The queer subtext of Cadet Kelly can help us understand the rhetoric surrounding LGBTQ rights amidst US invasions in the Middle East and the War on Terror. Cadet Kelly is one of the biggest DCOMs of its era, and many viewers read a queer relationship between Kelly (Hillary Duff) and Jennifer Stone (Christy Carlson-Romano). In this video essay, we’ll take a look at that relationship in the context of the movie’s themes relating to the military, freedom, and family.
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Joseph McCarthy played by the the undefeated @HizzyHay
Thanks to Max Tohline for invaluable feedback and help in writing the conclusion for this one!
As mentioned at 7:14, one example would be the “brute” or “mandingo” trope as seen in the films The Birth of a Nation (1910; dir. DW Griffith) and Mandingo (1975; dir. Richard Fleischer). You can also see this trope with Black men in whole genres of “adult” films. Obviously this is a stereotype that doesn’t stop in fiction—this same idea is used in real life to criminalize Black men and boys and to rationalize violence and abuse against them.
Resources used for this video essay:
Cadet Kelly (2002; dir. Larry Shaw)
Private Benjamin (1980; dir. Howard Zieff)
Disney Channel "Express Yourself" PSA campaign (2001, 2002)
Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times (2007) by Jasbir Puar (2017 edition with foreword by Tavia Nyong'o)
“Rethinking homonationalism” (2013) by Jasbir Puar
“Homonationalism Gone Viral: Discipline, Control, & Affective Politics of Sensation” (2012) by Jasbir Puar [ Ссылка ]
“Pinkwatching And Pinkwashing: Interpenetration and its Discontents” (2012) by Jasbir Puar and Maya Mikdashi [ Ссылка ]
“Queer Questions” (2014) by Rahul Rao
"The US Used Afghan Women to Justify Its War. Now, It’s Leaving Them Behind" (2021) by Madison Pauly [ Ссылка ]
“What Happened On The Set Of Cadet Kelly” (2021) by Christy Carlson Romano [ Ссылка ]
"Few vets expelled under 'don't ask' seek remedy" (2016) by Jennifer McDermott [ Ссылка ]
“Show Biz, Politicos Salve the Wounds” (2001) by Elaine Dutka [ Ссылка ]
“‘Under the prism’: Muslim Americans reflect on life post-9/11” (2021) by Jihan Abdalla [ Ссылка ]
For this video I ended up using clips from a lot more sources than usual. For this reason I’ve compiled a more extensive list of AV sources here:
[ Ссылка ]
Apologies that it is a bit disorganized and some things might be missing; I’m working on cleaning it up
