Outrage (2009 film)

Outrage
Directed by	Kirby Dick
Produced by	Amy Ziering[1]
Written by	Kirby Dick
Music by	Peter Golub[1]
Cinematography	Thaddeus Wadleigh[1]
Editing by	Douglas Blush Matthew Clarke[1]
Studio	Chain Camera Pictures
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures
Release dates	April 24, 2009 (2009-04-24) (Tribeca Film Festival) May 8, 2009 (2009-05-08) (United States)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$287,198[2]

Outrage is a 2009 American documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick. The film presents a narrative discussing the hypocrisy of people purported in the documentary to be closeted gay or bisexual politicians who promote anti-gay legislation. It premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival before being released theatrically on May 8, 2009. It was nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award, and won Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival's jury award for best documentary.

Synopsis

Outrage argues that several American political figures have led closeted gay lives while supporting and endorsing legislation that is harmful to the gay community. The film examines mass media's reluctance to discuss issues involving gay politicians despite many comparable news stories about heterosexual politicians and scandals. Outrage describes this behavior as a form of institutionalized homophobia that has resulted in a tacit policy of self-censorship when reporting on these issues. The film is based on the work of blogger Michael Rogers and his site BlogActive.com.

Subjects

Among other subjects, the film includes:

• Ed Koch, Democratic Mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989,^{[1][3][4][5][6][7]} was a lifelong bachelor, dogged by "endless gay rumors," who publicly denied being gay.^[8][9] Although his record on LGBT issues is generally positive, he is blamed for treating the emerging AIDS pandemic in the gay community reluctantly, and not like the health crisis he handled in other situations. New York and San Francisco were the main epicenters of AIDS in the early 1980s. Critics, most notably Larry Kramer, believe Koch handled the AIDS crisis poorly because he was closeted.^[8][9][10] Koch died on February 1, 2013, of congestive heart failure.^{[8][9][11][12]}
• Ken Mehlman, the former Republican national chairman, was named in the film as a closeted homosexual though he was against policies friendly to gays. Mehlman announced in 2010 that he is gay, and would instead work to support pro-gay policies.^{[1][5][6][13]}
• Larry Craig, former Republican politician and Senator from Idaho. In 2007, Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of lewd conduct in a men's restroom, where he was accused of soliciting an undercover police officer for sexual activity.^[14][15]

Interviews

People interviewed in Outrage include:

Openly gay politicians

• Tammy Baldwin, former US Congresswoman of Wisconsin, now Senator^{[1][4][16][17][18]}
• Barney Frank, former US Congressman from Massachusetts^{[4][5][6][16][17][18][19][20]}
• David Catania, City Councilmember of DC^[16][18][21]
• Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe, Arizona^[22]
• Jim Kolbe, former U.S. Congressman from Arizona^{[3][4][5][17][18]}
• James McGreevey, former Governor of New Jersey^{[1][3][4][5][6][16][17][19][20][23]}

Others

• Wayne Barrett, investigative reporter and senior editor for the Village Voice^[1]
• Elizabeth Birch, former Executive Director of Human Rights Campaign^[7][18][19]
• Kirk Fordham, former Chief of Staff to US Congressman Mark Foley^[4]
• Patrick Guerriero, former Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans
• Dan Gurley, former Field Director of Republican National Committee^[21][24]
• Jim Hormel, former US Ambassador to Luxembourg^[22]
• Larry Kramer, founder of Act-Up^{[1][4][7][19][20][23]}
• Tony Kushner, playwright of Angels in America^{[1][4][6][18]}
• Rodger McFarlane, former Executive Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis^[7]
• Kevin Naff, Editor at The Washington Blade^[18]
• Michael Rogers, founder of Blogactive^{[1][4][5][16][18][19][20][21][23]}
• Hilary Rosen, Democratic lobbyist^[18]
• Michelangelo Signorile, radio host^[7][18][23]
• Andrew Sullivan, columnist for The Atlantic^{[1][4][7][18][20]}
• Rich Tafel, former Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans^[4][7][18]

Awards and nominations

Reception

Film critics responded, for the most part, with positive reviews. Scott Foundas of The Village Voice praised Outrage for its "well-honed arguments, sound sourcing, and journalistic boldness,"^[27] and the San Francisco Chronicle's Jonathan Curiel described it as "essential viewing".^[28] Variety's John Anderson wrote that the film "is operating from a position of righteous indignation, and that indignation is infectious", while criticizing the film's lack of evidence in making certain arguments.^[29] Critic Armond White disliked the film, calling it "no more serious than the spiteful gossipy clown Perez Hilton", and writing that the decision to only out conservatives "influences ideological separatism, encouraging the idea of elite gay privilege".^[30]

In an interview with New York Post, Ed Koch denounced the film and claimed that it mischaracterized his record on gay issues.^[31] He did not respond to the film's assertions that he had failed to adequately respond to New York City's AIDS epidemic, or to the film's assertions that he had had a boyfriend whom he had pressured to leave New York and remain silent about their relationship.

Controversies

Naming

While some journalists named the political figures discussed in the film,^[19][32][33] other prominent news organizations, such as The Washington Post, CNN, and NPR, refused to report names.^[24][34][35] Dick questioned this reluctance, saying, "The press often reports on things that are very painful to the subjects they are writing about. [Closeted gay politicians] are public officials; this is reporting on hypocrisy, and there is an obligation on the press to write about it."^[24]

NPR review

In a review for NPR,^[23] film critic Nathan Lee named Outrage's primary subjects. NPR altered Lee's review by removing these references.^[36][37] Lee responded in a comment on NPR's website:

I personally disagree with NPR's policy - there is no other area of 'privacy' that elicits such extreme tact. [I] also feel that it is a professional affront to my responsibility as a critic to discuss the content of a work of art, and an impingement of my First Amendment right to free speech and the press.^[36]

NPR deleted this comment as well.^[36] An NPR editor later explained these actions, noting that, "NPR has a long-held policy of trying to respect the privacy of public figures and of not airing or publishing rumors, allegations and reports about their private lives unless there is a compelling reason to do so."^[38] This statement drew immediate criticism, as NPR had previously speculated on the sexual orientation of public figures such as Adam Lambert and Queen Latifah.^[38][39] This led to questions about why closeted entertainers presented a "compelling reason" for reporting while closeted politicians did not.^[40]

GLAAD Media Awards

Outrage did not receive a nomination for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 21st GLAAD Media Awards.^[41] Many journalists argued that this decision must have been a deliberate snub because Outrage had been one of 2009's most prominent LGBT films.^{[42][43][44][45]} GLAAD responded to the criticism by arguing that Outrage "doesn't promote awareness, understanding and respect for [LGBT] lives and thus does not fit the criteria for the GLAAD Media Awards."^[46] Dick said that he was troubled by GLAAD's apparent stance against reporting on closeted anti-gay politicians, noting that "by taking this position, GLAAD is playing into the same philosophy that has kept the closet in place in politics for decades and has caused so much damage."^[47]

See also

• List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
• List of state and local political sex scandals in the United States
• Outing

References

Further reading

• "How Queer Is That? - Funny how prominent conservatives with antigay records are so often caught in gay sex scandals, isn't it?". Newsweek (Newsweek Inc) 155 (23): 56; Section: Back Story; ISSN 0028-9604. June 7, 2010. 

External links

• Official website
• Outrage at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with film director Kirby Dick at Salon.com