Gay troll

Rainbow flags, RuPaul and Lance Bass: LGBT symbols abound in 'Trolls Band Together'

Latest installment shatters $146M notice despite mixed reviews

By Ian M. Giatti, Christian Post Reporter

When is a rainbow more than just a rainbow?

“Trolls Band Together,” the latest installment of the Trolls production franchise, has garnered mixed reviews on its way to grossing more than $146 million worldwide since its debut in theaters on Nov. 17.

Directed by Walt Dohrn, who directed 2020’s “Trolls World Tour” and co-directed the franchise’s first installment in 2016, “Band Together” stars Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake reprising their roles as Poppy and Branch, who are on a mission to rescue one of Branch’s brothers from captivity at the hands of an evil pop duo.

Similar to the franchise’s first two installments, the rainbow — a biblical symbol associated with God’s pledge to never again flood the world and appearing in Ezekiel’s vision of the throne of Heaven — is featured prominently throughout the film.

While there is an entire Trolls subculture dedicated to the brand’s rainbow symbolism, in “Band Together” this rainbow imagery appears alongside LGBT icons and symbols in a movi

Take a look at any magazine targeting the same-sex attracted male marketand what will you find on the cover? You will detect eternally youthful sultry men with perfectly sculpted, hairless bodies who owe as much to the industry’s photo retouchers as they do to their personal trainers. Looking at these glaring moody images, it seems that these models’ only care is to remind you how unattainable they are. Turn the pages and look deeper into those magazines and you will find page after page of the same, from the ads to the editorial, it is easy to watch how what is referred to as mainstream queer culture is obsessed with youth. The message is that in order to take your much-coveted place in the heart of the gay scene, you should be hot, you should be fit, but most of all, you must be young. This is what you should aspire to. Deviation is not encouraged.

This isn’t such a big deal when you’re twenty-something with hormones raging and the right combination of hair products and distressed denim are all you necessitate to get by. But what happens when that armor of youth begins to fade? Aging is unavoidable. But for many gay men, the transition is not a delicate one. Difficulty facing the reality of aging is