Showtime 8:00 pm - "SAME SEX AMERICA"

[BattyDem]

"Filmmaker Henry Corra chronicles the battle over gay marriage in Massachusetts, the first U.S. state to sanction same-sex civil unions, by charting the journey of seven gay and lesbian couples navigating the treacherous political landscape in an effort to win what many consider a basic human right, while others see the struggle as an erosion of morality."



It looks pretty interesting. :-)

[KamaAina]

1. I know Henry and, in fact, appear in one of his earlier films

called "George", made for HBO Films. He interviewed me inside a church across the street from his (then) house in Conn. (surprise -- he's in Soho now)

"George" is about his son, George (you were expecting Darryl or something?) who has autism. George himself (who is now in college on Long Island) did some of the camera work on it; he has a signature jerky style which actually predates The Blair Witch Project! (To this day I get queasy when I see it on the big screen...)

If you ever come to Honolulu and take the tour of Doris Duke's estate, Shangri-La, you will see a short film about the estate at the Academy of Arts before the tour leaves. You got it -- Henry and longtime collaborator Grahame Weinbren did post-production on that, too.

Finally, Henry showed "Same Sex America" at the recent Tribeca Film Festival (don't know if he won anything, though). Enjoy! (no cable for me so I guess I'll have to make him show it to me next time I'm in NY :-) )

[BattyDem]

2. It's a terrific film!

Of course, almost everyone opposed to same-sex marriage quoted the Bible and gave religious-based reasons why gay marriage should be banned. Apparently, no one ever told them about the separation of church and state, so they think it's perfectly fine to use their beliefs to deny other people rights. :eyes:

There was one woman who was actually planning on moving to Virginia because Massachusetts was allowing gay marriage! She said she couldn't live in a state that allowed that sort of thing. She seemed to take it all so personally, as if her life was going to come crashing down because gay people got married. What an ass!

The saddest part was seeing how happy all the couples were, but knowing that their marriages could be revoked in 2006. I hope that by then, the hysteria will have died down and people will realize that their lives haven't changed one bit because gays got married so they'll vote against the amendment.

If you talk to Henry, tell him that I enjoyed his film very much. :-)

[KamaAina]

3. I was wondering how he'd handle the anti's

Sounds like he gave them just enough rope to hang themselves!

[BattyDem]

4. He gave them a lot of coverage and he didn't try to make them look bad ...

he just let them talk. That's what he did with both sides. He just filmed them and let them say whatever they wanted to say about the issue. (He did "push" a county clerk into giving his opinion about gay marriage, but it was done in a friendly way. The clerk was a really good sport ... and a nice guy!) Both sides got to explain their position without interruption. It was very balanced. But ... the people who wanted to ban same-sex marriage constantly talked about religion, they sang hymns, they spoke about "one man-one woman" and how the purpose of marriage is to procreate, how gay marriage would lead to incest, polygamy, etc. ... the same old talking points. :eyes:

There were a few who seemed like very nice people and they swore that they didn't hate anyone. They sincerely believed that same-sex marriage was wrong and/or unnatural. I wasn't really angry at them because they didn't seem like "fanatics" - you know what I mean? Right or wrong - they believe what they believe, but there didn't seem to be the typical homophobia or disgust behind their beliefs.


edited: typo