History, Activism, and the Queer Child in Derek Jarman’s Queer Edward II (1991)

Abstract

This essay discusses the role of the collaboratively authored text Queer Edward II , which was published alongside the release of Derek Jarman’s film adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II in 1991. The inscription states, “dedicated to: the repeal of all anti-gay laws, particularly Section 28” (n.pag.), which prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality by teaching or by publishing material.” The book is far more than a published script. This essay considers its role as an artefact, distinct from the film that prompted its production, and examines how it operates as a queer activist text that both acts as a marker of solidarity for its queer readers and a means of protest. The book provides a focused reaction against Section 28 to a much greater extent than the film in part by foregrounding the figure of the queer child alongside the activist slogans that punctuate the text. In addition, Jarman uses his own personal history to provide a wealth of evidence of experience in order to incite political anger. He thereby demonstrates how this can be transformed into activist interventions, such as Queer Edward II , to promote social change. By rehabilitating the context and history of the book, which has to date not received significant scholarly attention, this essay demonstrates its relevance to an understanding of Jarman’s varied oeuvre and his political activism in particular. By addressing homophobia with Queer Edward II , Jarman hoped to rouse even more of his audience and readers into action in a time of crisis under a government that continued to legislate against its own citizens.