So a new Power Rangers film is currently either in Cinema's or making its way to the cinema depending on what part of the world you live in, will I go and see it? In all honesty I am not sure, I have seen the trailers and in all honesty my feelings on them are very mixed, parts of it look funny other bits look cringy. I guess if its shown in the right cinema at the right time when I need something to do then I wil see it otherwise I will wait till it hits DVD. So why am I brining it up? Well I wanted to talk about something, something I think is very important that not many people know about.
I am sure that most people who remember the original Power Rangers will remember the first 5 Rangers, they will remember the ridiculous choice when it comes to colors with the oriental girl being the yellow ranger, the other girl being pink, the black guy being the black ranger, they will remember the zords and martial arts. While some of the colours were a little bit questionable the thing that was good was that there was a character that every youngster could relate to.
For the intelgent kids there was Billy, Billy the Blue Ranger, he was a bit of a glasses wearing nerd but he was also very clearly the brains of the operation, the one most able to understand the technolodgy and able to help in a way that didnt involve fighting. Billy was played by an actor called David Yost.
Billy wasnt my favourate ranger if I think about the first 5 rangers it would proberbly be Jason (It would be Tommy if I count the Green ranger without a shadow of a doubt) but I liked him, he always felt like an important part of the team and like he had more of offer than some of its other members as a character. He was brave even if he wasnt as cocky and willing to run in to trouble as some of the others but most of all he was an ultimatly likeable character, one who felt like a solid member of the team, someone who they would be lost without. For those who dont remember what eventually happend to Billy he was written off the show by being sent to live on another planet. I was very sad to see him go, he wasnt the first ranger but by the time he left he was my second favourate ranger and he felt like a key part of the show, I was worried that with him leaving a part of the shows heart would go with him. What I didnt find out until much latter was that he had left because he was being bullied.
Years after leaving David Yost opened up about his stint on the show and during an interview he revealed what it was like for him working on Power Rangers. The reason the original Blue Ranger left wasnt because he had been written out of the show it was because the actor actually walked off set one day after being teased about being gay. Now before anyone says he should have grown a harder skin or just taken it in his stride it needs to be pointed out that this was not the first time it had happend in fact it sounds like this was the straw that had broken the camels back. This can be seen from the following quote “The reason that I walked off is that I was called ‘faggot‘ one too many times, I had just heard that several times while working on the show from creators, producers, writers, directors… Basically I just felt like i was continually being told I was not worthy of being where I am because I’m a gay person. And I’m not supposed to be an actor. And I’m not a superhero.”.
After leaving the show, Yost had a nervous breakdown, he left because he had been pushed so hard that he felt that if he didnt walk away he might end up trying to take his own life. I have to say that I am very glad that he left the show, so many people sit and take crap that they shouldnt risking there own mental health and well-being and I applaud him for having the guts to get himself out of a toxic situation even if it resulted in a loss of earnings. I hope that he knows how much everyone loved him as the blue ranger and how much they missed his character after he left. David Yost went on to try and fight being gay by praying it away before coming to terms with who he is. He stood up and talked about all of this in an interview finally as he wanted others who were experiancing confusion about who or what they were or intolerance from others to know that there is light on the other side, to know that you can push through it all and take control of your life.
I salute you Mr Yost the Blue Ranger as far as I am concerned you are and always will be a Super-Hero as far as I am concerned.
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