It’s official: cinema is now firmly out of the closet.

In his Dean’s Council on Diversity presentation, “Queer Video Periscopes,” University professor Robert Hill will explore the recent “outing” of film, as well as its portrayals of the LGBTQ community across film history.

According to Hill, the historical film canon has typically portrayed sexual minorities in a certain way: as something silly and effeminate, or to be pitied and scorned.

But lately, independent filmmakers and producers have begun to rework the traditional images of the LGBTQ community captured on film, focusing on previously un-acknowledged groups or individuals.

“There’s a new image, and I would say a more authentic [one],” he said. “I have no idea where they’ll take it. But I have deep faith that where they’ll take it is a continuation of the conversation. The younger generation is much more comfortable around the topic.”

It is that very discussion about the changing notions of sexual minorities that he hopes to expand on with his audience. 

Centered on four pericopes, or snippets, from important documentaries in what Hill calls the “queer canon,” the hour will be filled with discussion and exploration including issues that go beyond stereotyping.

This dialogue between faculty and the community is a key part of why the Council is presenting Hill’s presentation.

“One of our goals with our Diversity Seminar Series is to provide an opportunity for our College and University community to learn about and have dialogue about different aspects of diversity,” Dr. Jenny Penney Oliver, a member of the Council on Diversity, said.

A key aspect Hill hopes to discuss is that reductive portrayals of the LGBTQ community impede a central goal of education.

“You should fulfill yourself, but you can’t if you have a poor self-worth,” he said, referring to John Dewey’s educational philosophy that a person can better society if they have a strong self-image.

For Hill, the changing cinematic landscape will allow for the creation of new LGBTQ representations, as well as the fulfillment of one of Dewey’s notions of the purpose of education: “To gain command of oneself so as to make positive social use of one’s powers and abilities.”

Subtitled “Cinematic Pedagogical Tools,” his presentation will also allow for discussion of how to use these changing notions as teaching tools as well as  to engage with the central question of education encourages us to be who we are.

“If I have a goal, it’s to have people’s notions challenged,” he said. “I want [the audience] to respond to it and then decide, because everyone comes from a different perspective.”

A resolute non-futurist, though, Hill refused to predict how things will be going forward, content with helping to start the discourse going.

 “We are seeing the falling down of the walls of silence,” he said. “I simply want to present it and have viewers construct their own ending.”

When: Noon — 1 p.m.

Where: G23 Aderhold Hall 

Price: Free

What: A presentation and discussion led by Professor Robert J. Hill, discussing the evolving image of the LGBTQ community in cinema