Are Blain and Mac from Predator Gay? (Spoilers Within)

For starters, I feel obliged to state that this post is written with the utmost respect to people of all races, creeds, sexual-orientations, genders, and planets. (Except for John Elway - Up yours John Elway!) I do not intend, through my pondering here, to pass judgment on any lifestyle, we're all equal in my book. Although, I do enjoy ladies, so if you're reading this ladies...Hi there.

If you're like me, you've seen Predator a few dozen times in your life. And if you're not, you should see it a few dozen times anyway. It's the perfect fusion of action and sci-fi, a muscle-bound cousin to John Carpenter's The Thing that mixes the appeal of Schwarzenegger with top notch effects, an adrenaline-pumping musical score, and a truly original monster. It also features a cast of incredibly macho characters, toplined by Carl Freaking Weathers, WWF Star and future politician Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, and Arnie's Commando co-star Bill Duke. But the more I've watched it, the more I've come to question the characters played by the Ventura and Duke, and their relationship within the movie.

We're introduced, briefly, to Mac and Blain, played respectively by Duke and Ventura, as soon as the helicopter transporting Schwarzenegger's team of "half-assed mountain boys" opens its doors the first time. Blain is Mr. Casual, with his blue jeans and MTV T-Shirt, while Mac is fully suited up. The two don't seem to have much of a connection, even in their next scene, where the helicopter is heading toward the team's final destination. Mac and Blain sit as far apart as possible, but always seem to be in the same shot through the camera's eyes. In this scene Blain makes a famous comment about being "a goddamn sexual tyrannosaurus", and after another team member makes a joke about Blain's comment, the camera shifts to Mac - who's quietly paying attention despite his distance from the conversation. The only interaction between the duo in these early scenes comes when Blain offers Mac some of his chewing tobacco, then smiles coyly after Mac refuses.

Despite being known as one of the "manliest" movies ever made, many have commented on the homosexual undertones of Predator. It is, after all, a movie about a bunch of sleeveless, sweaty dudes with big muscles in a jungle who often like to armwrestle mid air. But I've never really found anyone, shy of a few snickering imbeciles (for the record, I also am not opposed to snickering imbeciles, and occasionally embrace that same role), who has really looked at the blatant insistence in Jim and John Thomas' script that Mac and Blain are the most deeply connected members of the unit. It probably was youthful immaturity that led me to first think it, but I became convinced somewhere amidst my viewings of Predator that Blain and Mac just might be in a homosexual relationship.Some of it lies in the obvious stuff, like the extremely phallic image of Ventura's Blain turning himself into a human turret during the film's siege scene or the moment after Blain's unfortunate demise when Schwarzenegger's Dutch consoles Mac, who can't look him in the face while saying "He was...uh...my friend". Now we all know that men aren't supposed to show emotion or have close relationships with others, at least according to movies, so it's easy to assume that Mac's extremely emotional response is coming from a deep, personal relationship with Blain. Sure, Blain makes a derogatory comment about homosexuals early in the film, but that's a common defense mechanism.

Mac is also a distant character from his peers for most of the film, quietly shaving on the flight and saying few words to anyone. He has a couple of run-ins with Weathers' character, who represents the military authority, and at one point threatens to "bleed" the character secretly and leave him dead. This resistance to authority is obviously a sign that Mac thinks the character is a threat to him. While he does vocalize that he fears Weathers' Dillon is "ghosting" the team, maybe there's a deeper issue for Mac. Don't Ask, Don't Tell, perhaps?

We also get Mac's teary reaction to Blain's death, both by him taking a drink in tears before leaving a beaten flask that must have had some sentimental value on his friend's mutilated body. Later he does exclaim, only to god and the heavens, about how it was "just you and me, nobody else" when reminiscing about his time with Blain. This scene, in the past, had been the one that most led me to believe my hypothesis: That Mac and Blain were secret lovers. Watching the movie again today, with this theory as my prime point of reference....I'm not as convinced as I once was.As I alluded to above, movies like Predator train us to think that "real" men are big and tough and don't do anything but be awesome and tell jokes. As a teen, it was easy for me to think about what was going on with Mac and safely think "Dude, those dudes must have been gay!" because of the emotion shown. The movie does take baby steps to prove that theory wrong, as Mac refers to Blain, post-mortem, as "bro"...not exactly a term of romantic affection. But it was Mac's deep emotional reaction that really took center stage, and it's the kind of reaction that movies generally hold for romantic relationships.

Maybe there is a hidden romance in Predator. I had planned this post as a confirmation, sure I would find the hidden key to my theory while watching the movie again, but instead I see it simply as a question that could be asked but doesn't appear to have tangible evidence in its favor. The fact that those smirking imbeciles, like myself have at least made the comments about it says just as much about the ideals movies try to impart among us in society as it does about the characters' sexuality. For me, my look back into Predator still leaves me feeling like there might have been more to Mac and Blain's relationship. But it also makes me think more about the stereotypes that have been set forth for our youth - and as someone who works with teenagers today, I know they're still out there.Feel free to weigh in with your views on Predator's secret relationship in the comments below. Heck, one could make the case that the entire film is about gay characters who're being hunted by a monster whose face is a vagina with teeth...but that's a different story for a different day.