'Power Rangers' has started screening in the U.S. and broken down a barrier in superhero movies by introducing a queer character.
- Mar 21, 2017
AceShowbiz - "Power Rangers" has opened in theaters and it has broken down a barrier in superhero movies. Dean Israelite's film actually features the first openly gay cinematic superhero, who is introduced in the second act of the film.
[SPOILER ALERT!] During the scene, Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger played by Becky G, is coming to terms with her sexual orientation as another character assumes that Trini has "boyfriend problems," but soon realizes that Trini perhaps has "girlfriend problems" instead. While the introduction is only featured briefly, Israelite says that it is "pivotal" for the entire movie.
"For Trini, really she's questioning a lot about who she is," Israelite tells The Hollywood Reporter. "She hasn't fully figured it out yet. I think what's great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, 'That's OK.' The movie is saying, 'That's OK,' and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe," he adds.
The Yellow Ranger was played by late Thuy Trang in the original 1990's "Power Rangers" series and was portrayed as straight. Meanwhile, original Blue Ranger actor David Yost was openly gay at that time and faced harassment over his sexual orientation that made him decide to leave the series.
LGBT has actually been occasionally represented in superhero comics. Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Batwoman, Harley Quinn and Ice Man are the examples of high-profile LGBT characters, but always translated as straight in movies. Recently, the representation of LGBT could be found in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast (2017)", in which a character named LeFou (played by Josh Gad) is portrayed as gay.
