All of Us Strangers buys into tropes of tragic queer lives – but there is hope there, too

• On the surface, All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, is a dark and twisty love story.
• Underneath, there is the often-present storyline seen in queer cinema: that of trauma and tragedy.
• All of Us Strangers follows lonely middle-aged gay man Adam (Andrew Scott), struggling to come to terms with his tragic past and sexuality.

Queer representation

• Queer representation in mainstream media has historically been marred by negative stereotypes, tokenistic representation and death.
• In my recent interactive documentary, Queer Representation Matters, queer media scholars and queer screen storytellers share how queer characters are often relegated to roles characterised by tragedy or trauma, perpetuating harmful tropes like “bury your gays”.

• Online queer news site, Autostraddle, have compiled a list of the 230+ dead queer female TV characters, which continues to be updated with each death.
• Essentially, for queer people, it starts to feel like you can’t have queer representation without someone dying tragically at the end.
• Read more:
  We studied two decades of queer representation on Australian TV, and found some interesting trends

We need diverse stories

• Tropes will always exist in storytelling, but by having more diverse queer filmmakers telling more diverse queer stories, audiences will have a more balanced narrative about queer life (and life expectancy).
• We need to see stories that challenge the narrative that being queer ultimately leads to pain, trauma and tragedy.
• We need to see we can also live long and happy lives, so we can believe we can have the happy ever after.
• Read more:
  All of Us Strangers: heartbreaking film speaks to real experiences of gay men in UK and Ireland

Natalie Krikowa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.