The Complexities of Diversity Representation in Cinema: Balancing Inclusion and Stereotypes

Diversity, which is frequently referred to as inclusion, is a beast that must be managed carefully.

Second Silence: Night Owl Bar Manoj Bajpayee's crime thriller Shootout had several plot twists and turns and deceptive elements before identifying a bewildered individual as the ruthless murderer. The writer-director Aban Bharucha Deohans most likely intended to acknowledge diversity, which requires that a gay or transgender person be featured in a story. He incorporated a pitiful monologue for the murderer as well, dwelling on the well-known story of early trauma that turned "them" into a violent, sexually abusive criminal.

When Vidya Balan was exposed as the mastermind lesbian at the conclusion of the movie Neeyat last year, she too performed the same act. In the unwatchable movie Haddi, Nawazuddin Siddique portrayed a transgender character who cuts bodies as if it were an ordinary day at work. However, is this kind of inclusion really necessary if the individual who identifies as sexually diverse is portrayed as a deranged sadist who frequently suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD)? The most common explanation for criminal behavior is anger, self-pity, or retaliation stemming from complicated sexual relationships and social rejection. However, doesn't that feed into the general public's misperception, disgust, and anxiety about gays and transgender people?

Indeed, a number of unsettling incidents have been connected to the LGBTQ community. The names of horrifyingly aberrant serial killers appeared when one searched the Internet. These two are both American.

John Wayne Gacy murdered, maimed, and tormented 33 people. Until the cops got to him, he was known as the Killer Clown and would act in public as a clown. Remarkably, Gacy had received a short sentence following his 1968 conviction for the sodomy of a small child. If the law had taken decisive action against him following his first recorded sexual offense, thirty-three victims could still be alive today.

The Milwaukee Monster, or Milwaukee Cannibal, was Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer. His horrifying deeds included the dismemberment of 17 people, necrophilia, and cannibalism. He was given a BPD diagnosis, came out as gay throughout adolescence, and shown an early obsession with dead animals.

Although there have been several well-known sexually diverse murders, the proportion of heterosexual offenders is higher. Why should a tiny fraction of the community be represented by a tiny proportion if it doesn't make every heterosexual person a suspect? That's what happens when a movie tries to be inclusive yet unintentionally portrays people as harsh and emotionally unstable.

They become more noticeable as objects of sympathy when the movies, even OTT series, don't link them to violent crimes. Even if the goal is to draw attention to how unjust society is, sympathy tends to seep in. Similar to Season 3 of Made in Heaven, where the labored diversity was a strain. Even this Friday's astonishingly updated LSD2, written by Dibakar Banerjee, played on empathy for the transgender community, saying that "they" couldn't integrate well into society.

Sexuality is not the only factor in diversity. Consider Chote Miyan Bade Miyan (BMCM). The writer-director neglected to balance other elements required for a commercial entertainment because he was too focused on balancing diversity in his characters. Movies like Ali's own Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Pathaan (2023) also featured a multicultural cast and settings that appealed for peace amongst nations without labeling any particular community as terrorist. There's no need to battle that because these movies made sure that all the other necessities were balanced. an aspect of BMCM that Ali seems to have missed.

It's similar to combining chemicals in a lab to handle variety. It might blow up in your face if you don't get the combination properly.