Tweet
"In light of recent events in the Netherlands, where heterosexual marriage is now allowed, Pope Joan VII wants to remind Catholics all over the world that the Church has not changed its stance on this issue. Her Holiness reminds us, it is a sin for a man to lust after a woman. It is an abomination for a woman to lie with a man outside of the breeding season. Any such person harboring lust in their heart for the opposite sex will burn in hell ... Let us pray."
Back in 2011, a filmmaker named Kim Rocco Shields created a short 20-minute film titled "Love Is All You Need?" It was an "anti-bullying" film that was specifically made in response to several stories in the news about gay and lesbian teenagers who were driven to suicide by the relentless harassment of their peers, and even their own families.
The film is set in an alternate reality in which same-sex attraction and relationships are the norm, and those who are attracted to the opposite sex are persecuted, their relationships condemned as unnatural. A young girl named Ashley Curtis is growing up in a picture-perfect, All-American family, with two loving mothers and a younger brother ... but Ashley is secretly a closeted heterosexual, with a crush on a male classmate named Ian. As the film unfolds, Ashley struggles with her own identity and forbidden feelings, while faced with a community, a school, and even a family that are gripped by rampant heterophobia.
(Now, if you've never seen this film, and would like to do so without any spoilers, then I suggest you watch it now, before reading any further.
"Love Is All You Need?"
I feel the need to warn you ... The film is graphic and unsettling. It was intended as such.)
The short film went viral, accumulating over 30 million views on YouTube and Facebook. It won several film awards, was translated into 15 different languages, and has been used by schools as an anti-bullying tool. Last year, the film's creator obtained funding to turn it into a feature-length film.
I have not been able to find any information on the feature film's release date, only that it is expected to be in theaters this year. From what I've read, they completed filming in late 2014, and their Facebook page has an entry (dated April 24) saying they were working hard in post-production. I was thinking that the theatrical release would have been very timely in the next month or so, since the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on Obergefell vs. Hodges in late June. Marriage equality advocates are hoping that Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court's "swing vote," will side with the four liberal justices (Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan) to rule that the 14th Amendment gives same-sex couples a Constitutional right to get married.
I am looking forward to the release of the feature film. The original short film was, to me, a very insightful and touching look into what gay and lesbian teenagers have to endure every single day.
Imagine, as a straight person, being in a world where you were only allowed to have a relationship with somebody of the same gender. Imagine being forced to hide any feelings you have for a member of the opposite sex, being unable to act on the love you have for them without being persecuted, harassed, threatened, assaulted ... I had, of course, heard this argument before, and I had always agreed with it, but it wasn't until I actually saw it playing out (albeit in a dramatized form), witnessing an innocent girl being condemned just for wanting to be with the boy she likes, that I really started to understand. Even now, I cannot claim to really know what same-sex couples must endure, having never experienced it myself.
For a long time, I had believed that I was as understanding of the trials that gays and lesbians face as any straight person could be, but watching "Love Is All You Need?" made me realize how deeply ingrained my own heteronormative mindset was :
In the climax of the film, Ashley and Ian's relationship is exposed to their classmates - ironically, just as he was breaking up with her ... and Ashley was asking him for one last kiss, because she didn't know when she would ever get to kiss a boy again ... Just about broke my heart.
In a moment of panic, Ian tries to convince everybody that he isn't heterosexual by accusing Ashley of always trying to touch and kiss him when he was just trying to be nice to her.
"That's the problem. You can't 'be nice' to heteros." ... Sound familiar?
Ashley tries to run, but is soon caught and confronted by her now ex-boyfriend's older brother, who menacingly says, "So, this is the little queerbait who tried to hold my brother's hand." At this point, I had to pause the video because it was actually becoming too counterintuitive for me to clearly follow. I took a moment to mentally picture a gay boy, in real life, being betrayed by his boyfriend in this manner, and then threatened by the boyfriend's older brother. Once I had that in mind, it was much easier to follow what was happening in the film.
"So, this is the little queerbait who tried to hold my brother's hand."
"He wanted me to."
"No, he didn't! You forced him!"
It's easy to imagine this happening to a gay boy. But it required a mental effort for me to process it being said of a straight girl.
I have always been willing to accept the idea of a same-sex couple as being perfectly natural and normal. But, you see, that never required me to think of a heterosexual couple as being in any way unnatural or abnormal. It wasn't until I saw this film that I had a reason to internally challenge the idea of a boy and a girl kissing each other, in and of itself, as being perfectly normal.
This, by the way, has been one major frustration I've had with people who oppose gay marriage. Some people have this bizarre idea stuck in their heads that you cannot accept and support both same-sex and opposite-sex marriages at the same time. I have encountered anti-gay rights advocates who insist that if gay couples are allowed to marry, it will only be a matter of time before the government outlaws straight marriages. I can't even ... There is no amount of mental effort that will enable me to process that.
Last October, there was a Deadline Hollywood article about the upcoming feature film. In the article's "Comments" section, some idiot wrote, "This movie's premise sounds pretty mych like the end-goal of the pro-gay movement ..." ...
... Anyway ...
When I looked up the YouTube account for the film's creator, Kim Rocco Shields, I found a few interesting videos relating to the film :
Here is a video from 2011, a Behind-The-Scenes look at the making of the original short film.
"Love Is All You Need - Viral Reception" explores the reactions to the film. It includes a particularly touching message from a young bisexual girl who said that watching the film helped her greatly.
There is also mention of a Florida teacher named Jeremy Rhoden, who set off a firestorm of controversy when he showed "Love Is All You Need?" to his students. Parents and clergy condemned the film as "anti-Christian" and said that it was "promoting sodomy" and "indoctrinating students." Here is a very insightful analysis of that controversy, with an interesting statement of how the power and influence of the homophobic establishment is collapsing.
(There were also some people who supported the film's message, but felt that the film was simply too graphic to show to young students. I have to admit, I am not unsympathetic to this point of view.)
Finally, and perhaps most significantly at the moment, this video briefly describes the effort to turn "Love Is All You Need?" into a feature film.
According to their website, the film will take the story of Ashley from the original short film and combine it with two others :
(1) Eleven-year-old Ashley Curtis is kicked off of her school football team when she is "outed" as a heterosexual.
(2) Jude Klein, a female All-American college quarterback, has a clandestine relationship with Ryan Morris, a young male journalist.
(3) Rachel Duncan, a virulently heterophobic preacher, learns of Jude and Ryan's love affair and sets out on a crusade to condemn "breeders" as sinners.
(I had hoped that Lexi DiBenedetto might reprise her role as Ashley, but I was afraid that she'd be too old by now. I remember reading that she does appear in the film in a different role, though.)
I was particularly intrigued by a few of the publicity photos from the film, including one of an office with "Hetero Alliance" printed on the door, and a group of activists holding a sign that read "Human Rights For All." The short film itself indicated that heterosexual rights activists use a pink-and-blue banner as an emblem, apparently their equivalent of the gay rights activists' rainbow banner. It's going to be very interesting to see how this "Hetero Alliance" mirrors the real world's gay rights activists.
A small observation : The short film implied that the Netherlands was the first country in this alternate world to legalize heterosexual marriage. In the real world, the Netherlands actually does hold the distinction of being the first country to extend legal recognition to same-sex marriages (in April of 2001).
I wonder what kind of rhetoric the anti-heterosexual advocates in this fictional world would use, apart from all of the usual stuff like, "It is contrary to the will of God," "It's unnatural and perverse," "It goes against thousands of years of tradition," etc.
If I was a writer for a film like this, I would probably have the characters preach about how same-sex couples have a "harmony" that a heterosexual relationship could not have. The idea being that two men, or two women, would have similarities of mind and heart, shared life experiences that they could bond over, in a way that a man would never be able to do with a woman, and vice versa. Instead of saying that children need both a father and a mother, the "think of the children" argument would take the form of people insisting that it's harmful to a child to grow up in a home where the parents' relationship is forever mired in discord, compared to the bond of harmony that a couple of the same sex could have.
... Not that I personally believe any of that, you understand. I'm just imagining what I would do as a writer of this alternate world. And we know, of course, that ultimately, those statements about "harmony" in the marriage wouldn't really be what the argument is all about.
A few years ago, a dear friend of mine drew an editorial cartoon for her college's student newspaper, which broke down the arguments for and against same-sex marriage to their most fundamental tenets :
Back in 2011, a filmmaker named Kim Rocco Shields created a short 20-minute film titled "Love Is All You Need?" It was an "anti-bullying" film that was specifically made in response to several stories in the news about gay and lesbian teenagers who were driven to suicide by the relentless harassment of their peers, and even their own families.
The film is set in an alternate reality in which same-sex attraction and relationships are the norm, and those who are attracted to the opposite sex are persecuted, their relationships condemned as unnatural. A young girl named Ashley Curtis is growing up in a picture-perfect, All-American family, with two loving mothers and a younger brother ... but Ashley is secretly a closeted heterosexual, with a crush on a male classmate named Ian. As the film unfolds, Ashley struggles with her own identity and forbidden feelings, while faced with a community, a school, and even a family that are gripped by rampant heterophobia.
(Now, if you've never seen this film, and would like to do so without any spoilers, then I suggest you watch it now, before reading any further.
"Love Is All You Need?"
I feel the need to warn you ... The film is graphic and unsettling. It was intended as such.)
The short film went viral, accumulating over 30 million views on YouTube and Facebook. It won several film awards, was translated into 15 different languages, and has been used by schools as an anti-bullying tool. Last year, the film's creator obtained funding to turn it into a feature-length film.
I have not been able to find any information on the feature film's release date, only that it is expected to be in theaters this year. From what I've read, they completed filming in late 2014, and their Facebook page has an entry (dated April 24) saying they were working hard in post-production. I was thinking that the theatrical release would have been very timely in the next month or so, since the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on Obergefell vs. Hodges in late June. Marriage equality advocates are hoping that Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court's "swing vote," will side with the four liberal justices (Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan) to rule that the 14th Amendment gives same-sex couples a Constitutional right to get married.
I am looking forward to the release of the feature film. The original short film was, to me, a very insightful and touching look into what gay and lesbian teenagers have to endure every single day.
Imagine, as a straight person, being in a world where you were only allowed to have a relationship with somebody of the same gender. Imagine being forced to hide any feelings you have for a member of the opposite sex, being unable to act on the love you have for them without being persecuted, harassed, threatened, assaulted ... I had, of course, heard this argument before, and I had always agreed with it, but it wasn't until I actually saw it playing out (albeit in a dramatized form), witnessing an innocent girl being condemned just for wanting to be with the boy she likes, that I really started to understand. Even now, I cannot claim to really know what same-sex couples must endure, having never experienced it myself.
For a long time, I had believed that I was as understanding of the trials that gays and lesbians face as any straight person could be, but watching "Love Is All You Need?" made me realize how deeply ingrained my own heteronormative mindset was :
In the climax of the film, Ashley and Ian's relationship is exposed to their classmates - ironically, just as he was breaking up with her ... and Ashley was asking him for one last kiss, because she didn't know when she would ever get to kiss a boy again ... Just about broke my heart.
In a moment of panic, Ian tries to convince everybody that he isn't heterosexual by accusing Ashley of always trying to touch and kiss him when he was just trying to be nice to her.
"That's the problem. You can't 'be nice' to heteros." ... Sound familiar?
Ashley tries to run, but is soon caught and confronted by her now ex-boyfriend's older brother, who menacingly says, "So, this is the little queerbait who tried to hold my brother's hand." At this point, I had to pause the video because it was actually becoming too counterintuitive for me to clearly follow. I took a moment to mentally picture a gay boy, in real life, being betrayed by his boyfriend in this manner, and then threatened by the boyfriend's older brother. Once I had that in mind, it was much easier to follow what was happening in the film.
"So, this is the little queerbait who tried to hold my brother's hand."
"He wanted me to."
"No, he didn't! You forced him!"
It's easy to imagine this happening to a gay boy. But it required a mental effort for me to process it being said of a straight girl.
I have always been willing to accept the idea of a same-sex couple as being perfectly natural and normal. But, you see, that never required me to think of a heterosexual couple as being in any way unnatural or abnormal. It wasn't until I saw this film that I had a reason to internally challenge the idea of a boy and a girl kissing each other, in and of itself, as being perfectly normal.
This, by the way, has been one major frustration I've had with people who oppose gay marriage. Some people have this bizarre idea stuck in their heads that you cannot accept and support both same-sex and opposite-sex marriages at the same time. I have encountered anti-gay rights advocates who insist that if gay couples are allowed to marry, it will only be a matter of time before the government outlaws straight marriages. I can't even ... There is no amount of mental effort that will enable me to process that.
Last October, there was a Deadline Hollywood article about the upcoming feature film. In the article's "Comments" section, some idiot wrote, "This movie's premise sounds pretty mych like the end-goal of the pro-gay movement ..." ...
... Anyway ...
When I looked up the YouTube account for the film's creator, Kim Rocco Shields, I found a few interesting videos relating to the film :
Here is a video from 2011, a Behind-The-Scenes look at the making of the original short film.
"Love Is All You Need - Viral Reception" explores the reactions to the film. It includes a particularly touching message from a young bisexual girl who said that watching the film helped her greatly.
There is also mention of a Florida teacher named Jeremy Rhoden, who set off a firestorm of controversy when he showed "Love Is All You Need?" to his students. Parents and clergy condemned the film as "anti-Christian" and said that it was "promoting sodomy" and "indoctrinating students." Here is a very insightful analysis of that controversy, with an interesting statement of how the power and influence of the homophobic establishment is collapsing.
(There were also some people who supported the film's message, but felt that the film was simply too graphic to show to young students. I have to admit, I am not unsympathetic to this point of view.)
Finally, and perhaps most significantly at the moment, this video briefly describes the effort to turn "Love Is All You Need?" into a feature film.
According to their website, the film will take the story of Ashley from the original short film and combine it with two others :
(1) Eleven-year-old Ashley Curtis is kicked off of her school football team when she is "outed" as a heterosexual.
(2) Jude Klein, a female All-American college quarterback, has a clandestine relationship with Ryan Morris, a young male journalist.
(3) Rachel Duncan, a virulently heterophobic preacher, learns of Jude and Ryan's love affair and sets out on a crusade to condemn "breeders" as sinners.
(I had hoped that Lexi DiBenedetto might reprise her role as Ashley, but I was afraid that she'd be too old by now. I remember reading that she does appear in the film in a different role, though.)
I was particularly intrigued by a few of the publicity photos from the film, including one of an office with "Hetero Alliance" printed on the door, and a group of activists holding a sign that read "Human Rights For All." The short film itself indicated that heterosexual rights activists use a pink-and-blue banner as an emblem, apparently their equivalent of the gay rights activists' rainbow banner. It's going to be very interesting to see how this "Hetero Alliance" mirrors the real world's gay rights activists.
A small observation : The short film implied that the Netherlands was the first country in this alternate world to legalize heterosexual marriage. In the real world, the Netherlands actually does hold the distinction of being the first country to extend legal recognition to same-sex marriages (in April of 2001).
I wonder what kind of rhetoric the anti-heterosexual advocates in this fictional world would use, apart from all of the usual stuff like, "It is contrary to the will of God," "It's unnatural and perverse," "It goes against thousands of years of tradition," etc.
If I was a writer for a film like this, I would probably have the characters preach about how same-sex couples have a "harmony" that a heterosexual relationship could not have. The idea being that two men, or two women, would have similarities of mind and heart, shared life experiences that they could bond over, in a way that a man would never be able to do with a woman, and vice versa. Instead of saying that children need both a father and a mother, the "think of the children" argument would take the form of people insisting that it's harmful to a child to grow up in a home where the parents' relationship is forever mired in discord, compared to the bond of harmony that a couple of the same sex could have.
... Not that I personally believe any of that, you understand. I'm just imagining what I would do as a writer of this alternate world. And we know, of course, that ultimately, those statements about "harmony" in the marriage wouldn't really be what the argument is all about.
A few years ago, a dear friend of mine drew an editorial cartoon for her college's student newspaper, which broke down the arguments for and against same-sex marriage to their most fundamental tenets :
Central argument in favor of gay marriage :
LGBT Americans are entitled to have the same rights and privileges as do all Americans.
Central argument opposing gay marriage :
It's icky.
LGBT Americans are entitled to have the same rights and privileges as do all Americans.
Central argument opposing gay marriage :
It's icky.
Comment