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LGBTQ+ representation in Doom Patrol

Doom Patrol is a superhero series created by Jeremy Carver that is currently broadcast on HBO Max and is based on DC comics of the same title. The pilot aired on 15th February 2019 and the ongoing fourth season was announced to be the last one as the series was canceled. 

The main storyline follows a group of characters Larry Trainor, Rita Farr, Vic Stone “Cyborg”, Jane, and Cliff Steel who, as a result of traumatic events, received superpowers and, in some cases, immortality. However, most of the protagonists, except for Vic, consider themselves not superheroes but outcasts, and therefore they do not want to save people or the world, instead facing their own problems. Things change when one of the secondary characters Chief who kept them safe and protected for years, is kidnapped by the series' antagonist Mr. Nobody.

As for the structure, the first season of Doom Patrol consists of fifteen episodes and contains elements of serial and episodic storytelling with both kernels and satellites. The former focus on Mr. Nobody and the threat he poses and the latter explores various topics important to the main characters such as trauma, family, and sexuality which are crucial to the message of the whole series.

Doom Patrol sends a positive message about being part of the LGBTQ+ community, encourages embracing one’s sexuality, but also reminds of homophobia experienced for many generations and how diverse non-heteronormative people are.

Doom Patrol encourages embracing one’s sexuality. According to research conducted in 2018, tv series on streaming platforms are more open to LGBTQ+ themes and storylines [1] and the production is a good example of it. In episode eight of the season, titled “Danny Patrol” two main characters Vic and Larry visit Danny the Street – “the sentient teleporting gender queer street”[2] that is a safe space for everyone who has been excluded by society for some reason. In the above scene, Larry who entered one bar on the street imagines that he sings with everyone the song “People like us” by Kelly Clarkson. It is worth mentioning that in the first episode of the series, it is already stated that Larry identifies as gay, his orientation is a large part of his storyline, and in the comic books that are partially adapted by the series, he was the first character rewritten as the member of LGBTQ+ community in 1989[3], so it is important that he sings the song and not Vic whose sexual orientation was not defined in the first season. In addition to that, when Larry “gives” his performance in the club, a drag queen, Maura Lee Karupt, joins him on the stage as well as the rest of the audience. People of different genders and ethnicities are dancing and singing, dressed in various ways. In such a manner, the scene shows how the community of people who for some reason cannot find their place in “normal” society, can be diverse and colorful which is significant for the representation as most tv series mainly introduce white gay men as their protagonists. [4]

Moreover, The aesthetics of the scene itself is very lively, and colorful and some of the characters wear extravagant costumes. Everything seems to be good, and everyone seems to be happy and full of life. People here are different and everyone accepts them as they are.

Furthermore, The lyrics are also very important for this analysis as Larry sings:

“They can't do nothing to you, they can't do nothing to me

This is the life that we choose, this is the life that we bleed

So throw your fists in the air

Come out, come out if you dare

Tonight we're gonna change forever”

These words, sung by a group of diversified characters who more likely had experience prejudice before they lived at Danny the Street, make the series show that there is nothing wrong with being different and one’s identity should not be hidden but embraced.

Doom Patrol throughout many episodes shows the viewer how diverse non-heteronormative people are. The previously presented video clip presented characters belonging to the LGBTQ+ community as diverse, colorful, and full of energy. On the contrary, episode eleven “Frances Patrol” focuses on Larry and his old lover John Bowers. Despite Larry’s immortality, they are both of a similar age and had a relationship before Larry's accident after which they parted their ways. However, in the mentioned above episodes, Larry finally visits the elderly John and reconciles with him soon before his death. The scene shown in the photo presents the moment when together, after their serious conversation, they look at the together sunset for the last time.

The representation of elderly LGBTQ+ people in media is still insufficient and according to Malcolm Sargeant “There is some evidence that elder LGBT people suffer from discrimination within the community. The ‘‘gay scene’’ is said to be youth orientated. The elder members of the LGBT community who participated in research was that the pervasive story amongst older gay men is that visible signs of ageing can mark one as undesirable or unwelcome in gay culture”[5]. The series showing two older gay men spending the last moment of one of them argues that LGBT representation should not only include young people. The scene itself is very peaceful and the camera shot leaves the viewer as a distant observer of this intimate scene. In addition to that, the colors are warm, and the sunset can be associated with typical scenes from romantic films, which are mostly focused on heteronormative relationships. This scene can be seen as romantic and calm, which is a great opposite to the previous scene with a song. The series shows the different needs of LGBTQ+ community members of different ages. On the one hand, Doom Patrol shows young non-heteronormative people with their own ideas and beliefs, but on the other hand, it remembers older generations and presents different ways to express yourself, and validates both of them.

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Although Doom Patrol focuses on the positivity associated with being part of the LGBTQ+ community, the production does not try to forget that the world is not perfect and many people cannot come out due to homophobia and prejudice. This is very visible in the scene above from episode seven titled “Therapy Patrol”.  Here the series also focuses on the relationship between Larry and John, when Negative Spirit, a radioactive being connected to Larry, shows him, in his mind, one of the moments from the character's life before the accident, trying to force him to confess why he had a family to hide his true identity and was so was distant in showing feelings towards John to which Larry angrily answer. The monologue notices the truth about being gay a few decades earlier and indicates the persecution and homophobia that took place then. What is important, Larry focuses not only on objectively serious situations like the possibility of losing everything or the death of two young boys but also on verbal aggression such as offensive jokes in his environment, suggesting that it also was wrong and very hurtful. The series for a moment forgets the joy of being “different” and reminds its audience of problems that members of the LGBTQ+ community may unfairly experience.

All things considered, Doom Patrol sends a positive message about being part of the LGBTQ+ community, encourages embracing one’s sexuality in various ways, but also reminds of homophobia experienced for many generations and how diverse non-heteronormative people are and their experiences are.

[1] Carson Cook, A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television (2018). Honors Theses.

[2] Doom Patrol, season 1, episode 14 “Penultimate Patrol” created by Jeremy Carver, HBO Max

[3]  Carol L. Tilley, Robert G. Weiner, Aaron Meskin, The Routledge Companion to Comics (New York: Routledge, 2016)

[4] Carson Cook, A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television (2018). Honors Theses.

[5] Malcolm Sargeant, Age Discrimination, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: UK/US Perspectives, Equal Opportunities International 28, no. 8 (June 2009): pp. 634-645, https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150911001670.

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Bibliography

1. Cook Carson, A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television (2018). Honors Theses.

2. Doom Patrol, season 1, ” created by Jeremy Carver, HBO Max (2019-2023)

3. Sargeant Malcolm , Age Discrimination, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: UK/US Perspectives, Equal Opportunities International 28, no. 8 (June 2009): pp. 634-645, https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150911001670.

4. Tilley Carol L., Weiner Robert G , Meskin Aaron, The Routledge Companion to Comics (New York: Routledge, 2016)