mary, making Merab and Irakli rivals. After this, the viewer is introduced to Merab’s community in Tbilisi, as well as his family consisting of his mother, his grandmother, and his brother David who also dances at the Ensemble, who are all reliant on the leftovers Merab brings back from the restaurant where he has a part-time job waiting tables. His estranged father, meanwhile, is an ex-dancer who has fallen out with the dance establishment, and now runs a market stall.
During dance practice the following day it is revealed that the main ensemble is looking for a new male dancer, as one of their cast members, Zaza, was let go as he was caught having sex with another man. Merab, fueled with newfound ambition to audition for the main ensemble, returns to the dance studio to practice alone early the following morning. Arriving at the dance studio, he notices that he is not alone, and that Irakli is there practicing as well. Irakli ends up helping Merab with his dancing, and the two share a moment of sexual tension, but quickly let the tension subside and continue to train together. After this practice session, the
two continue to practice together more, and during their practice session with the rest of the ensemble, Aleko points out that Merab is smart, trying to learn from someone better than him. The two end up being picked out for the audition for the main ensemble, and celebrate by going out drinking with their group of friends until early morning. Merab ends up going home to Irakli and his grandmother, and the three of them have breakfast together, and before Merab leaves to go home, Irakli gives him a traditional Georgian robe made for traditional Georgian dancing.
After this, Merab, Irakli, David, their friend named Sopo, and an unnamed female character, and Mary decide to visit Mary’s father who lives outside of Tbilisi, to celebrate Mary’s birthday. During this three day stay at Mary’s father’s place, Merab and Irakli have sexual intercourse with each other behind a boulder in her father’s garden in the middle of the night, as it is the only place where they could hide from the rest of the group. After this weekend retreat, their life goes back to normal, and the dance practices continue, but now, Irakli is nowhere to be found. David is kicked out of the dance ensemble for being involved with criminal activities that are not explained, and while David works his first shift at the restaurant Merab works at, the two both get fired from the restaurant, due to David’s criminal activities. Angry with his brother and without money on his phone to message Irakli, Merab heads into central Tbilisi to ask for help, and runs into a flamboyant gay man who invites Merab to join him on his way to the club, and Merab agrees. On his way home from clubbing with other gay people, a member of the National Georgian Ensemble, Luka, spots Merab in a taxi.
The following day during practice, Merab sprains his foot while dancing, and on his way home from practice, Luka decides to “out” Merab by asking him “does your brother know you’re a faggot”. A fight breaks out between the two of them, and as the two are torn apart 74 by Mary, Mary expresses her worries for Merab, as she does not want Merab to get laid off like Zaza. As Merab returns, he is met with the surprise that his brother David has gotten Sopo pregnant, and has to marry her as soon as possible. At the wedding, Merab spots Irakli in the crowd, and at the wedding party, Merab confronts him. Irakli then confesses that he has to go back to Batumi, because he has a girlfriend who he intends to marry to please his
mother and father. Merab leaves the wedding as a fight breaks out between David and Luka, and once Merab has left the wedding, he is met with a hug from Mary, who now understands the relationship Merab and Irakli had. When Merab gets home to the apartment his family lives in, his brother David comes home, bloody and bruised from the fight with Luka. David asks Merab if he defended his honor in vain, suggesting that Merab is homosexual. Merab responds with “maybe”, and David goes on to hug his brother, accepting his brother's sexual identity, and encourages Merab to leave Georgia for his own safety.
The following day Merab auditions for the main ensemble, wearing the robe he was gifted by Irakli, dancing the way he wants to dance; softly, explosively, with movements he learned from his night of clubbing. The trainer from the main ensemble expresses that he feels insulted by Merab’s dancing and leaves, but Aleko stays to watch Merab’s full audition. When the audition is done, Merab curtsies, takes the robe off, and leaves the dance studio.
7.1.1 Key scenes and Pierre Bourdieu
In the film, there is a range of social fields present, meaning environments in which competition and interaction between individuals and groups take place, that has unconsciously set social norms set out for the characters, and the habitus is the way the characters enter said social field, with the knowledge they have about themselves and where they come from and belong. There are the more obvious social fields, like the close-knit75 neighbourhood in Tbilisi where Merab and his family reside, which includes the restaurant where Merab works, and the National Georgian Ensemble. Within these social fields, there is a strong sense of community among the characters, which one can perceive in how they interact with one another, and the societal norms they follow, or struggle against. There are scenes in the film that portray this quite well, such as the montage of Merab meeting members of his community after he leaves his dance recital, heads to work his shift at the restaurant and interacts with his fellow employees and boss, stopping by his local grocery clerk and buying groceries for his family while conversing with the clerk about his family, and finally before he heads home to his family, he stops to play football with the neighbourhood kids, groceries and leftovers from the restaurant still in hand. Not only do 76
75Grenfell, p.50
most of the residents in Tbilisi that Merab is seen interacting with seem to struggle financially, but in Bourdieusian terms, they struggle with their cultural capital. Cultural capital is the cultural knowledge that serves as currency that helps them navigate culture, which alters their experiences and the opportunities available to them. It isn’t necessarily about money, but their cultural capital can be exchanged for money, which can help them earn more cultural capital. Education is an important piece of cultural capital, and very few77 of the people close to Merab seem to have an undergraduate education, or of any sort degree, which one could define as cultural capital in the institutionalized state. As they struggle financially, neither of them seem to have cultural capital in the objectified state, which is material objects that indicate social class, but most of the characters, especially Merab, have plenty of cultural capital in the embodied state, which is the form of knowledge that resides within him.78 That cultural capital is his prestigious dancing, and the manners his grandmother has taught him. Merab’s friend Mary is the only one who seems to have cultural capital in all three states, as she is educated and attends school, has a father that is better off financially and therefore has a car, and she, like Merab, is a dancer. 79
The character’s in the film are quite aware of the social fields they reside in, the environments they move in, and in some cases, they know what path they are on to know what their future holds. An example of a character fitting comfortably in with his own social field and habitus, who completely accepts his place and path to where his future is heading, is Merab’s brother David. At the night of his own wedding, after getting into a fight defending Merab’s honor after Luka from the National Georgian Dance Ensemble calls Merab a homophobic slur, he asks Merab if he defended his honor in vain, suggesting that Merab is homosexual, and when Merab responds with “maybe”, David tells him that he, himself, will end up “a drunk fat Georgian man, working for his father in law” and that he is fine with that, but that Merab should get out of Georgia, as he has no future there. David therefore accepts his position 80 within his social field and his own habitus, and where it will eventually lead him, but still encourages Merab to “leave” his own, and understands that the life he will live himself is not a life that is fulfilling for everyone, and that if Merab is to live his own authentic life where
77Grenfell, p.51 78ibid
79And Then We Danced (2019) 80ibid
he is not restrained by the homophobic tendencies is Georgia, he has to leave. According to 81 Bourdieu, one can adjust one's habitus depending on one's uniqueness in the world, by moving locations, changing what one wears, and learning new skills. So thus, in a way,82 David is encouraging Merab to adjust his habitus because Merab is more unique than himself, and that if he adapts his habitus by moving somewhere else, he will be able to embrace himself and his “new” habitus.
Earlier in the film, Merab meets a gay man on the bus, and meets him again later during the same day. This gay man (who does not have a name) brings Merab with him to clubs to go dancing, and at these clubs people are open, dancing with people of any gender, which is drastically different from the National Georgian Ensemble. The character then brings Merab to see his friend who owes him money, and there Merab meets what one could call in Bourdieusian terms, a group belonging to a subfield. They meet a group of sex workers, and 83 most of them are transgender women. These women, and the LGBTQ+ community in this 84 film, could be described as a subfield within the other fields, and in Georgia. It is not a regular social field, as it is still fighting to be recognized and acknowledged like a regular social field, and this scene of them just meeting these women is important, as well as the scenes of Merab clubbing with the gender non-conforming character, as it shows that an LGBTQ+ community, even if it is a hidden away as a social subfield, exists in Tbilisi. In an interview with Levan Akin by Mark Alan Burger from Interview Magazine, Akin tells the interviewer that because most of the filming had to be spontaneous and on the fly, some scenes, like the scene with the sex workers, was spontaneous. He says in the interview that85 they were working that night, and that when he was doing research, he had gotten to know them, and called them and asked if they wanted to do a scene in the film. The guy Merab 86 meets on the bus and brings him to go clubbing is also a real person who Levan Akin had just
81ibid
82Grenfell p. 52 83ibid p.58
84And Then We Danced (2019)
85Interview Magazine, ‘AND THEN WE DANCED DIRECTOR LEVAN AKIN ON REVOLUTIONS AND
ROBYN’ published (2020-02-10) retrieved (2020-05-01) from
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/and-then-we-danced-director-levan-akin-on-revolutions-and-robyn
met out in a bar. 87 This subfield in the film, and real life subfield, is then indirectly recognized, by being in the film.
Throughout the film, the viewer sees Merab having to break through his social field and try to adapt his habitus to risk it all, and the character that starts off this reaction is Irakli, who becomes his love interest. As soon as Irakli makes his first appearance in the film, he is provoking, he does not stand in line, he speaks back to their dance teacher, he does not stand straight, and he wears an earring. Not only does Merab act on his feelings for Irakli without 88 hesitation, but the way Merab portrays and presents himself when he dances after acting on these feelings rapidly changes. As mentioned previously, when the viewer first meets Merab, he is being critiqued for his dancing by his teacher Aleko. The dance can be seen as a representation of Georgian values, following a particular formula where the woman’s moves are supposed to capture a natural gracefulness and beauty, and the man’s moves convey strength, courage and honour. The women are expected to be virginal and docile while the89 men perform spectacular acrobatic leaps, turns and spins, signalling their innate physical ability and macho chivalric pride. After meeting and falling in love with Irakli however, he dares to challenge his own habitus and social field, by dancing more femininely, openly, with softer movements. The more Merab accepts himself and challenges his habitus to develop along with him, the more Aleko yells at him at practice. It is not until Merab’s audition to join the Main Ensemble, that Aleko actually does stay and watch what Merab does. For this audition, Merab dresses in a traditional Georgian Dancer’s robe. He wears this traditional garment, that could be interpreted as representing Georgia’s tradition, and dances more femininely, openly, explosively and unpredictable, showing Aleko that his tradition, and their tradition, his habitus, and their habitus can adapt and change. The coach for the Main Ensemble leaves, thinking Merab is making a mockery of Georgian tradition, but Aleko stays. Not only is Merab challenging his own habitus and social field, but he challenges Aleko’s too, by making him consider the fact that National Georgian Dance (the nation's soul) can change and adapt as well. After Merab finishes his audition, he takes the traditional
87ibid
88And Then We Danced (2019)
89Little White Lies, ‘How the queering of Georgian folk dance sparked a cultural revolution’ published
(2020-03-07) retrieved (2020-05-01) from
Georgian dancer’s robe off and carries it on his way out, and when he is done he does not bow, as male dancers often do, but instead, he curtsies. 90
7.2 Homophobia and Pride in Tbilisi, Georgia
As mentioned previously, in a conservative society where traditional values are dominant, LGBTQ+ rights are rarely considered important, or even considered at all. According to the 2011 Caucasus Barometer survey, 88% of Georgia’s population thought that homosexuality could never be justified.91 There are several organizations that have been working on protection of LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia during the past years, but the issue of homophobia in Georgia remained without significant political or public attention until May 17, 2013. On 92 the 17th of May 2013, a peaceful demonstration of about 50 LGBTQ+ activists demonstrating for IDAHOT ( International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) were violently attacked in Tbilisi by thousands of people led by Georgian Orthodox Church leaders. In the article ‘Exploring Homophobia in Tbilisi, Georgia’ Mestvirshvili et al. conducts a study to examine social and cultural values that are linked with homophobic attitudes among the residents in Tbilisi, Georgia. The authors write that the study aims to 93 address the limitations of the existing government interventions, which are only directed at improving the legal framework, ignoring the role of civic education, and the development of liberal values. The authors intend to study expands knowledge about homophobic attitudes in Georgian society in two ways, by first, in contrast to previous empirical studies conducted in different countries, which were based largely on a convenience sample, using data that come from a representative sample of the population of Tbilisi, where approximately one third of the population of Georgia lives. Second, they test different clusters of variables such as 94 sociodemographic factors, liberal values, and religious attitudes, psychological variables such as personal perceptions, and beliefs as potential predictors/mediators of homophobia. The 95 authors, reflecting upon theoretical knowledge about homophobia, writes that according to gender panic theory homophobia is brought about by a sense of superiority over females and
90And Then We Danced (2019) 91Caucasus research resource center
92 BBC News, ‘Thousands protest in Georgia over gay rights rally’ (2013-05-17) retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22571216 (2020-04-09)
93Mestvirshvili Maia, Tinatin Zurabishvili, Tamar Iakobidze, Natia Mestvirishvili ‘Exploring Homophobia in
Tbilisi, Georgia’ (2017) Journal of Homosexuality, 64:9, 1253-1282, p.1254
94ibid 95ibid
the fear of losing male privileges. It is argued that males use homophobia as proof of 96 masculinity, yet at the same time, homophobia results largely from fear of losing male status and advantages, and that the same argument is used by queer theory, according to which homosexuals are considered discredited males who arouse fear and anxiety in heterosexual males.97 Manifestations of homophobia are culturally and historically specific and are furthermore shaped by social and political institutions. On the one hand, internalization of traditional gender roles increases homophobia, on the other hand, social structures, institutions, and ideological views define norms and roles that can foster homophobic attitudes in a given society. Homophobia has been a problematic issue in Georgia for many 98 years, as intolerance of homosexuals and the violation of their rights remain a politically charged issue and a big concern for civil society, and the country takes third place among its neighbouring countries based on the strength of negative attitude toward homosexuals. 99 According to the World Values Survey (2010-2014), almost 87% of the population in Georgia thought that homosexuals are people who they do not wish to have as neighbours, and nearly the same percentage believed that homosexuality is never justifiable. 100 The authors write that in November 2003, the “Rose Revolution” in Georgia brought new pro-western oriented leaders who tried to promote liberal principles like free economy, free speech, liberal democracy, and human rights. This “revolution” was quite rapid, and the rise of homophobic attitudes during this period could reflect a sense of uncertainty and fear of western values and political change.101 The authors write that the situation was taken advantage of by pro-Russian political forces, declaring that Georgia was under a threat from the “Perverted West”, trying to legalize immorality, and that the EU was pushing homosexual propaganda, while equating homosexuals with pedophiles.102 The authors finally argue that the two main forces accelerating homophobic attitudes in Georgian society are the political anti democratic forces that are against EU integration, and the most trusted institution in Georgia that condemns homosexuality, the Georgian Orthodox Church. 103
96ibid p. 1256 97ibid 98ibid 99ibid p.1260 100ibid 101ibid p.1261 102ibid 103ibid p.1262
According to the Human Rights Watch 2020 report, political tensions and sustained protests over electoral reforms were marked in 2019, and one of the higher levels of concern in the report included discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In the report, it is said that activists planned Georgia’s first-ever Pride Week, including
104
various social, political, and cultural events and a Pride March, for June 22 2019. On May 31, the Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that the events could not be held outdoors, citing the risks to people involved in the events. In its June 14 statement, the Georgian Orthodox Church urged the authorities “not to allow” Tbilisi Pride, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”105Two days later, homophobic groups led by ultra-conservative businessman Levan Vasadze held a rally, announcing the formation of vigilante patrols against Tbilisi Pride and gay people.106The indoor Pride events took place, and on the 8th of July around 40 activists and LGBTQ+ supporters held a pride march outside the Interior Ministry. In an interview with The Guardian about Tbilisi Pride, one of the organizers argues that Pride is always controversial, and asks “But how long can we hide? If we saw the government was effective at combating homophobia and moving in a different direction, maybe there would not be a need for us to do a risky decision like pride. But we need to decide whether to remain with the status quo or to push harder.” 107 The report also acknowledges and mentions the protests at the And Then We Danced film premiere in Tbilisi and Batumi, and describes the protesters as “ultra-nationalist hate groups”, and goes on to write that police detained 27 people on misdemeanor, disobedience, and hooliganism charges, and one person faced criminal violence charge.108 In an OC Media opinion article, Giorgi Ptskialadze, a spokesperson and executive committee member of the Georgian Young Greens who has been involved in queer, feminist, left-wing, and green activism since 2017, writes about how he, as a LGBTQ+ person, does not support Tbilisi Pride. In this personal (and subjective) article, Ptskialadze argues that Tbilisi Pride fits well into a “liberal system in which queer people are
104Human Rights Watch, ‘Georgia Events of 2019’ published (2020) retrieved (2020-05-03) from
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/georgia#e81181
105ibid 106ibid
107The Guardian, ‘Georgia prepares for first LGBT pride amid threats of violence’ published (2019-06-19)
retrieved (2020-05-16) from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/16/georgia-prepares-for-first-lgbt-pride-tbilisi-amid-threats-of-vio lence
used as tools in bigger political games”. 109 He continues to write that there is widespread resentment toward queer people in Georgian society and far-right groups, and that they have been growing stronger, using homophobia to gain more influence and legitimacy. But however, on the other side, there are according to Ptskialadze “pseudo-supporters” who use LGBTQ+ rights instrumentally to gain support from the ‘progressive’ part of their society. 110 He argues that Tbilisi Pride will be a battlefield for these two groups, the far-right groups and the pseudo-supporters, where both will take advantage of the queer community to advance their own goals, and that queer people will not benefit from it.111 Ptskialadze continues to write that conservatives have been protesting for years against a mythical ‘gay parade’ that no one wanted to hold in Georgia anyway, and that pride is like a gift to them. He points out that hate crimes against non-hetero and non-cisnormative people always increase in May, and argues that it is because of IDAHOT, and argues that Tbilisi Pride is likely going to have the same effect.112 According to Ptskialadze, pride seems to be less like a tool but a goal in itself, and he does not think that holding the Pride and winning the public space for a day is more important than the health, safety, or even life of queer people. 113 He argues that to host pride in Georgia in 2019 is a utopian idea, and that Tbilisi Pride is a kind of an initiative, and that it needs a willingness that existed in Western Europe and the US in the 1960s and which was a consequence of even earlier activism. He writes that this willingness is not present in Georgia today and the previous years’ IDAHOT is proof of this. He ends his article by stating that if there is no willingness, there can be no social change, and that the timing for Tbilisi Pride is wrong and it will only make LGBTQ+ people’s life harder and make Georgian society even more polarised. 114
7.3 Georgia: production, reception, reaction 7.3.1 Production
In an interview at the Zurich Film Festival with the director, Levan Akin states that he got
the inspiration for the film after seeing a young group of gay people being attacked on
109OC Media, ‘Opinion | I’m queer and I’m against Tbilisi Pride. Here’s why’ published (2019-06-18) retrieved
(2020-05-03) from https://oc-media.org/opinions/opinion-i-m-queer-and-i-m-against-tbilisi-pride-here-s-why/ 110ibid 111ibid 112ibid 113ibid 114ibid
