Out Takes

9 Aug 2017

Atomic Blonde and the Importance of Bisexual Representation

Arts, TV & Film

This week on Out Takes we turn out attention to ATOMIC BLONDE, the new spy thriller film director David Leitch, starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. ATOMIC BLONDE charts the story of MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron), who is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a list of double agents.

ATOMIC BLONDE has been garnering a lot of attention for its portrayal of bisexuality – Broughton engages in a series of sexual encounters with a female French spy. But how effectively does ATOMIC BLONDE represent bisexuality? We think that ATOMIC BLONDE may be more style than substance. It trades in bisexuality for aesthetic effect without giving us nuanced bisexual characters.

Taking our cues from Leitch’s stylish thriller, we survey a breadth of film to ask why so few films portray bisexuality in a nuanced way. To help us answer this question, we’re joined by Ruby Susan, who co presents Triple Bi-Pass, the home of bisexuality on JOY. We chat about whether ATOMIC BLONDE can be said to represent bisexuality effectively, and why so few productions portray bisexuality in a nuanced way.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:00 — 46.7MB)

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