Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 07:46:39 -0500 From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com MEDIA WATCH for January 13, 1995 BY Al Kielwasser, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter "SERVING" ISN'T SILENCED Next month (Feb. 6) -- and during a sweeps week, no less -- NBC will air the made-for-television movie "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story." Produced by Barbra Streisand, this biopic tells the true life story of a Colonel who was discharged from the U. S. military when she stated she was a lesbian. Glenn Close stars in the lead role, while actress Judy Davis plays her on-screen lover. A group calling itself the "Family Defense Fund" recently initiated a campaign to halt the showing of a lesbian kissing scene in "Serving in Silence." "Family Defense Fund" members were instructed to call the NBC Audience Response Line and demand that the network censor any visible signs of lesbian love. However, a number of lesbian/gay/bisexual community groups got wind of this attempt, and succeeded in sending a different message to NBC. The network received a rush of supportive calls and, as a result, NBC promised that it would not censor or edit the kiss. The importance of this victory shouldn't be underestimated. For the most part, television networks continue to insist that it's acceptable to show two people of the same sex killing -- but not kissing -- each other. Send comments to Warren Littlefield, President, NBC Entertainment, 3000 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, CA 91523, tel. 212-664-2333 (Audience Response Line). STRANGE NEW WORLDS, SAME OLD HOMOPHOBIA ? When the cult TV series first began in 1966, viewers of "Star Trek" were invited to "explore strange new worlds . . . to seek out new life and new civilizations . . . to boldly go where no man has gone before!" That message (minus the sexist language) also greeted viewers of the more-recent series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Before he died, the creator of both TV shows -- Gene Roddenberry -- boldly promised that lesbian, gay and bisexual characters would be a routine part of the "Star Trek" universe. Shortly before his death, Roddenberry met with the members of a lesbian/gay "Star Trek" fan club and told them that since racism was not tolerated in his 24th century world, neither would homophobia be acceptable; to that end, he hoped to include openly (and unmistakably) lesbian/gay main characters in future programs. Unfortunately, Roddenbery's death-bed wish has never been honored. To date, lesbians and gays have been conspicuously absent from the otherwise diverse world of "Star Trek." In a fantastic universe populated by everyone from Borg to Klingons, there are no queers to be found. However, this situation could change with the advent of the latest "Star Trek" spin-off, "Star Trek: Voyager." The new TV series premieres this month and perhaps -- at last -- this glaring (and galactic) case of homophobic omission will be corrected. Encourage the show's producers to finally go where no "Star Trek" series has gone before. Write to Rick Berman, Michael Pillar, and Jeri Taylor, producers, "Star Trek: Voyager," Paramount, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038, tel. 213-956-5951. PUBLIC HATE, PRIVATE LOVE The Jan. 10 broadcast of the news program "CBS This Morning" included an interview with conservative talk show host David Brudnoy, whose radio broadcasts are carried to dozens of states. Based in Boston, the top-rated Brudnoy recently revealed that he is both gay and HIV+. Paula Zahn, host of "CBS This Morning," conducted a remarkably shallow interview with Brudnoy (her old friend and former colleague). She asked uninformed questions about the homosexual "lifestyle" and failed to interrogate the possible contradictions between Brudnoy's political ideology and his sexual orientation. Brudnoy told Zahn that his decision to come out was not entirely a voluntary one. Because he considered his sexual orientation a "personal matter," he had refused to discuss it. Brudnoy's decision to come out was made only after he collapsed on-air with AIDS-related pneumonia. Zahn did ask Brudnoy what reaction he had received from fellow conservatives. He responded: "There's a very strong, almost an emotional overkill about hostility to the homosexual life, as it were. And yes I do believe the response I've gotten from people who are significant conservatives, friends of my mine across the land, Bill Buckley of 'National Review' . . . and a variety of other people . . . all responding with warmth and affection. So I think that people are more generous than their ideology might indicate. I think a lot of people ideologically stand with big postures -- 'Oh those homosexuals, etc., etc.' -- but when it comes right down to the personal, people are much more warm, much more generous. And I've had nothing but support . . . ." Despite the certain benefits that will arise from Brudnoy's new, gay visibility, his "logic" is extraordinary, and contemptible. In effect, Brudnoy -- a media professional who should know better -- is suggesting that public hate is irrelevant; let homophobes rant all they want out loud, as long as they say (or at least act like) they "love" you in private. Because he and William F. Buckley are private "friends," for example, Brudnoy excuses Buckley's public homophobia (among other atrocities, Buckley wrote an opinion piece for "The New York Times" in which he argued that people with HIV/AIDS should be forcibly tattooed). In fact, the individual byproducts of hate -- job discrimination, name-calling, bashing -- are fermented in collective expressions of homophobia. The impact of homophobia is widely-dispersed, and significantly inflated, when expressed through the mass media. We continue to count the suicides of too many young queers who -- not privy to William Buckley's private thoughts -- only heard what he said in public. Share your thoughts -- public or private -- with David Brudnoy, WBZ Radio, 1170 Soldiers Field, Boston, MA 02134, tel. 617-787-7000. Comments can also be directed to Paula Zahn, "CBS This Morning," CBS News, 524 W. 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, tel. 212-975-4321. MEDIA BRIEFS * Sporting Alternative . . . The Winter '94-95 issue of "The Women's Sports Connection" offers a thoughtful answer to the question "Is Homophobia an Issue for Women's Sports?" This quarterly tabloid "seeks to increase the visibility of women and girls in sports." For details, write to "Women's Sports Connection," P.O. Box 31580, S.F., CA 94131-0580. * A+ in English . . . The Sept. '94 issue of "English Journal" (a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English) includes "Literature Out of the Closet: Bringing Gay and Lesbian Texts and Subtexts Out in High School English." For info., contact "English Journal," NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801-1096, tel. 217-328-3870. * Sound Bites . . . Journalist Rex Wockner quotes actress Glenn Close on her kiss with Judy Davis (in "Serving in Silence"): "We were a little nervous but each time we did it we got less self-conscious. . . . During that scene with Judy, I had a revelation of what it's like to be gay. . . . I thought, 'It's kind of nice to kiss a woman.' " # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # WE MUST CONFRONT THE MEDIA'S HOMOPHOBIA IN ORDER TO CURE IT! TO NOTIFY GLAAD/SFBA OF ANY DEFAMATORY OR AFFIRMATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE CALL OUR 24-HOUR MEDIA WATCH HOTLINE AT 415-861-4588, OR WRITE TO "MEDIA WATCH," GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CHAPTER, 1360 MISSION STREET, SUITE 200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103; tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail GLAAD SFBA@AOL.COM. FOUNDED IN 1988, THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CHAPTER OF GLAAD IS A MEMBERSHIP-BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO CULTURAL ADVOCACY AND MEDIA ACTIVISM. GLAAD/SFBA PROMOTES THE FAIR, ACCURATE AND DIVERSE REPRESENTATION OF LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL LIVES IN ALL FORMS OF MASS MEDIA. ______________________________________ "MEDIA WATCH" is a weekly report that may be reprinted or posted without permission, provided that, when appropriate, attribution is made to Al Kielwasser and/or GLAAD-SFBA. We greatly appreciate copies of any publications that use all or part of the "MEDIA WATCH." Thank you for participating in GLAAD's vital work!