PBS films looks at gay kids and families

AP | 8/25/03 | LYNN ELBER

[kattracks]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In this summer of lighthearted gay-themed programming, a new PBS documentary is a reminder of how disconnected glossy TV images can be from real life.

"Family Fundamentals," from filmmaker Arthur Dong, is an intimate look at homosexual children and their devout parents. It debuts 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday (check local listings).

Dong's film records the heartache of people trying to reconcile their love and their beliefs, and touches on the ripple effect of such discord beyond family circles.

"The Bible is, and says, that homosexuality is a sin, and it's wrong," one mother says in the film. "It's a destructive behavior and will not bring happiness. ... You can't argue with that. It just is the way it is."

"It's really hard to change their point of view. Almost as hard as changing my point of view," says a gay son.

Dong wanted to reach across the gulf with a project that would respect and speak to both sides, he said in an interview. The filmmaking process itself revealed how difficult his task was.

One family initially gave its consent to be filmed, but then balked. In a kitchen table discussion, Dong tried to persuade the dad, a Mormon church bishop, to participate.

"The father said, 'Is this going to be a gay film?'" recalled Dong, answering that it would be "neither gay or non-gay. It's a film exploring the issues from both sides. ... That's my challenge as a filmmaker."

"If you can do that, you're a better man that I am," the man replied. He declined to participate when Dong wouldn't agree to make a film encouraging homosexuals to seek therapy.

But Dong, who is gay, said he was able to foster a valuable working relationship with a then-official of the National Association of Evangelicals who served as one of the film's key advisers.

"In our first conversation, he asked if I was gay. He said, 'You know, I think homosexuality is immoral.' I said, 'I expected you to think that. But we're still talking and still discussing the possibility of working together to create a film that people from your organization and the gay community can watch together without being antagonized.'"

News stories about prominent conservatives who have homosexual children initially piqued Dong's interest in making "Family Fundamentals."

The film reels off several examples, including the late Congressman Sonny Bono, father (with Cher) of Chastity, a gay rights activist; Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter Mary is lesbian; and conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, with a gay son.

Dong was particularly interested in the intersection of the personal and the political. He cites the example of California state Sen. Pete Knight, a Republican who sponsored Proposition 22 — a successful 2000 measure to strengthen the state's ban on gay marriage. Knight has a gay son and a brother who died of AIDS.

"I found that such a strange paradox," Dong said. "What must Thanksgiving dinner be like for this family? ... I really saw these families as a microcosm for the larger questions and larger debates in the public sphere."

When politicians like Knight and others put their beliefs to work shaping policy, Dong said, it is of vital interest to society.

He didn't want to engage in "psychobabble," he said, but noted the complex psychology of one family in the film. The mother suggests her daughter is lesbian because of childhood trauma, and the daughter speculates her mother's anti-gay activities stem from guilt.

"Family Fundamentals" intercuts three stories: a man estranged from his Mormon family; a woman of the Pentecostal faith and her homosexual daughter and grandson; and a gay man who was a longtime aide and surrogate son to former U.S. Rep. Robert Dornan (both men are Catholic).

Brian Bennett finally mustered the courage to reveal his sexual orientation to Dornan, who in file footage is shown giving a speech in which he denounces homosexuality as "a grievous sin."

Dornan's response, says Bennett, was kind: "I've loved you like a son for 20 years. Did you think that would make a difference?" It did cause a rift in their once-close relationship, although Dong says both have made stabs at communication.

Perhaps the only possible compromise between homosexuals and their loving critics is "agree to disagree," Dong said.

His film comes at an interesting time, when some observers see a growing acceptance of homosexuality and gay rights. The Supreme Court recently struck down a Texas ban on gay sex, and television has made room for more programs with gay themes and characters.

But Dong, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker who has been involved with the issue of gay civil rights for three decades, is not sanguine about how secure gays and lesbians should feel.

"There's a complacency among some in the gay community that things are fine now. We've got 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' and 'Will & Grace.' It's what we wanted."

But when a measure like Proposition 22 is drafted and passed, "we have to look at that and ask why."

___

[estrogen]

I too am totally fed up with the direction our culture is taking.....no God, but definitely trash TV and gay promotion.

What can we do to stop this degradation of the culture of our country. I firmly believe that the MAJORITY of citizens feel the same way I do. Why can't we overcome this , after all we are the majority.

[Paul Atreides]

The only thing I know of to do is to teach children about how wrong all of this trash tv and homosexuality is. They are the ones who are targeted by all of that. If I had a kid now, there would be strictly monitored television, plenty of reading, plenty of critical thinking, etc. In other words, I would either go the way of homeschooling, or private school. The public schools are nothing but indoctrination camps. The left will not rest until they totally destroy the traditional family.

[Lizavetta]

They think they're desensitizing the populace, but there WILL be a backlash in the future and it won't be pretty. They should have stopped at asking for tolerance - they deserve no more and no less than that. But people are sick to death of having homosexuality stuck in their face from every facet of society.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I believe the name is Vietnamese. I have a Vietnamese friend whose last name is spelled Dang, but pronounced more or less like Dong.

[EdReform]

Bump and ping.

Scripter will be off line occasionally between now and the middle of September. I've agreed to help him out by running his homosexual agenda ping list.

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A simple freepmail is all it takes to subscribe to or unsubscribe from scripter's homosexual agenda ping list. If you wish to be added to the list in scripter's absence, please FReepmail me.

[festus]

;I get goddamned sick of it every day. Why is the media so
;enamored of homosexuality?

Because the media is liberal and to be liberal you have to be at least a little bit queer.

[GrandMoM]

Barney looks pretty gay to me....check out the gay dragon in Dragon Tails & the purple teletuby on that same station!!!!! They are working on our toddlers!!!!!!!!!

[scan58]

From a past North Texas Daily Online Edition:

Rangers reach out to gay community

July 31, 2003
The Texas Rangers announced Tuesday that they will hold Gay Day at the Ballpark on Sept. 14 when the Rangers host the Oakland Athletics.
If gay community leaders reach their goal of selling 1,000 tickets then an unnamed company has promised to donate T-shirts in all six colors of the rainbow.
The tickets will all be located in one area so the group can form a human gay-pride flag in the stands.
"We're trying to get as many people as possible to the ballpark," said John Blake, senior vice president of communications for the Rangers.
"The team isn't worried that marketing toward gay fans will hurt attendance."
Gay Day marks the first time a major professional athletic team has reached out to the gay community and offered to help organize such an event.

And from another article in the Dallas Voice (homosexual newspaper):
"While at the game, other fans will see that gays and lesbians are no different from straight people."

If they want to be seen as "no different from straight people", they really ought to just go to the game and leave their sex out of it.

[narses]

Ping.

[L.N. Smithee]

If they want to be seen as "no different from straight people", they really ought to just go to the game and leave their sex [lives] out of it.

Precisely.

To all you homosexual lurkers, read carefully: I don't know that you have anal sex until you tell me without provocation. If you choose to offer that detail for my information, you are inviting a possible comment on it. And if you don't like what I have to say, tough. YOU brought it up.

[A. Patriot]

The Texas Rangers announced Tuesday that they will hold Gay Day at the Ballpark on Sept. 14 when the Rangers host the Oakland Athletics.

Rump Rangers??

I just couldn't help it. I had ot do it :-)

[wtc911]

About two weeks ago I took the grandson (2-1/2) to the local park/playground. He started playing with another kid I had not seen there before. The kid's mom started talking, dumping is closer to the truth. Seems she is a mom by artificial insemination with no idea who the dad is. Her long-time lesbian lover threw her out of the big house with nothing but her kid and her bags. Now she's sleeping in the living room in her mom's apartment.

I felt sorry for her and I know that lots of straight parents find themselves in the same mess. But there was an extra hardness to her story. She was just realizing the cost of her little experiment. And, she was just starting to get a look at how much of an outsider her son will be in the cruel world of kids.

[scan58]

I was waiting for that one.