One of the reasons it became such a hit was because it made the
audience privy to the everyday lives of gay men and lesbians together,
along with their families, co-workers, and the rest of their community,
and because it tackled the politics and issues that lesbian, gay,
and bisexual people struggle with in their daily lives.
But
many lesbian viewers complained about the fact that once again,
the lesbian characters had been relegated to b-plot status, figuring
prominently in the first few episodes, but soon fading into the
background and settling into motherhood. Although their screen
time has grown over the course of the first three seasons, giving
us a more intimate view of a loving and committed lesbian couple
and their daily lives as they intertwine with their gay friends,
they are still very much supporting characters on Queer as
Folk.
Actress
Michelle Clunie plays Melanie, the feisty and often abrasive half
of the couple, a refreshing and very human character whose very
unladylike behavior and attitudes have endeared her to the show's
fans. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Michelle
for a few short minutes last week at Showtime's big party at the
Castro Theatre celebrating the success of the first season of
the The L Word and the introduction of Season Four of
QAF.
Michelle,
it’s really nice to see you here. I am so glad that
Queer As Folk made it to four years.
Who’d
a thunk?
(laughs)
Who’d a thunk is right! Who would have thought it would
have ever seen the light of day? A lot of people didn’t
even think it would make it to the airwaves because it was so
controversial and something that no one had seen before. I was
surprised it even made it to television, but now we’re here
at four years and it has really changed a lot.
Yes, it has changed the face of television. In the four
years that you've played Melanie, how do you think your character
has evolved?
I
think that Melanie has grown up in many ways, and probably it’s
also that I’ve grown up a bit, too. In the beginning, she
shot from the hip and she was very forthright sometimes not in
a very savvy way. She just said what was ever on her mind regardless
of who was listening or how it affected other people’s feelings.
And although she will always have that – it’s just
part of who she is – I think that there's this softer side
of her.
Ever
since Gus came into her life in the first season, it has really
softened her. I think that children just have her heart. And I
think it’s a really interesting side to see of Melanie (laughter)
because here’s this really tough woman, that when she’s
with the baby, she’s just so enraptured, just in love with
this little boy. And now that she’s pregnant I think it’s
even more so. It's very hard for her actually, I think she struggles
to maintain her independence and her point of view and her tough
outer shell. But I think these things in her life that bring love
to her, just chip away. I think it's really interesting - the
conflict.
It
is….because I think it was the brashness that originally
attracted many people to Melanie.
Yeah,
yeah...and I’m in fear of losing that sometimes. That’s
why I always throw a little brashness in whenever I feel it’s
getting too soft. But I think that’s very Melanie. I think
when things get a little soft in her life she throws in a little
brashness, it’s just instinctually where the character goes.
Do
you think the motherhood story line is going to limit her in anyway?
Well
yeah, I have a great fear of that and it’s something that
I think about all the time. Does it limit you or does it open
you up? That’s the question I guess women have in life as
well, it’s very scary. Will motherhood limit you as a woman
or will it actually open you up and add more to your life and
give you another perspective on life, because you have this great
love in your life that no one else can really understand.
So
maybe you bring that to every situation you deal with, so when
she does go to work or when she does deal with the other lawyers,
or deal with social or political issues she always has that other
side to deal with. Not only how does this affect me, how does
this affect my partner, how will this affect our future children.
So I actually think that it will add...I’ll make sure that
it will add another dimension to her, instead of blanding her
out. If that’s a word, blanding.
That
would be really nice to see, because it seems like what has happened
to all of the lesbians on TV is that the writers have thrown children
at them as a way of desexualizing the lesbians. It’s happened
to Dr. Weaver on ER, to Bianca
Montgomery on All My Children,
and now, it’s happened to Melanie. I know a lot of people
are worried, since we just got our feisty women out there...
Exactly!
Finally
see ourselves reflected in a realistic way...
Yeah,
that’s one thing I’m concerned with and I think that
this season you will definitely see that the lesbians are very
sexually….feisty, and I want to make sure that you keep
seeing that. Because that to me is important because that’s
what attracted me to the role. To not play your typical character
but to play something that was of her own mind, so that will always
be there.
What
is your favorite aspect of playing Melanie?
Well,
you know I love her honesty and I relate to that quite a
bit. I like that she is very honest and says what she thinks
and how she feels, even if its ugly, even if it isn’t
pretty, even if it disturbs other people. And I think that
that part of her will never go away, it’s just who
she is. And I think that’s very important in this
day and age, not only in characters but in people, that
people constantly say how they feel without prettying it
up or trying to be too diplomatic or too PC.
Or
worried that they’re going to upset somebody...
Yeah,
or that they’re going to upset somebody, I think you
see that with our country now…
You’re
always going to upset somebody. |
 |
You’re
always going to upset somebody, I know I’ve upset a lot
of people I’m sure and people want me to shut up about my
politics all the time, but I think that’s the problem with
the country…that people are afraid to say what’s on
their mind or maybe the country is too strung out on Prozac to
really care who the President is. You know, that’s how I
think: I think we’re definitely living in a Prozac nation
and so that’s why we're so complacent when those guys stole
the election.
Change
usually starts with civil disobedience - you look at the Boston
Tea Party, you look at Rosa Parks, you look at gay marriages right
now! Gay marriage isn’t going to be given to people we will
have to fight for it, so I think that people should continue to
have acts of civil disobedience because that’s the only
way we create change and hang on to our constitution. It’s
twisted, but that’s the only way we actually hang on to
it, we gotta fight for it.
One
of the things most notable about you is that you’re one
of those actors who uses your fame to fight for change. Do you
have fundraisers or anything that’s coming up?
I don’t right now. We just got done wrapping the season
and the only thing that I got a chance to do during the season
was I went down to NY to campaign for Howard Dean. In fact a few
of us did. That was very important to me, I was a big supporter
of his. I think that he was a great candidate, I just don’t
think we were ready for him because he’s not savvy or smooth
enough.
Once
again we (the country) want people that can tell a great joke
and be a shit-kicking Texan. We don’t want somebody that’s
really passionate, right? We want someone that looks good in a
suit and Howard is just right out there, he’s just kind
of like you know….this one girl went up to him and said,
“why don’t you smile?” and he replied, “because
lady there’s not a lot to smile about right now.”
So, I was very happy doing that, it’s sad to see that he’s
not going to be the one going up against Bush, but that’s
OK, I’ll support Kerry.
But
I think that you have to use your power to do something, right?
The
fourth season of Queer as Folk aired Sunday, April 18 on Showtime;
episode recaps available here.
