Defining one’s sexuality isn’t easy for everyone, especially today where there are several options to choose from. That decision can be harder if you’re in the public eye, where every move and utterance is overly scrutinised by a voracious press and public, eager for gossip. Dalton’s Dream, a poignant new documentary examines this and other issues, in its intimate study of Dalton Harris, the winner of the UK’s 2018 TV show X Factor (similar to American Idol). Directed by Kim Longinotto and Franky Murray Brown, we meet the strapping Dalton just as he’s crowned winner of the show and looking forward to a lucrative music career as a pop star. Dalton’s journey to this point has, however, been brutal.
Born to an impoverished household in Jamaica in 1994, Dalton was severely abused by his single-parent mother. Often harshly beaten, denied food and forced to sleep outdoors – different treatment to his three siblings – Dalton left home whilst still a child and was taken in by a couple of kind local souls. They treated him as one of their own, before they realised they were actually related to him. Dalton’s mother was nonplussed and told them not to get in touch with her, even if Dalton died. Poor Dalton was suicidal at times. So far, so bad.
Dalton began singing to ease the pain, and soon realised he had a real talent – a really amazing voice. This led to him winning Jamaica’s Rising Star singing talent TV show in 2009. He got from this a taste of audience adulation which was an antidote to his loveless childhood. Record producer Donovan Germain took him on and guided him through to 2018’s UK X Factor competition. Dalton was a popular contestant both in the UK and in Jamaica. Then an innocent image of Dalton sitting on the lap of another male X Factor contestant triggered a huge amount of online homophobia in Jamaica. Their national hero was, in the small minds of the homophobes, tarnished and needed to be punished. This was bad timing for Dalton, who until this point had not mentioned his sexuality, and was in the midst of the competition. Jamaica is one of the most homophobic countries in the world and violence against queers is commonplace, a situation not helped by its 150-year-old British colonial-era anti-gay laws, which have still not been repealed.
The homophobia abuse online from Jamaica grew and grew. Undeterred, Dalton ignored the bullies and went on to win X Factor. Unfortunately winning such a high-profile competition is not a guaranteed route to pop stardom. Over 100,000 tracks are released globally every day and it takes a certain amount of luck as well as a great industry team to break through. We next meet Dalton eight months after the competition. His record company via Simon Cowell haven’t released anything yet and he’s stressed about not earning any money, and worried he may lose his nice London rental apartment. At this point he still hasn’t mentioned his sexuality publically and this is contributing to the poor state of his mental health. Feeling he has nothing to lose, he comes out as gay online, introduces his boyfriend Ayose and pens a track about his sexuality. Another element of his queer journey is a cathartic trip back to Jamaica to perform at a music festival. This is in spite of violent threats against him.
Twelve months after his win, a single finally gets released. The single, however, flops and Dalton loses his record deal, his music industry mentors and his apartment. The music industry drops you like a hot potato if you don’t deliver sales on time and on budget. It’s not all bad news though as Dalton has a successful trip to Arizona to deal with his depression and anxiety, reconciles with his mother after many years and comes out again, this time as pansexual. He also develops a less stressful musical theatre career.
Dalton’s Dream echoes the life of many millennials, albeit with more extreme highs and lows. This makes it an interesting time-capsule feature. Dalton’s contributions to the film are honest and heartfelt. His various fears and anxieties are relatable. He is a survivor and has achieved a lot without any of the traditional familial or financial support networks. The thoughtful, gentle doc shows that resilience and forgiveness are key to survival. We also see that mental health and sexuality are not straight-line journeys. An interesting, touching, character study.
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
