Final Week!

One of the films that we watched this week was Different Than the Others, a film that I was lucky enough to learn about in my German Film class as well as this one. This film came at the very beginning of the Weimar Republic in Germany, an era that marked an explosion of films that explored humanity from different lenses.

This film is beautiful, portraying masculinity in a way that—especially in a German social structure that promotes and celebrates hegemonic masculinity—gives us a look into a space where maleness come hand in hand with gentleness, artistry, and romance. The playfulness portrayed between the violinist and his teacher is refreshing—the move as if they are dancing with one another, at first cautiously and then explosively. Kurt’s ability to overcome his parent’s expectation of hegemonic traits in his career and sexuality is a testament to this film’s importance. So many must have needed to see this, just as it needs to be seen now. One of the title sequences, a sexologist explains “He is not at all to blame for his orientation. It is neither a vice nor a crime, indeed, not even an illness, but instead a variation, one of the borderline cases that occur frequently in nature.” This was 1919! Where a medical professional is saying that homosexuality is natural! This film doesn’t just claim homosexuality as natural, it gives us a close look at the tragedy that ensues when homosexuality is punished. The death of Kroener, and the pain felt by Kurt is powerful because it is real. Because it happened.

Different Than the Others was and is an essential work of queer cinema, because it help us to remember that queerness in cinema has been present since the beginning, that cinema is a space for social change, for alleviating the isolation felt by members of the LGBTQ+ community in the face of oppression.