Mitch, ‘Paranorman’, and Finding Acceptance [The Lone Queer]
Animated films for kids have long had coded queer characters. Recently, with films like Strange World (2022), things are slowly changing. Back in 2012, there was a stop-motion animated film that catered to the horror world. Within it, there is a lone queer. That film is ParaNorman, and the character is Mitch (Casey Affleck).
ParaNorman tells the tale of Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who can see dead people. He’s an outsider. Avoiding bullies and people who don’t understand his view of the world is his usual day-to-day. When he comes across the fact that he is the person who must save his town from a witch from the past who is out for vengeance, his special ability becomes his superpower. Along the way, his friends join in for the assist. That’s where Mitch comes into the picture.
We spend the majority of ParaNorman not knowing Mitch’s sexuality. He’s just the brother of Norman’s friend, Neil (Tucker Albrizzi). Upon introduction, Mitch is underneath his van. He’s overly built, tatted, and has one of those haircuts that normally belongs to douchebags. You know the cut. His exaggerated physique and appearance would only make sense in a stop-motion animated film.
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Mitch actually pokes fun at Norman during this introduction. He tells Neil not to hang out with the “weird kid.” Mitch’s perception of Norman’s ability is that he believes Norman says that he can talk to the dead just for attention. Bless Neil for blowing his older brother off, and marching off to learn more about Norman’s ability.
There is a slight moment within that convo where Mitch says, “You don’t need to be hanging out with weird people, okay? That’s a tip.” Without knowing that Mitch is gay, that would just be a closed-minded statement that was meant to be a big brother protection. Knowing that Mitch is gay, it is big brother protection. He may genuinely want the best for Neil and doesn’t want him to fall victim to the bullying that he may have (or may not have) experienced in school for his sexuality.
And that’s the thing! We know very little of Mitch’s experience. That makes sense, though. He’s not the main character. This is not his story. He’s just a side piece within the story, as it often goes with our Lone Queers.
Mitch’s time for the rest of the film is spent doing stereotypical himbo shenanigans: attempting to save everyone, being hit on by Norman’s sister, appreciating his van more than life itself, responding in nonchalant yet caring ways to requests and situations, the required high pitch scream in fear. I will give credit where credit is due, though. Aside from his weirdo comment about Norman to Neil, he does have a sense of sensibility about him. Aside from Norman and Neil, Mitch’s emotional attributes are the least stereotypical of his stereotypical everything else. He cares. He shows he cares.
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We learn that Mitch is gay in the film’s final moments, after the crisis has been averted. Courtney (Anna Kendrick), Norman’s sister, makes one last attempt to woo him with the request of watching a movie together. His response was a yes, but was followed by something a bit surprising; “You’re gonna love my boyfriend. He’s like a total chick flick nut!” The shock on Courtney’s face probably resembles a lot of people’s reactions while watching.
A part of me wondered if this representation is maybe a tad bit problematic. I mean, he is voiced by Casey Affleck, of all people. There will be no discussion of Casey here. Google can be your guide on that. And then there’s the body build of Mitch. It can be viewed in two different ways. He has the typical himbo body build which matches his himbo personality. Then there’s the heavily pressured notion within the male queer community that the physique must be perfect in order to have any place within that world. That’s all changing though, so take this simple paragraph as a side note.
Paranorman, in itself, is a story that is meant for the weirdos, the outsiders, and the queers. Norman, himself, can be viewed as someone struggling with their identity. Norman appears to be 12 or 13 years old. He has this part of him that he feels like he must keep secret from others because of how they will react. He’s not queer in the film, but his ability to speak to and see the dead raises the feeling of having queer tendencies at that age, and not understanding how to deal with them.
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Norman’s relationship with his parents delves into this, as well. They are aware of his fascination with all things horror and paranormal. They don’t quite understand it, though. Amongst his mom and dad, his mom seems to be the more understanding one while his dad verbally reacts to Norman’s eccentricities.
There’s a scene after Norman has a paranormal moment during a school play that screams at a queer’s interaction during youth. His dad (Jeff Garlin) plays the blame game on Norman for his outburst during the play. The dad’s embarrassment for how his son acted in response to the paranormal event overpowers the actual need to understand what Norman actually needs. Dad ground Norman for something that was totally out of his control. In response to his grounding, Norman says, “I didn’t ask to be born this way.” Dad’s response? “Funny. Neither did we.”
Dad leaves Norman and Mom (Leslie Mann) in the car after that remark. Mom turns around, and in trying to comfort Norman, says, “You know, sometimes people say things that seem mean, but they do it because they’re afraid.” That one statement is the basis of Paranorman’s entire story. The witch who was seeking revenge on the town was doing it because she was wrongly accused. The zombies that she brought forth were causing their chaos because they—as humans—misunderstood what they did due to fear.
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Those who are closed-minded to or aren’t understanding of queer individuals often react out of fear. Fear of what others will think, that their religion will banish them to hell for support of queer people. Fear of their own inner queer that they’re afraid to let come out due to possible harm. This is where Paranorman excels. It shows that fear is one of the ultimate attributes of not understanding. So Mitch may be the Lone Queer within ParaNorman, but it’s Norman’s story that reaches out to a queer experience.
ParaNorman is queer. It holds many aspects from a queer upbringing where closed-mindedness and bigotry run amok due to not taking a moment to understand what is beyond reach. The chaos that can erupt in a young mind is metaphorically shown in the chaos that ensues in the film. My wish is that more people would take the time to understand, listen, and be there for those going through that time of life when those things are the most needed. I hope that ParaNorman can be a start for those things to happen because that’s the power of film.
Categorized:Editorials The Lone Queer
