Chloë Grace Moretz criticizes conversion therapy film ‘Boy Erased’ for being told “through a straight male gaze”
Moretz, who stars in conversion therapy film "Miseducation of Cameron Post," said that queer films should be "created by queer people"
Chloë Grace Moretz has criticized Hollywood’s differing treatment of two films centered on conversion therapy, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Boy Erased.
Conversion therapy, or “gay cure/trans cure” therapy, is a widely debunked practice that tries to change the sexuality or gender identity of LGBTQ people.
Miseducation, directed by bisexual director Desiree Akhavan, follows a teenage girl, played by Moretz, who is forced to undergo conversion therapy at a camp called God’s Promise.
Despite winning the grand jury prize at Sundance in January, Miseducation, which opens in limited release August 3, failed to secure a major distributor after its screening, though it was eventually picked up by New York-based FilmRise.
Conversely, Boy Erased, written and directed by Joel Edgerton, will be distributed by Focus Features, and stars Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as religious parents who force their son, played by Lucas Hedges, to undergo conversion therapy. It opens November 2.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Moretz pointed out the difference in the way both films were handled by Hollywood.
“[Boy Erased] was picked up by a major distributor, they are putting all the money behind it, and you start to compare it,” Moretz said. “[Miseducation] was directed by a bisexual woman of diversity, it has a very diverse cast and we didn’t cast all celebrities. You look at the other movie — that movie has distribution already, it’s going to come out, it’s going to be big — it’s written and directed by a white man, it’s shot through a straight male gaze. You just look at the discrepancy and that’s shocking.”
Moretz accused Hollywood of “backing first and foremost the straight white man” because “that’s the safer bet,” adding that the industry wants “something that’s a pretty package, but that’s still tolerable and acceptable.”
“I think that’s unfair,” she said. “Queer movies should be told through a queer lens and created by queer people.”
Watch the trailers for The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Boy Erased below:
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