What began in the shadows of queer underground culture as a subversive celebration of identity has, over the decades, been transfigured into something far more palatable and considerably less dangerous. The evolution of camp in film tells a tale, not merely of aesthetic evolution, but of cultural assimilation, where the radical edge of theatrical transgression has been dulled by gradual mainstream appropriation.
Hollywood’s recent run of musician films seems to show more than just an interest in music. But can the modern music biopic still surprise us, or has it simply given in, step by step, to the predictable demands of awards season as the infamous ‘Oscar bait’?
