Jonathan Ke Quan: The Goonies Grow Up

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) gives the whip-wielding archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) a modern-day English-mangling Sabu, the equivalent of the teenage-sidekick in the 1930’s serials.  But instead of a young adult playing a teenager, the gay subtext is minimized by making Indy's sidekick the prepubescent waif Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan, nearly 14 years old but looking around 10).

 Indy and Short Round display a great deal of affection, but always of the parent-child variety: Indy sleeps with the boy in his arms, and holds his hand while they are walking, but he is continually presented as a small boy, lest anyone think that when he says “Indy, I love you” anyone think he means something besides substitute father.  There is no rejection of the homoerotic other, except in a passage in the novelization about the “disreputable careers” that might befall a 13-year old boy on the streets of Shanghai; that is, if it were not for Indy’s intervention, Short Round might have become a boy prostitute.





Jonathan Ke Quan went on to star in The Goonies (1985) as the Asian nerd Data, who buddy-bonds in a rather aggressively physical way with fellow Goonie Mikey (Sean Astin).







And on two tv series: Together We Stand (1986-87), as a Vietnamese orphan adopted by an American family (his brother was played by the gay-friendly Scott Grimes); and the last season of Head of the Class (1990-1991), as Asian nerd Jasper Kwong.












Are you starting to see a pattern here?  Asians stereotyped as mathematical, nerdish, and asexual, so no romantic leads, no beefcake -- but, on the bright side, ample room for gay subtexts.

After playing adolescents with no heterosexual interest and intense buddy-bonding in the martial arts drama Breathing Fire (1991) and the comedy Encino Man (1992) with Sean Astin, Jonathan studied martial arts and went to USC Film School.

Since graduating, his only acting role has been in the Hong Kong movie Second Time Around (2002), which involves Las Vegas, time traveling, romance, and apparently gay characters.

He has also worked behind the scenes, as a stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, and cinematographer. No idea if he's gay in real life or not.

The Top 12 Hunks of "Star Wars"

Star Wars, the science fiction franchise about political machinations and mystic knights in "a galaxy far, far away," began as a one-shot movie in 1977.  It has since blossomed into seven movies (with two more in the works), tv series, and a universe-full of tie-ins -- plus a remarkable amount of beefcake.  Here are the top 10 beefcake stars of the Star Wars movies.

The First Trilogy

1. In which two jedi warriors intervene into a trade dispute on a distant planet and meanwhile meet Annakin Skywalker, a boy with special jedi powers.  He grows into an impestuous teenager  (played by Hayden Chistiansen, left), intervenes into an attempted galactic secession, and eventually goes over to the Dark Side, becoming the evil Darth Vader.

2. Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, one of the jedi warriors who mentors Annakin Skywalker.  The other is Obi Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, who didn't make the list.

3. Ahmed Best  as Jar-Jar Binks, the grotesque comic relief character.  Although Jar-Jar is computer generated, Ahmed provided the the voice, and the character's presence and movements for the other actors to play against.

4. Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka, the captain of the queen's guard.















The Second Trilogy

5. In which young, impetuous Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) joins the rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire, run by the evil Darth Vader, and helps destroy the super-weapon called the Death Star.   Luke eventually discovers that Darth Vader is his father, loses a hand, and destroys the Empire.

6. Harrison Ford as Han Solo,a rogue spaceship captain who grudgingly helps Luke.

7. David Prowse as Darth Vader.  He's always in a black suit and wearing a mask, so we never see him.  James Earl Jones provides the voice.  When he's finally unmasked, Sebastian Shaw provides the face.  Still, there's a muscular former bodybuilder in that Darth Vader suit.

8. Billy Dee Williams as Lando Carissian, a wealthy benefactor to the resistance.

9. The Third Trilogy, in which a new group of rebels arise, called the First Order, but this time they're the bad guys.  They're run by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who happens to be the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo from the previous trilogy.  Only one movie has appeared to date.














10. John Boyega as Finn, a reformed stormtrooper who joins forces with the Resistance (a paramilitary group dedicated to squashing the First Order).

11. Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, a resistance fighter who buddy bonds with Finn.

12. Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, one of the First Order warriors.

Star Wars: Admit it, you thought Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were boyfriends

Like Silver Streak, Star Wars (1978) is often read as a heteronormative fable. Luke Skywalker (25-year old Mark Hamill), an innocent, sleepy-eyed young man from the provinces, becomes involved with Rebel forces struggling to defeat an evil intergalactic Empire (in 1977, code for the Soviet Union), and, inevitably, meets a Girl. Except there’s no romance with the girl – in later episodes she turns out to be his sister. And there is a romance with the handsome space cowboy Han Solo (35-year old Harrison Ford).

Han is a loner (“Solo”), traveling with no one but a hairy, six-foot tall Yeti-like creature named Chewbacca (another animal sidekick to diffuse homoerotic potential), and unwilling to investigate potential human relationships.


At first he refuses to speak directly to Luke, and when he lets down his guard sufficiently to acknowledge Luke’s existence, he calls him by the diminutive “Kid.”


We wonder what he’s afraid of, and so does the Girl, brassy Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher): “Your friend is quite a mercenary!” she snaps at Luke. “I wonder if he really cares about anything. . .or anybody!”

Han finally warms up to Luke: they fight together, rescue each other, hug; at the end of the movie, Han asks Luke to go away with him (“I could use a partner”), and, when he refuses, decides to stay with Luke. But now Luke has competition in Princess Leia, who is “infuriated by” (that is, infatuated with) Han. She manages to insert herself into every shot featuring the two together.

When they are slamming against each other in a jubilant bear-hug, she squeezes between them, so they are actually hugging her.

When Han tries to walk off with his arm around Luke, she squeezes between them again.

Even in the last scene, when Han and Luke receive medals and then turn to receive the applause of the Rebel troops, the camera pans out to present the illusion that Princess Leia is between them (she is actually standing behind them).

Director George Lucas, not well known for accentuating the homoerotic potential of his films, worked very hard to ensure that Han and Luke never connect in any substantive way. What was he afraid of?