:
Salome Jens,
Corey Burley,
Brian Bennett,
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:
Arthur Dong,
Arthur Dong
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: New Video Group
: Documentary, Gay & Lesbian, GLBT, Documentary, Political & Social Issues, Religion, Biographies
: English
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Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Coming Out Under Fire (1994)
Innumerable homosexual men and women served honorably (and unnoticed) in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, while a great many others were swept up in anti-homosexual dragnets and entrapment schemes. This documentary interviews survivors of both kinds, and shows how it required tremendous courage and determination to cope with the society they found themselves in. Among the highlights are revelations of the ways these individuals had for identifying each other more or less safely, and the efforts many took to ensure that they would be able to serve their country in its time of need, despite the dangers of stigmatization or worse. The documentary is framed by the 1993 U.S. congressional hearings which resulted in the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in the armed services, a policy which was calculated to please no one and which was predicted to be a failure before it ever began, opening the gates once more on service-wide anti-homosexual entrapment schemes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Family Fundamentals (2002)
While many Christian Fundamentalist sects firmly believe that homosexuality is a violation of God's law and a mortal sin, a growing number of Fundamentalist parents have had to come to terms with the fact that their children are gay or lesbian, and documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong focuses on a handful of young adults who have come out to staunchly conservative families, and been forced to confront the pain and confusion that can cause. Brett Matthews, the son of a Mormon bishop, was dismissed from the Air Force after his homosexuality became public knowledge, and must now face ostracism by his parents. Kathleen Bremner, the leader of a Pentecostal congregation, is also the mother of a lesbian woman, Susan Jester (and the grandmother of a gay man, David Jester); she has since joined a group that advocates "reparative" therapy for homosexuals. And Brian Bennett spent 12 years working for conservative California congressman Bob Dornan. Bennett and Dornan became quite close, with the congressman often saying he felt as if Bennett was his adopted son, but that changed when Bennett chose to come out of the closet. Family Fundamentals was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Licensed to Kill (1997)
In 1977, documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong was attacked by four youths who shouted anti-gay epithets at him as they beat him severely. This incident led Dong to a long personal investigation of the reasoning and motivations behind gay bashing; this film was the culmination of Dong's study of homophobic violence, in which he interviews seven men convicted of murder in hate crimes against homosexuals as they try to explain why and how they did what they did. The stories range from men who believed that gays were wealthy and weak, and therefore easy targets for robbery and murder, to others who are convinced that God has condemned homosexuals and that they were somehow doing "the Lord's work." Several other men said that their murders of gay men stemmed from shame and confusion over their own latent or active homosexual desires, and one man simply and chillingly states, "I don't have any opinion whatsoever for homosexuals, except they oughta all be taken care of." Licensed to Kill was voted Best Documentary at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and was shown on PBS as part of their showcase for non-fiction films -- P.O.V. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Coming Out Under Fire (1994) |
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| Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Family Fundamentals (2002) |
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| Stories from the War on Homosexuality: Licensed to Kill (1997) |
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