Why Call Me By Your Name is Problematic
Most teens know of the wonderful story of Call Me By Your Name whether it is from the book or the big screen but many people don't know that the story is extremely problematic for many reasons. Before you send hate or try to prove me wrong because you like the story I ask for you to please read what i'm about to say and all the reasons before anything. Ok with that being said let's get started.
Ok lets start with the author, Andre Aciman is very problematic as a person for many reasons let's start with those. One of the biggest problems with Andre Aciman is he is a self confessed pedophile. In an interview he has said, “I see 12 year-old girls and find them attractive. But you can’t talk about it because if you talk about it, you’re almost guilty of it. I do not commit the act, but you have no idea the scabrous and disgusting things that come to my mind.” With that you can see that he is excusing pedophilia and that he is trying to make himself the victim by saying”you can’t talk about it.” Ok if that's not bad enough for you he also condones the use of straight actors to play LGBTQ+ characters when there are plenty of LGBTQ+ actors. Though Timmothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer did an amazing job with the characters its not that hard to cast LGBTQ+ actors.
Many people may ask why we can't separate the author from the work like we did with JK Rowling and Harry Potter and you can do this but you have to understand that the beliefs of the authors bleed into the work. It’s important to understand that but the faults in Harry Potter are much more severe then the beliefs that bleed into Call Me By Your Name. With Call Me By Your Name the entire story is based off of the authors beliefs unlike Harry Potter.
Ok, let's get into the story and what's wrong with it. The main relationship between Elio, a 17 year old boy, and Oliver, a 24 year old man, is INCREDIBLY predatory and worryingly pedophilic. Before anyone says anything yes the age of consent in Italy at that time was 14 but still legality does not equal morality. Many people ignore and dismiss the fact that the main relationship is between a boy and a man. Before I continue i'm gonna say that you can enjoy a story or the aesthetic of a story and still realize that is very problematic.
The film and book has had very negative impact on gay men in the world. It has effected on how gay men are seen and also plays for the stereotypes of gay men. Oliver leads Elio a younger man, who wasnt formally gay, into a highly sexual and unhealthy relationship. This plays into the stereotype that all gay men are predatory and trying to convert young boys into being gay. Also, if you aren’t LGBTQ you cannot say anything about what is or isn’t harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.
Just a reminder as we come to the end of this paper you can appreciate the film or the book for the aesthetic, the actors performances, the family relationships, or the beautiful quotes while realizing the flaws in the story. If you still want to read or watch some amazing LGBTQ+ stories here are some recommendations:
Books:
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
Ziggy Stardust and Me by James Brandon
Its Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown
Movies:
Moonlight
Carol
The Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Pariah
