QUEERING HOLLYWOOD

The tale of making it in Tinseltown has been a mainstay of one American dream since the inception of the motion picture. In it, the handsome young man or the wide-eyed ingenue arrives in Hollywood with dreams of superstardom. It’s never been as easy as people wanted to imagine. And for those who aren’t straight, white, cisgender, and young, those shoot-for-the-stars aspirations have always been particularly out of reach.

With all of the glitz and glam of a Paramount picture circa 1947, Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series opens on Jack Castello (’s David Corenswet), a young hunk with giant dimples confidently tossing popcorn into his mouth while taking in a promotional reel intended to lure rising stars to what was then called Hollywoodland. Jack’s a straight wannabe-actor with the looks and charm of a young Gregory Peck or a Tony Curtis,