The idea that someone can be “cured” of being gay is just wrong and shows the fear and hatred that exists towards LGBTQ+ people. Even in the movie Monster, we see how even young kids get labeled as “monsters” just for showing affection to someone of the same gender. It’s really sad if you think about it, and it shows how deep this problem goes. The new film Ganymede, directed by Colby Holt and Sam Probst, deals with a similar issue. Back in 1989, a man named Neal was bullied for being gay. His family was ashamed, and he felt so much pain that he ended his life. Fast forward to the present, Neal’s nephew, Lee Fletcher, falls in love with a boy named Kyle Culper. But Lee’s family is strict and Christian, and they see being gay as something evil, something that brings shame. They think Kyle is making Lee “sick”. They see him as a corrupting influence, like Ganymede who is leading their son into an ungodly lifestyle. This belief pushes Lee towards madness, as he struggles between his love for Kyle and the psychological terror of not fitting into the mold his parents and society expect him to. Will Lee be forced to “get better” by rejecting who he is? Or will his parents change their minds, accept their son, and let him live his life the way he wants, with whoever he loves? It’s a powerful story about how society’s views can push people to the brink, and whether or not real change is possible.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Lee start getting shock therapy?
Lee Fletcher grew up in a strict Christian family. His father, Big Lee, was the town commissioner and took great pride in raising Lee to be the perfect son—a devoted Christian, excellent at school, and a talented wrestler. His mother, Floy, was just as devoted and always tried to instill strong Christian beliefs in their home. Big Lee often bragged about his son in church and boasted about how Lee followed God’s rules and was on the “right path.” But little did he know how Lee was constantly battling something his parents couldn’t see—he was gay, and he was full of guilt and shame because of it. Living in a town where homophobia was rampant, Lee witnessed the hatred towards anyone who didn’t fit the mold. And while he tried hard to push down his feelings, to be the “normal” son his parents wanted, he couldn’t get rid of them. To make things worse, the ghost of his uncle Neal, who had taken his own life because he was gay, haunted him. Neal had never gotten the support he needed, even from Floy, his own sister. Now, the same ghost of rejection and fear lingered over Lee as he struggled with his own identity. Things started to shift even more when Lee met Kyle, a boy who had an interest in him. At first, Lee tried to ignore the attraction, but during an after-school fight, when Justin—a homophobic bully who was secretly gay himself—attacked Kyle, Lee stepped in. He punched Justin to protect Kyle, which caused chaos. His family wasn’t happy that Lee had defended Kyle, who they saw as an “ungodly” sinner flaunting his homosexuality. Lee’s father, Big Lee, couldn’t hide his disappointment, and Lee felt torn between guilt and the growing feelings he had for Kyle.
Despite trying to stay away, Lee couldn’t help but reach out to Kyle in secret. He texted him and wanted to be around him. One evening, during a church meeting at Lee’s house, Kyle messaged Lee that he was outside. Lee knew he shouldn’t let Kyle in, but he couldn’t resist. As they stood in Lee’s room, just about to kiss, the psychological terror came crashing down on him again. The ghost of Neal—his fears of being “wrong” and “unnatural”—haunted him, and Lee shouted in confusion. To make matters worse, his parents stormed in and found the two boys together. You can imagine how furious Big Lee was. Instead of accepting what he saw, he accused Kyle of stealing and dragged him out of the house, even punched him in the face. It seemed like he was too ashamed to admit that his boy was with this “sinful creature” in his room. Rather than listening to his son’s troubles, he cared more about what the churchgoing people would think of him—maybe they would say that he was a failure of a father. A failed Christian maybe? Who knows?
After everyone had left, Big Lee turned his anger towards his son. He made Lee sit down with Pastor Royer, who claimed to have been “cured” of homosexuality and now warned Lee about the “curse of Ganymede,” a mythological figure who supposedly tempted people into becoming gay. Royer had undergone church-based psychological therapy to “get better,” and now he believed Lee needed the same treatment. Lee’s parents even began to suspect that his homosexuality had been passed down from Neal as Big Lee blamed Floy for keeping Neal’s photos in the house. They thought maybe Lee had touched them and somehow “caught the disease”. Desperate to “fix” Lee, his parents arranged for him to undergo electroconvulsive therapy every morning at Pastor Royer’s house as they believed it would drive out the “Ganymede” spirit that was making him gay. They wanted Lee to live a “normal” life, but in reality, they were the ones trapped in their sick beliefs. So who is the abnormal one here? Don’t you think that while Lee was the one being put through painful therapy, it was the mindset of the people around him that truly needed healing?
Did Lee get better?
How can someone get cured of a disease that doesn’t exist in the first place? Even though Lee’s family and the people in town thought Kyle was like Ganymede, he clearly wasn’t. Kyle was just a high school kid in love with Lee, and Lee felt the same way. While Kyle was accepted by his mother for who he was, Lee wasn’t. Everything changed when Lee’s mother, Floy, finally realized there was nothing wrong with her son. She saw the ghost of her brother Neal, who blamed her for not standing up for him when he needed her most. As a mother, she didn’t want her son to end up like her brother because of her husband’s rigid mentality. After all, Big Lee wasn’t even a true Christian—he was an adulterer who had been sleeping with their maid. All his big talk was just that—talk. He was the real ungodly one. Thank God Floy caught him in the act, which opened her eyes. At the school festival, after seeing Kyle’s beautiful performance on stage, Lee was overwhelmed. He felt himself falling for Kyle even more. But then, haunted by the ghost in his mind, he ran to the pastor’s house, desperate to give himself shock therapy. Kyle, to try to save him, followed and called his mother for help. The pastor attacked Kyle, but Floy, being the protective mother she was, came running and stabbed the pastor from behind to save her son. She knew Lee was normal, perfect just the way he was, and she was determined to protect him.
In Ganymede’s ending, we see that everyone’s life took a much-needed turn for the better. Lee and Kyle started dating openly, without any thoughts of shame or repentance. Lee no longer saw Kyle as some kind of Ganymede ghost but as the person he genuinely loved. With their relationship accepted, Justin also found the courage to accept his true self. He no longer had to pretend to be the tough, homophobic guy and instead became friends with Lee and Kyle. On the other hand, Commissioner Big Lee left his family and married the maid he had been having an affair with, even had a child with her. Honestly, Floy was better off without him. And as for the so-called pastor who claimed to be “cured” of his own Ganymede-like tendencies, it was clear that he wasn’t really cured at all—he still secretly checked out boys. The therapy hadn’t done much for him, it seemed. It’s ironic, really, that to fit into society, he had to pretend and lie to himself and everyone else just to avoid being judged. Hopefully, he won’t try to push his fake therapy cure story on anyone else in the future.
