A Look at Queerness in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has long been known for its homoerotic subtext. What is the history of that, and how does it relate to the mishandling of queerness in the new The Green Knight movie? Come learn with me!
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Sources:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
MASCULINITY AND CHIVALRY: THE TENUOUS RELATIONSHIP OF THE SACRED AND SECULAR IN MEDIEVAL ARTHURIAN LITERATURE by KACI MCCOURT
The invention of sodomy in Christian theology by Mark D. Jordan
Sir Lancelot Of The Lake: A French Prose Romance Of The Thirteenth Century
Anna Klosowska Roberts, Queer Love in the Middle Ages
Knight : the warrior and world of chivalry by Jones, Robert W
The Green Knight’s Ending, Explained by Joanna Robinson www.vanityfair...
ON LESBIAN AND GAY/QUEER MEDIEVAL STUDIES by DAVID LORENZO BOYD
Sir Gawain’s Penitential Development from Attrition to Contrition by patrick outhwaite
Gay Knights and Gay Rights: Same-Sex Desire in Late Medieval Europe and its Presence in Arthurian Literature by Dorien Zwart
'A Mayde, and Last of Youre Blood': Galahad's Asexuality and its Significance in "Le Morte D'arthur" by MEGAN ARKENBERG
A Kiss Is Just a Kiss: Heterosexuality and Its Consolations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Carolyn Dinshaw
Knight in Tarnished Armour: The Meaning of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" by Gordon M. Shedd
Medieval Misogyny and Gawain's Outburst against Women in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" by Gerald Morgan
Genesis and Gender in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" by Catherine S. Cox
Sodomy, Misogyny, and Displacement: Occluding Queer Desire in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" by DAVID L. BOYD

[@KazRowe]

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[@penelopegreene]

You have read "Deor"?

[@rachellesch8681]

Lord and Lady Bertelak read like a couple who want to bring in a third person to “spice things up.”

[@this_Kwazicat]

Yeah, they have THE VIBES.

[@tinymxnticore]

“Sir Gawain and the Green Unicorn”? 🤔🤭

[@spiceupyourafterlife]

They’re Pegasi hunters, for sure, and Gawain is their Pegasus. It is known.

[@alexg5950]

LMAOOO I WAS JOKING ABOUT THIS WITH MY FRIENDS WHEN I SAW IT

[@ZidaneKayos]

I felt really uncomfy watching that whole sequence, because they seemed so predatory to me. Like Gawain was being hunted, not hosted.

[@moldly_mads]

cw: SA mention Watching this video reminded me of something I felt when watching the film. the way the director filmed the scene with Sir Gawain and Lady Bertelak REALLY put me off, with the girdle. I feel like, besides contextual sodomy, that the consent between those two was also very blurred. It felt a lot like Sir Gawain was coerced into giving his consent, since he repeated multiple times that he did not want to do this, and he wanted to uphold his honour, but she just kinda kept going? The audience reaction to that scene in theatres also really disturbed me, because people were laughing when it was finished. And I noticed online that I didn't see many similar opinions that Sir Gawain had been sexually assaulted, some people even saying the scene was lowkey hot. I was wondering if anyone else felt how I did?

[@KazRowe]

I completely agree. And the way she shamed him afterwards too. 😬 I was very uncomfortable in the theater at that part.

[@Hecateofcrossroads]

I felt that way to in the theater I closed my eyes she kept grabbing him and I felt like he was uncomfortable and on the fence about it

[@jaimie1938]

I just watched the movie the other day and YES! That scene was so uncomfortable he was 100% coerced

[@harrs3372]

Saw the movie yesterday. I don't know how anyone kind find that scene 'sexy'. The scene is specifically done in creepy way from the score to Sir Gawain begging her not to have sex with her. I think what people where laughing at was probably 'cum rag' bit at the end. Its usual to see the consequence of sex in film (probably because its quite ew) . So people where probably taken aback and unsure how to react and probably thought it was supposed to funny.

[@Ella-gj7vr]

Yes definitely, it made me super uncomfortable

[@Smeagolthevile]

Sounds to me like the green knight and his wife were all 'We saw you from across the bar and really love your vibe'

[@nothingposted9056]

Unicorn hunters

[@jaws2210]

Ohh mann

[@remhenshaw4313]

Same lmao

[@TheRoachkiller]

“And yes, this armour is really fucking hot…..” Me, stupid and gay: yes it is “….so I will not be wearing it for the whole video” Me:…….oh. OH.

[@valkeakirahvi]

I just said to myself how hot that armor looks right before that, lol

[@skepticmoderate5790]

Me: "Damn, that confidence is hot too."

[@sandroselladore3506]

same

[@Shortycokeback]

SAME LOL

[@tinymxnticore]

Different kind of gay but SAME

[@micah5847]

Medieval bigots were like "Why are you, as a man, sleeping in?"

[@snailmail4]

Does he.... y'know... sleep in?

[@EnnameMori]

No, they would be, 'why are you as an adult man sleeping in.' Those who had not reached majority had no need to live up to masculine ideals. This is why Gawain is allowed such leeway because it also reads as youth.

[@margaretcummings4146]

Fellas, is it gay to get enough sleep?

[@meike1226]

this is it! the funniest reply to this video 😂😭

[@sauviel6296]

@@margaretcummings4146 yes, because you like sleeping and the same gender also like sleep which means youre gay

[@maddymoo96]

I’ve seen the movie twice and i didn’t think at all that Gawain was upset by the kiss. He leaned into it, but I feel like he had just had a lot of crazy shit happen to him in the house and he was rushing off anyways lol. The entire movie he was a coward, and being faced with any sort of tenderness and kindness from his mother, King Arthur, his girlfriend, anyone he was uncomfortable and couldn’t be honest with them. He couldn’t tell his own girlfriend(?) he loved her. I feel like it added to this specific characterization of Gawain and why his mother was putting him on this journey to teach him a lesson and push him to be a better person.

[@HOULWOOD]

Yeah I don't really understand why everyone gets hung up on the kiss when he's running away from being sexually assaulted

[@deankruse2891]

He accepted the kiss as a representation of getting off with the lady, but he got uncomfortable by the lords attempt o eek out what else he was owed, specifically the sash.

[@cinephial]

I actually viewed it as Gawain being taken aback and not disgusted, but I definitely agree that I wish that aspect of the film was kept more true to the text

[@k8g8s8]

Well I felt that because the man and woman are supposed to be so mirrored that the reaction was not equal. Especially considering "what she did for him" being close to some kind of sexual assault even if he longed for that kind of contact with her. So when he responded with such a different tone to the man I was suprised. Maybe it is just how gentle and playful this "game" is still met with this kind of rejection and anger when in the source materal it remains playful. It feels like some kind of fear or spite added in by a hetarosexual mindset. Not that there is anything wrong with a hetarosexual man making movies that reflext his hetarosexual feelings and confusions. Particularly the fears around submitting to other men in any way sexual or not (his rejection and confusion at his offerings and help) and also the fears around the results of hetarosexual sex and its social meanings. The rant about green and birth and the dream/future sequence where he has the child with his love but because of hetarosexualitys role in society abandons her for a princess of another kingdom. This retelling is very much about biopower and biological conection, as aurthor says at the start that he feels more conected to him beucase he was birthed by his sister. Sorry if you have to read a little around the errors, I am a little sick tonight and dyslexic enough already. I hope this does not come off as arugmentative but conversational. I may return to the comment to edit it a bit but these are just some of my thoughts.

[@cinephial]

@@k8g8s8 don't worry, I understand what you mean! I thought the vision he had of his future life was to show how hollow and loveless it would have been if he returned having bested the green knight, and he realized that he could only run so far from his true fate... which I also thought was fitting with a queer lens. But, when I think back on the original text, I don't know that to be the intention of the writers and directors of the film.

[@nenadmilovanovic5271]

Yeah he is taken aback because The Lord takes what Gawain taken from the house, a kiss from the lady. It shows Lord knows what he did.

[@Sharpe1502]

I agree. I thought the kiss itself didn’t look very forced, but what the kiss meant was what freaked Gawain out. That the lord knew what Gawain had done while in his home.

[@AllTheArtsy]

very late but i just saw the movie and i thought so too. i just saw it as him being spooked by the fact that the lord knew what he'd been up to, not disgusted by the kiss at all

[@puppylove2363]

I loved the puppet theatre and loved your retelling of the poem’s story. Excellent insights as always.

[@deboralee1623]

"It's only a model." "Shhh!" _MPatHG_ dialog aside, i also loved the puppet theatre

[@4kibamb0n89]

i loved seeing tom bombadil in camelot :D

[@dragonladdie7531]

Honestly The Green Knight is just a bunch of people caressing Dev Patel's gorgeous face for 2 hours and 5 minutes and personally that's all I really need in a movie

[@Alevuss92]

Extant text: He slept, gaily, like virgin Film text: He slept, stoically, like a chad

[@misssampo]

Catch me sleeping like the gay virgin I am

[@andrewcapra7153]

Gawain (handshake) Lancelot: Having an 8ft tall sexy nonhuman boyfriend

[@pLanetstarBerry]

This comment is so underrated, I love it!

[@euansmith3699]

You look fabulous in full plate, and the setting is really atmospheric. The breakdown of the story was fascinating.

[@phoenixquo623]

"Hey, we saw you from across the castle and we dig your vibe"

[@bricky-brikson9487]

as a gay acearo im so happy you mentioned us ! so many queer narratives focus so heavily on sex or romance and not on other things, more cultural things, that make us who we are. its hard to find something engaging about queer experiences thats not also super uncomfortable to digest due it being so focused on their sex/dating life. but frankly a lot of media has that problem.

[@Rizzalert69]

EXACTLY!!! this is just how i feel

[@pheela]

I need more people to know that the director cut out a whole DAY from the final version. There are promotional photos of the lady in a white dress both outside with Gwaine and also indoors so they shot multiple scenes for that day. INCLUDING one where the husband hunts a giant boar and carves it up in front of Gwaine and i kid you not -- gifts him its heart. There is a behind a scenes photo of Dev Patel holding it with glee. There was a whole love story lost here, and instead replaced with just... assault.

[@edisonlima4647]

Yeah, the "we can't prove x historical/literary figure wqs querer, so let's declare with certainty that it wasn't at all" argument. I remember a king of Aragon being forced to marry the queen of Castille but openly stating the prospect was not of his taste because, according to him, a warrior like him only enjoyed bleeding men, fighting men, talking with men and enjoying their company, so "what enjoyment" asked him "could a man like me take from the body and company of a woman?". His wife tried to convince him otherwise, but it ended in her being quite horrified by whatever happened in their marital chamber, leading to separation, which he seemed to have loved. Obviously, according to historians (especially Spanish historians, Spain being so conservative), there is absolutely no way any of taking any of this as showing him to, at the very least, be either into some proto-bdsm or asexual or gay.

[@skyworm8006]

Yes if we all just subscribed to the school of sex kink reductionism and wishful thinking with no evidence things would be so much better.

[@mattg56]

You remember a King of Aragon. Because you were there. No one would deny homosexuality and eroticism have always existed. But in this poem? There is none.

[@stratovolcano7813]

Haven't watched the movie yet, just here for the discussion! I'm fascinated that a poem from the middle ages is MORE gay than a movie made in 2021.

[@haileydixon7239]

Huge loss for humanity for Dev Patel to not be able to play a bi/ queer hero

[@irenegenerali8847]

As a medieval philologist, I want to emphasise a thing: kissing on the lips between men was a ritual gesture that mimicked Jesus kissing his disciples (their bible was a little different from ours lol). There are records of Charle Magne kissing his knights when they took service in his court, and in many romance en prose there are references to this praxis. Unfurtunally no homoeroticism behind it, just a ritual gesture from a culture that is very far from us. I'm not trying to erease any gay subtext from the original material, but to be honest Gawain kissing the Lord is not gay at all lol. If you want to read more on the matter I suggest researching "ritual court gestures in Middle Age courts" (I would provide more references from my books of study but they are all in italian, sorry)

[@patrickdaviesjones4714]

This might be true in other contexts, but consider that the kisses Gawain gives Lord Bertilak are not merely court ritual but a replication of the explicitly erotic kisses that Lady Bertilak gives Gawain.

[@drzennAvian]

For neophytes in medieval history/gesture who just haven't taken this into account, or who just don't know this .... I thought she made a good case for ''homoeroticism'' in this era. Which did not exclusively mean that the men were gay but she did mention this very fleetingly. So, i'm willing to explore the theme of queerness in this particular instance because of the matched intensity of the kisses Sire Gauvain was supposed to give 'The Lord., even though i'm not entirely convinced by her argumentation. But good job nonetheless.

[@drzennAvian]

For neophytes in medieval history/gesture who just haven't taken this into account, or who just don't know this .... I thought she made a good case for ''homoeroticism'' in this era. Which did not exclusively mean that the men were gay but she did mention this very fleetingly. So, i'm willing to explore the theme of queerness in this particular instance because of the matched intensity of the kisses Sire Gauvain was supposed to give 'The Lord., even though i'm not entirely convinced by her argumentation. But good job nonetheless.

[@irenegenerali8847]

@@drzennAvian not sure if by "She" you mean me, but as you and @Patrick Davies Jones stated I understand that, since the kissing was an explicit mimick of a kiss between a man and a woman, the theme of queerness can and should be taken into account. However I'd like to propose another interpretration, that doesn't necesserely esclude the One presented in the essay, and that Is that often in chivarly romances even the kisses between a man and a woman have a ritual undertone. Let's take for example the kiss between Lancelot and Guinevre in the Lancelot en Prose, where the kiss on the lips during the meeting with Galheout is explicitly considered the start of the "service d'amour", no different than Lancelot's first knighting. My point is: kisses on the lips where no big deal, ppl from the middleages made out all the time, and their culture was far more ""promiscous"" and fluid than what we Imagine (Just think about Merlin and their "sex changes" all through Artrurian myths).

[@rogeliovaldez6594]

I figured just as much, considering men kissing both sides of cheeks as greetings is a thing in Italy and France id assume such practices with variations across medieval Europe would bare some similarity to the on discussed in the green knight

[@celestiacrystal9317]

Kaz you’re so galaxy brained for 15:00 - 16:27, like I always subconsciously understood the reasons and significance and validity of queer reading of old texts, but I could never explain it properly or justify why exactly it was valid, I just really felt it was, now thanks to you I can truly explain why and how it’s actually valid. Thank you for your service, you expanded my mind today🫡🙇🏻‍♀️

[@abigaillabar8877]

It makes me disappointed in humans that this channel doesn't have 1mil+

[@annas9016]

I was one of the people who loved the movie, in large part due to how gorgeous it was and the structure, but I also feel a very similar way about how it works as an adaptation. I think it is a stretch to call the movie's sir Bertilak predatory, (especially given the fact that Gawain does not seem disgusted in the scene so much as uncomfortable with a potential attraction) but the fact they inserted so much heterosexuality into Gawain's story really rubbed me the wrong way. As a character, the movie's Sir Gawain feels queer to me in a way I find difficult to explain. I guess it is the fact he is kind of outside of the society he is a part of and spends a lot of time with sex workers. Also the scene where Arthur apologizes for never really getting to know him and tries to make an effort, feel kind of like reconciliation with a formerly homophobic relative. I agree so hard that it would have been the perfect time to make an explicitly, undeniably gay version of this story and it makes me kind of sad that we didn't get it, and instead only got subtext of Gawain's potential queerness, with plenty of women around for plausible deniability. I love what the movie is, but I am also heartbroken over what it wasn't. I am a lesbian, not a queer man, but to have such an artistic and fairy-tale like story be queer would have felt so special. I feel alienated by many queer movies (which is not to say they aren't good, I love many of them) because they are just so different from what I love in movies. To have a movie like the green knight be gay would have meant the world to me.

[@mrgreenleafx]

Completely agree with you! No matter how many times I watch the kiss scene I just don't see any disgust from Gaiwan at all. While feeling a little predatory with the lord being above him on his horse it also felt like the most real and tender moment of attraction in this whole movie.

[@brigidscaldron]

Why did I only just recently find you? You’re such an incredibly gifted teacher! I love your videos and I’m going to go binge them now.

[@r2d2dyingnoise]

This is so cool! I hadn’t read the poem and was honestly so surprised that they kissed that I didn’t even register Gawain’s reaction, so it’s super interesting to see everyone’s take on it :)

[@michaeltuohy4010]

Yo, felt I should just say, Gawain doesn't die at the end of the film. The Green Knight says "Now, off with your head", and they're making a punny joke. They mean it as "Now, off... with your head". I've seen a few channels state that he dies in the end now and I'm honestly so mystified over how many haven't been able to pick up on the clear joke. There's even a post-credits scene showing that he had a child and didn't die.

[@kg7219]

i dunno i mean thats the point of the ending, to keep it ambiguous. supposedly the film did end w his head getting cut off according to interviews / rumors, but they took it out to leave it up to interpretation. def did not stay in the theater for the post credit scene ima go look that shit up rn 👀

[@michaellauritano5252]

Just want to say thank you for being one of the few people I’ve seen on the internet talking about how vastly different from the original poem this film was! I read multiple reviews before seeing saying the opposite. Very disappointed by the absence of the full kissing game.

[@lunarlightbulb158]

GREATLY enjoyed the puppet show. the green knight's head coming off was so cleanly done

[@jasonlamb9400]

I've seen most of your videos Kaz and really enjoy them. This is my first time chiming in here. I too also thought The Green Knight was visually gorgeous. It's an exquisite film. I loved the score also. And Dev Patel is also quite nice on the eyes. I liked the story for the most part. It was a slow burn for sure. I'm Gay and agree with most of your sentiments about this film, but also there are moments with some of what you said that just sounds like a young Queer person being defensive because the disappointment of not getting the representation we want or depiction we want is too unpleasant. Just because something hurts our feelings doesn't make it wrong, or homophobic, or things of that nature. Our feelings get hurt for all sorts of reasons and sometimes they have nothing to do with what is in the present moment, but rather because it reminds of us of something else. I want to say something that might be uncomfortable for a lot of us Queer people to read: "it's important to know when we're being defensive and perceiving anything but praise as a negative". There's a difference between "anti-Queer" and something just not being Queer. When I saw the scene when Gawain is kissed by the Lord of the castle I didn't take it as homophobic or disgust, he seemed more taken off-guard & scared because he knows there's something mysterious happening among them. He also got sexual with his wife, it would be expected for him to be easily thrown off by anything from the Lord, especially him also now putting the moves on him. ("Why is this couple so horny for me??") I didn't see the film as anti-sexual, I saw it as an honest depiction of how immature Gawain is and his struggle/need for growth. When I left the movie I said to my (also Gay) friend how much I liked how not-macho Gawain and Arthur were. They were so tender and intimate with each other. It would have been great for it to be more Queer, but I don't feel it to be scene as anti-Queer by the choices Lowery made. It's just more "Straight" and that's not an attack, it's just something different.

[@jasonlamb9400]

Also, I love that armor of yours too! :)

[@SimBol1216]

I thought it was obvious that Gawain doesn't die at the end of the film. Not only does the Green Knight affectionately hold his face, smile, and say "off with your head" while pointing away (as in, "go off, with your head intact"), but the film includes a post-credits scene that pretty unequivocally establishes that Gawain survives.

[@magbiblue7045]

ok wait this video was awesome, i have so many thoughts on this, it was all so cool. first of all oh my god the puppet retelling of the legend is my new favorite thing EVER, i would watch the hell out of a myth anthology filmed like that. second, Napoleon's Button's is a FANTASTIC book, it was required reading for a chemistry class i took and i highly recommend. thirdly, it is SO COOL to learn about how queerness was viewed throughout history because 99% of the time is is totally different from what everyone thinks it is, so thank you so much for talking about that (also goodness every video of yours i watch i get exponentially gayer)

[@katiekitkat96]

So we read Gawain and the green knight in high school, except for the part about Gawain in the castle with the lady and lord and the homoeroticism, and like of course they just said it was for length purposes, and my teacher just gave us a quick summary of the section and told us to read that part on our own if we liked the story overall, and of course, I never did even though I actually wanted too but back then I had so much homework and stress about homework that I never got to it. Now it makes sense why they "really" cut that part out of the curriculum. I still haven't read that part and now I know the spoilers so I probably won't but now I actually want to read the whole thing again! Anyway. Loved this video as always, you are the best and you make history/historical stuff really fun, enjoyable, and informative!

[@Frank_42]

I just remember the movie Sword of the Valiant in which Sean Connery speaks of trading a "blow for a blow" while wearing green glitter armour and a tiara while bending over suggestively.

[@TreyChadwick]

The Tom Bombadil defense earned my subscription

[@joshb6132]

This was a fantastic analysis of the themes in the original poem, especially with regards to medieval queerness. While I generally liked the new movie, especially the contrast between Christian superstition and the natural world, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that the poem's original themes were abandoned, and now, having watched your video, I gotta say I'm mourning the loss of potentially exploring the differences between modern and older forms of queer behavior between men. An excellent video, and it honestly just makes me want to watch the movie again.

[@sunwukong6897]

Anachronism spotted: Tom Bombadil was NOT at Camelot. Hmph!

[@RealBradMiller]

:O *Drops water lilies*

[@EnnameMori]

I agree it was sad to not see the Bertilak scenes there and we lost a lot of opportunity, not least for a better, less rushed ending and more Morgan le Fay. I do want to note though that in all of this (medieval and movie) his age is important, because in the original poem and the movie he is still young. And in the middle ages young men had a very different code of morality and gender to play around in in their youth, something which I am always annoyed that researchers forget. His lack of action, sleeping in, not taking the lead and overt 'femininity' are also traits of someone who has not reached majority just as much as they were gender norm subversion. Remembering of course the age of majority could be as late as 25, or more. If Gawain were to keep those elements after being knighted (or becoming a knight) then he would be in trouble. And often was in other versions of Gawain's stories where he is held up in opposition to Galahad, Lancelot and the other more 'adult' and Christian knights. As forever (badly young), unable to surrender to God, dissolute, secular etc. The way this translates into the film though - especially with its experimentation with binaries of christian/civilised vs pagan/wilderness , adulthood/straight vs queer/youth (no coincidence Essel looks like a boy, whereas lady Bertilak doesn't), decay vs vitality - unfortunately hardens everything into a far more 21st century understanding of masculinity and the rejection of experimentation. Or at the very least the more religiously dogmatic side of the Arthurian texts.

[@Hecateofcrossroads]

I feel like is she was meant to be early 20s like 24

[@hippiechick2112]

Kaz, I love you. I was laughing, crying and amazed. Thank you!

[@madelinewolfe2389]

Los Angeles weather is too hostile to any sort of aesthetic dressing 😩 loved the analysis!

[@nicholamarshall9927]

imma say it. this is absolutely my favourite channel on youtube

[@fahrlight]

Just in case not everyone is aware: Morgana or Morgause or Morgan IS his mother, in versions of the lore. It depend on what version you read.

[@Hecateofcrossroads]

But Morgan le Fay isn’t Morgause right? I thought they were sisters

[@fahrlight]

@@Hecateofcrossroadsmany versions exist. In a few they are the same person. Depends fully on what you read.

[@enrajbroin]

@@fahrlight in almost every well known and influential version that does not originate from the last century, Morgause and Morgan are seperate people.

[@0103harleyq]

Oh wow, from what i saw / understood i saw patels character as trying to 'play' straight and feeling disgusted with himself for liking the kiss between him and bertilak

[@ethansloan]

I thought it was a very well-made movie, but I didn't care all that much for the theme's the director seemed to be going for. The film is ostensibly about courage, and Gawain growing in a brave man, but when I was watching I kept thinking, "walking to your death for no reason other than pride isn't brave, it's cowardly." The thing Gawain fears most isn't death, it's lack of status and respect. He's not presented with any consequences from the Green Knight if he just doesn't show up. At any point he could say, "fuck this," and go back home, probably lose what social standing he has, and live a long, happy, unremarkable life with his girlfriend. The film keeps pushing this idea that the brave thing is to continue on and be (assumedly) killed, which is like a 13 year-old's idea of bravery. Gawain basically has three options: he either 1) goes to the knight, and gets killed, 2) turns back, loses his chance at becoming a knight, lives a normal life, or 3) turns back, and lies about facing the knight. I was hoping the film would end with a sort of anti-climax where he and the knight talk about what drove Gawain to show up, and he ultimately decides to just leave without taking any blows, with the implication that he'll do the brave thing and be honest about breaking his vow, consequences be damned. Instead it was basically a more poetic version of something you'd see in a John Wayne movie, about a real man keeping his word, facing death with dignity, blah blah blah. Just discovered your channel and subscribed. Looking forward to more cool essays. And you're right; that armor is hot.

[@albertgore7435]

HOW IS EVERY ONE OF YOUR FITS GENDER GOALS AAAAAAAA

[@briannawhite9307]

Okay, but I majored in English, and I had a used copy of Sir Gawain. The former owner only took notes during the green knight's introduction. They wrote "he all green... Even horse is green."

[@Luckybun_cos]

I wasn't entirely familiar with the source material before seeing the movie but I absolutely loved the movie. I was really excited to see someone had made another video essay about the movie adaptation because I can't stop thinking about it lol. Really great analysis, I loved this perspective

[@archaeologydad3761]

18:49 queer enby Catholic here -- yup that's true, the Church still teaches that (also the whole time Lord and Lady Bertilak were on screen I kept thinking about the Chris Fleming song "Polyamorous")

[@maria263]

I hadn’t thought he died at the end of the movie. I thought the Green Knight let him live as reward for being honest and just was being cute with language. Off (like go home), WITH your head.

[@rabbet5879]

Omg i have that exact castle u used as a prop that’s so cool.

[@bairsm2081]

OMG you destroyed me! lol. Having hard time finding movies I really like these days and not knowing the poem itself, I loved this movie. And now... ☹

[@David_Axelord]

I didn't read it as Gawain dying at the end, after Gawain takes off the green girdle. When the Green Knight draws his finger across Gawain's throat and says "Off with your head," I took it as meaning, "That's it, it's done," not "I'm going to cut your head off now."

[@bidadash]

fantastic analysis! thank you for sharing!

[@unknownentity4620]

A version I’ve heard says that the Green Knight was also the wife, and Morgan Le Fey sent him specifically to make Guinivere die of shock.

[@123goldenlily]

can I just say that I absolutely LOVE the background in this video, it is absolutely beautiful

[@donniedarko9766]

Knowing more about the poem it makes more sense for him to live at the end. It makes no sense for his mother to set up this test to make him grow as a person only for him to die when he does.

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

I love your variety of costumes!!! The fact that you make them yourself is even more awesome!!!

[@chestydog]

I always love your history. You make me view my sexuality in two different lenses

[@DavidMacDowellBlue]

You pronounce the Lord's name "Bardilac." Yet the quotes you show on the screen have it spelt "Barcilac." Just noting this. As ever, your essay is thought-provoking and imagination expanding. Thank you!

[@MF-R]

This is just preemptive Shrek fanfic, noone can change my mind.

[@JanPospisilArt]

Hold up, what? Gawain does not die at the end of the movie. Or at the very least, it's left intentionally ambiguous and up for interpretation. And if the story is about virtue and courage, then the movie is also - it just adds conflict and development to Gawain - he's not virtuous and courageous all along, he finds both at the end during the final test.

[@Zenmyster]

Hmmm I recall seeing the movie and noting that the last part was very similar to an interpretation of the Gilgamesh epic. One has to be willing to accept the inevitability of one's own death

[@mrotaku869]

I would like to applaud the KAZ in understanding the nuisances of history.

[@milascave2]

It did cross my mind that, according to the terms of the agreement, after Gawain banged Lord Bertilacs wife, he would have to let Bertilack bang him. So the fact sir Gawain did not want to let him have even one kiss would indicate that he RELLY was not honoring the agreement, just like he broke most of the other aspects of the chivalric code.

[@daganlove8536]

As a queer person who likes swords, I just wanna say I need more queer people with swords 😂😂🧡

[@glorianicole7242]

I definitely assumed that when you said that the knight suit was hot you were referring to yourself in it, not the temperature, and just went with it.

[@CatinaTheo12]

In my residential treatment center’s school we read this. Honestly was a pretty good book, also we got to design alternative covers with our final essay, I LOVED that. I also loved how powerful the women were portrayed, I definitely saw the queerness when read and looked around like “anyone else hear this??”

[@nebusnevermore]

You missed the post credit scene. The scene suggests that Gawain did not lose his head and in fact returned home and lived a full life.

[@edgeeffect]

4:35 PMSL! Nice one Kaz! Poor Tom Bombadil... Back in the 1980s BBC Radio 4 did quite a good Lord of The Rings... with no Tom Bombadil... now you tell me Peter Jackson left him out too! I think I remember his abcense in the Ralph Bakshi movie too! :( It's time somebody made "Tom Bombadil The Movie" to redress the balance!

[@TheMooseOfMayhem]

So here's how I like to read the film. Here's my HEADcanon (lol) Essel is written in with that haircut to play into the queer narrative. Throughout Gawain's journey as he wrestles with morals and honor knight-y things, he's also wrestling with his own queerness. In his interactions with feminine women, I don't necessarily read him as displaying attraction, maybe queer panic instead, especially with the SA vibes of the scene with the castle lady. Throughout his vision of a life without honor, same thing (also he "tops" Essel in that scene which delivers the same vibes of internalized homophobia) The Green Knights final action reads as shadyflirty. The flick fake throat slit feels that way and also plays into the whole "as good of a blow as you gave me" and a callback the "it felt like nothing" line. I like to think Gawain returns home and comes out as queer along with all the knight stuff. That's how I rationalize not despising this adaptation lmao

[@zanorpthecosmicwanderer666]

In the movie, I interpreted that Sir Gawain was gay and that he was living this closeted life that he was miserable in. And that he felt ashamed of it, or at least that he was supposed to feel ashamed of it. That is why he ran away from Bertilak,and why the heterosexual sex scenes felt so uncomfortable. And that flash forward to the future, he just accepted death, because it was better than living miserably in a lie. Though, I don’t know if that was the director’s intention. I’m glad you made this video because I have been thinking about this since I watched it :-)

[@harukiamida]

I love the relevance of nature in the film version. after watching it, i realized very quickly that it was my favorite

[@davidbennett4748]

I like how this video focuses on the main characters of the actual poem/story. I watched and loved the green knight. I know your not like a movie reviewer but I was also left a little confused after watching the movie. Like especially the scene were gawains life like flashes before his eyes, but then he is brought back to the green chapel. And also the scene were he dove for the ghosts head. Thank you for explaining the scenes between Gawain and lady bertilak

[@itsnotrainer]

i JUST got home from school this timing isn’t incredible

[@TwixersTwingersnap]

The puppet show during the summary was lovely

[@kaiad8104]

this video is so well done! wonderful set, production, analysis!! i personally loved the movie as someone who had zero knowledge of the poem but now i wish lowery had done the original themes justice. i also liked the ambiguity of the film's ending, either way you choose to interpret it, it's a satisfying coming-of-age story.

[@t.sorvig3540]

Jesus. I watch *ONE* video about The Green Knight, and now this is in my recommendations.

[@emmasolberg14]

I’ve never been more invested in paper puppet theatre! 😂🙌🏻

[@mayomayomayonaise6521]

What annoys me is the some people think just because their isn't a word for it, it doesn't exist .

[@RedRosesDead07]

I enjoyed some aspects of the film - it's visually stunning, the soundtrack bleak and beautiful, the acting and actors are amazing... etc, I was curious about the changes, those left me unfulfilled. And damn if Morgan le Fay isn't just a manager in sorceress' clothing.

[@jackkruse1260]

This is such a good topic for discussion thank you for making this

[@layla-8369]

To be fair, I do think that the movie just wants to tell a different story. It's all about masculinity and it's dangers together with this hmmm ecologist(?) message. When I watched the movie I thought it was very Arthurian in its bizarreness, but I also didn't read Gawain as being disgusted when the green knight kisses him because "ew gay" but rather becauss he was still running from himself like he did most of the time. He runs away from compromise with his gf in the beginning, he only accepted the green knight's challenge after being indirectly peer pressured into it, and so on. So him being put off by Lord Bertilak just kind of made sense within that context so i personally still found the queer theme in there and not so much the homophobia. But of course, it's just another reading of the text and i completely understand all of your points. the overall movie was a little off putting because of the ereasure of queer themes and (as another person pointed put) the borderline (or actual) sexual assault Gaeain was subjected to by Lady Bertilak, and I haven't read what rhe director himself said about the movie but it was just another take on the story. In any case, my review of the movie was "it should have been gayer"

[@averongodoffire8098]

Gawain and the Queen knight- oops I mean

[@biotechbabe8886]

I recently found your videos, and have been kind of binging them lol. I find you really engaging, and your content is very intriguing.

[@katethielen3883]

Yeah this one was a really hard one to explain to my friends... I saw it with two people who didn't know the poem and like... That was a time

[@roseclearwater9904]

I’m so happy that you created this video! Like I just read this book for class and was like uhm … 👀 I can’t be the only who’s noticing how heLA Gay this is 💅 So thank you this was beautifully done and so informative! I feel validated rn haha Also what’s been annoying me is that in summary animated videos they show the Queen and him full on smooching on the lips but then when he goes to the king it’s just a bro cheek kiss 😤 like THATS NOT WHAT TGE POEM SAID!! Let the bisexuals be bisexual!

[@inuyashaxx]

Okay, the gorget with the vest and white shirt underneath is a LEWK. I love it.

[@henotic.essence]

This whole thing reminds me I really have been craving sitting down and re-reading this classic tale. I read this in literature analysis class in my early years of college. I fell in love with chivalry tales from then on! Where have I been??? Subscribed! I don't think I'll see the movie though, never been a fan of book-to-movie :(((

[@benjaminblanchard-saiger2900]

Wait this isn’t Finn Wolfhard talkin about D&D?

[@lavanderr_menace]

Number one: Awesome video Number two: Armor where how much?

[@siandroidofficial]

Gawain was to be my name if I were born male. I love this, as I had no idea about any of it, other than him being an Arthurian knight.

[@greghenrikson952]

One point--I don't believe the girdle in question was seen as women's clothing. Arming girdles were likely in use by the mid 14th century.

[@B0ND0]

I really liked The Green Knight, never read the poem, just was a fan of Excalibur as a kid. I like this take and perspective

[@anonymousanon3055]

nice video, also not quite the point but I like your style in the presentation here: the background with the unicorn and the armor, looks great. thanks for making and sharing

[@im19ice3]

low-key wonder if beowulf has any descriptions of his legendary chad loins lmao

[@TacticalWaffle]

Ah, the fanny pack of protection. Things I got from the film: confusion, wow they changed a lot, those giants triggered a lot of alarm bells and terrified me, and disappointment that they didn't incorporate the original twist at the end and went with a now-tired, "It was all a dream!" rather than keep the original relationship between Gawain and Bertelak in place and actually reveal who the Green Knight is to the audience. Stunning looking movie though.

[@theniftycat]

I'm torned on this. I watched the movie in a theater yesterday and I live in Russia. I really enjoyed it and felt like it had an overall anti-humanity message that I don't rationally subscribe to, but that I can sympathise with (being someone who sees the og Wicker Man as a light hearted feel good film). It was the speech about how the green consumes the red that made me feel very happy. Again, it's just what I felt, not what I think about it really. And the fact that Gawain wasn't good in bed and how insecure he was was also interesting to me. I loved the story and its message. But knowing now how different it is from the original and how it is made less queer makes me sad. It would be completely different and maybe I'd love it too. But on a less primal, almost chthonic way. AND it wouldn't be shown in Russia, but I know it's not a universal concern.

[@DiloConHelio]

I don't think Lowery willingly vowed to obscure the queer reading from The Green Knight poem. In fact, I believe the adaptation was inspired by the chivalry genre in general, with the intention of questioning the role of men both in history and modern society. So, finally, while the adaptation developes themes that may be at conflict with both the sexual and gender fluency the original text does feedback within modern day public opinion, it could also be understood as a companion essay esoterically debasing our centuries-old notions of masculinity. Back in the kiss scene, Gawain does refuse the Lord's advances but slowly, almost hesitantly. He is tempted with the joys promised by what he's been raised to regard as unmanly dishonor, so there's the subtext of what would Gawain choose if not being by his ongoing pursue of an unreachable ideal he himself refuses after being pressured to answer his own views about the values of his world.

[@paulmarchano7238]

Agreed. The movie as a whole questions masculinity, in my opinion anyways. I felt for Gawain and felt like I was being dressed down, as a man, for the whole movie. I loved it. It makes you question almost everything that a so called “man” is supposed to be. But art is subjective after all.

[@nobodyimportant2534]

theres also a version of the story where all the knights of the round table cut themselves on their necks to honor gwain so that he wont feel so bad about the whole ordeal

[@turbobus4983]

Wait... He didn't die at the end. It cuts to credits, leasing it open-ended.

[@EmperorSmith]

I believe the central theme, if there is one, of the original poem, was the contradictions presented when trying to "keep your word". As a Knight you must be courteus and accomodating, especially if you are a guest. But what if your host makes a demand of you that will make you break your Knightly vows? Such as kissing your hosts wife; It is impolite to refuse a lady, but also to commit adultery. The poem ends by Arthur declaring that all his knights would wear a green sash, to remind them all that they are flawed. And also remember - the peom was written in middle english - when they say "girdel", they are referring to a type of belt - not a modern "girdle". So inferring meaning based on the modern conception of what a girdle is, will be innaccurate.