Sex, Religion & Film: Catholicism in C.R.A.Z.Y

The relationship between Catholicism and homosexuality – or any overt display of sexuality, for that matter – has never been a positive one. As we’ve already learned in Sex, Gender & Religion, Catholic views on homosexuality have long been intolerant. According to the Catholic Church, the only appropriate context for sex and marriage are between a man and a woman devoted only to one another and for the sole purpose of procreation. This “official” Catholic view has gone unchanged for two thousand years: its raison d’etre lies within several writings found in the Old Testament, in which homosexual behaviour is deemed as an abomination against Divine Law. In Genesis 19, the town of Sodom is destroyed by two angels after its inhabitants try to persuade them to engage in homosexual intercourse. Homosexuality is more explicitly banned in the book of Leviticus: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them” (Lev. 18:22, 20:13). The New Testament seems to agree: Paul teaches that “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders (…) will inherit the kingdom of God.” The Catholic Church argues that these kinds of statements can’t be subject to reinterpretation the way other arbitrary rules can because, according to the article “Homosexuality” on modern Catholic website Catholic Answers, “While the Old Testament’s ceremonial requirements are no longer binding, its moral requirements are.” There is no way of working around these perceived rules of God since they “are eternal and are binding on all cultures.”

It would be wrong, however, to say that practicing Catholics are collectively intolerant of homosexuality. Many progressive Catholics and clergy members, including Pope Francis, have called for the social acceptance of the LGBT community in spite of the fact that the Vatican still opposes it. A study published by Reginald Bibby, a professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge, says that in In Quebec, Canada’s most predominantly Catholic province, only 20% of Catholics actually attend mass regularly, and just as few feel bound to subscribe to Catholic views on all matters. In the 1960s and 70s, the era of my text’s story, the times were a changin’ within the gay community. They were subject to much discrimination but were heavily involved in activism. In The Resilience and Renaissance of Roman Catholicism in Canada, Reginald Bibby references a Pierre Elliott Trudeau speech from 1969, in which his statement that “There is no room for the State in the bedrooms of the nation” triggered the decriminalization of sodomy; eight years later, Quebec would become the first province in Canada to include sexual orientation in its Human Rights Law.

C.R.A.Z.Y, a Quebecois film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, relates the struggles of a young man coming to terms with his sexuality against a backdrop of 1970s, conservative Quebec. The film, released in 2005, focuses on the changing relationship between Zac and his Catholic parents over a roughly twenty year time frame. Zac’s close-call birth on Christmas Eve in 1960 makes him something of a miracle child in his parents’ eyes. Throughout his happy childhood, he maintains a close relationship with his mother and father, Laurianne and Gervais. As Zac ages, however, the bond between him and his father becomes strained, as it becomes increasingly clear that Zac is different than his four brothers. Zac’s effeminate tendencies begin to show, and his father’s affections seem to dissolve permanently when he comes home to find Zac dressed in his mother’s clothes. As the years pass they grow further apart. Desperate to please his father, yet still experiencing teenage rebellion in all its fury, Zac's self-identity turns to shambles. In a memorable scene during Midnight Mass at church, Zac professes his atheism to the audience and, in his mind, levitates over the pews as the congregation begins to sing the Rolling Stones' “Sympathy for the Devil.” Yet despite these anti-religious affirmations, Zac's religious identity – including his Catholic guilt – is still quite intact; he continues to wear a cross around his neck and, on several occasions he punishes himself very physically for his “sinful” lust, in Christ-like acts of atonement. In one case, he deliberately trudges home alone through a blizzard for having looked at a man in a shop. Ultimately, Zac's confused identity is rooted in his impossible desire to live up to his father's expectations. He ignores his attraction to his cousin's boyfriend and starts a casual relationship with his female friend Michelle. Gervais' concern and disgust towards Zac's sexuality continue after he catches Zac fidgeting with his zipper after exiting a male classmate's car. To “cure” Zac of his homosexuality, Gervais decides to send him to a therapist, who only confirms any suspicion that Zac is gay/bisexual, saying that he is being “subconsciously deliberate” in his actions, and that unknowingly he wants Gervais to recognize his sexuality. Still Zac cannot accept that he might be gay, and he forces himself into a serious relationship with Michelle until a tension-filled confrontation occurs at his brother's wedding, in which Gervais thought he caught Zac in the act of kissing another man. Filled with rage, Zac denies that anything happened, but says “I would've fucking loved it if something had”, and Gervais rejects him seemingly once and for all. Zac flees to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, has a sexual encounter and nearly dies in the heat; upon his return home after his older brother's sudden death, he and Gervais rekindle their special relationship.

The attitudes towards homosexuality illustrated in the film C.R.A.Z.Y occasionally line up with real life Catholic views, but are often rooted in more cultural and emotional matters. Zac's parents Gervais and Laurianne are traditional Catholics and are quite conservative in their beliefs, but Gervais' disapproval of Zac's sexuality often seems like a product of apprehension and disenchantment than it does a product of his Catholic views. Though Gervais makes Zac see a therapist, he does not necessarily do so on behalf of the Catholic Church. Likewise, Zac's guilt about his sexuality can't be entirely attributed to his religious beliefs. They are each struggling deeply to find common ground and salvage the remains of their once-exceptional relationship. Gervais, a manly-man and father of five sons, is left at a loss when it comes to reacting to Zac's sexual coming of age, which is somewhat understandable given C.R.A.Z.Y's setting. The conflict in the story is ultimately more emotional than religious, and Gervais' beliefs do not totally correspond with Catholicism. Catholics may think their rules work in theory, but more often than not, a parent's unconditional love for their child triumphs over arbitrary laws. C.R.A.Z.Y's conclusion is a stunning example of just that.

Jean Marc Vallee's C.R.A.Z.Y – though it covers the rough territory of sexuality – is, above all, a story about the relationship between a father and son. The film focuses less on the politics of sexuality, and more on the imprint it can leave on family relationships. It neither reaffirms nor disapproves homosexuality in an explicit way, but tells us both sides of the story and manages to evoke empathy at both sends of the spectrum. Watching C.R.A.Z.Y, it's hard not to ask oneself why we allow arbitrary concepts – in this case sexual orientation – to take over our perceptions of people, damaging our interpersonal relationships. The films conclusion, in which father and son reunite in spite of their differences, tells us that human differences are only as significant as we allow them to be.

Sources

Bibby, Reginald. "The Resilience and Renaissance of Roman Catholicism in Canada." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

C.R.A.Z.Y. Dir. Jean Marc Vallée. Perf. Michel Coté, Marc-André Grondin. 2005.

"Homosexuality." Catholic Answers. Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2001. Print.

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