Subject: MEDIAlert! - for 30 Nov. 96
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 1 Dec 1996 05:09:26 -0500

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INDEX:  "MEDIAlert!" for 30 Nov. 1996

-ITEM 1: "Thanks For Trying" [ABC; Roseanne; PFLAG; GLAAD].

-ITEM 2: "Critical Condition" [TV Guide; The Couch Critic; Millennium; Fox
Entertainment Group].

-ITEM 3: "(Un)Becoming Attractions" [20th Century Fox; Change of Heart;
Variety].

-ITEM 4: "The Net Stalker" [Reuters; Chicago Sun-Times; London Daily Herald;
Adrian McLeish].

-ITEM 5: "Media/Briefs" [HateWatch; Bravo; We Think the World of You; Robert
Bray; S.P.I.N.; Making Peace Action Campaign; PBS; Bill of Rights Day;
GRANITE; Gugerell's Media Lists].

-GENERAL INFORMATION [about "MEDIAlerts"].
----------------------------------------------------------------

M   E   D   I   A    l    e    r    t    !
_____________________________

November 16 - 30,      Al Kielwasser

[1]

T H A N K S  F O R  T R Y I N G

"Roseanne's" Thanksgiving show (ABC, Nov. 26) featured several lesbian/gay
themes.  As always, the series' intentions were good, but some actions were
more successful than others.

Set amidst another dysfunctional family feud at The Conner home, this episode
included recurring gay characters "Leon" and "Scott."  During the course of
their holiday meal, the gay couple announce plans to adopt a child.
 "Roseanne's" mother -- "Bev" -- responds with homophobic horror, a situation
that allowed script writers to skillfully poke holes in the hateful (real
life) rhetoric surrounding gays and children.

"Well, I'm appalled,"  Bev cries.  "The very idea...  I read somewhere that
this is how THEY recruit...  They have to adopt to freshen their ranks."  To
which Roseanne replies:  "Hey mom, after dinner why don't you and I just
march into Austria."

Throughout the episode, Bev continues spouting off:  "It's true -- look it up
-- 73% of all children raised by homosexuals turn into choreographers."  The
plot eventually twists, however, as Bev reveals her OWN lesbian leanings:
 "To sleep with a man is to know how much you hate them...."

Things with her husband became so bad, Bev finally blurts, that she couldn't
have sex with at all -- unless "I stalked off to the store and bought a
Playboy first!"  At that, the ever-laconic "Darlene" observes:  "I think
Grandma just outed herself."

The sitcom family's initial surprise turned quickly to SUPPORT -- a turn that
Nancy McDonald, president of the 65,000-member PFLAG (Parents, Families and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays), has applauded.  "'Roseanne's' Thanksgiving
show sends the message that gay people, along with pregnant daughters,
eccentric grandmothers and over-organizing sons-in-law, make up the fabric of
our families," McDonald said.  "The families and friends of lesbian, gay and
bisexual people are particularly pleased that Roseanne chose a holiday
episode to showcase these issues, since many people choose this time of year
to come out to their families. Roseanne's fictional example could ease
tensions and facilitate discussion at real-life dinner tables across the
country."

Well said, and true enough.  However, Bev's inadvertent outing also reflects
a common problem with mainstream attempts to "inject" lesbian or gay
characters into the plot.  Often, such characters have been established --
over many years -- as patently heterosexual.  Their "coming out" is primarily
played for shock value, and the easy laugh.

Comic "surprise" outings typically have NOT lead to the evolution of
well-developed lesbian or gay characters.  Instead, these characters -- when
they continue to play a part at all -- are usually portrayed without sex
lives, romantic relationships or other community ties.  Such characters are
disconnected from any larger queer culture, and appear fundamentally unaware
of the political dimensions of their own oppression.  They represent, to
borrow a phrase from TV critic William Henry, "a homosexual without a
context."

The image presented in these cases is not so much one of empowered
homosexuality, but of the "straight gay."  That media image is pathetically
incarnated in real life, as researcher Larry Gross points out, by those who
internalize their oppression and are assimilated or "colonized" by the
dominant culture.

As noted, the intent of "Roseanne" (the show) is obviously NOT homophobic.
 However, it CAN BE heterosexist.  With regard to "Bev," it is significant
that Roseanne (the star) would choose to out this character, in this way, BUT
has refused to out her sister's character or any of the Conner children.
 When asked about the possibility of outing son "DJ," for example, Roseanne
declined -- claiming it would be unfair to the young actor playing the role.

A more "reasonable" outing would have done more to combat homophobia and
heterosexism in the long run than any final-season, closet-creaking,
slapstick shocker.  Ultimately, the success of "Roseanne's" Thanksgiving is
in its portrayal of Bev as a HOMOPHOBE -- not Bev as a HOMOSEXUAL.

"Roseanne's" Nielsen successes seem to be falling as well.  According to
"Variety" (Nov. 14), "at the halfway mark of the November sweeps," the series
has "hit new lows in the ratings race."

* * * *  ACTION ALERT!:   Though "Roseanne" is in its final season,
encouraging -- and instructive -- comments should still be sent to:  Jamie
Tarses, President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, tel.
310-557-7777, fax 310-557-7679, e-mail [email-masked];  Dan Palladino,
Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, Executive Producers, "Roseanne," Carsey-Werner
Productions, 4024 Radford Avenue, Building 3, Studio City, CA 91604, fax
818-760-5882.

Like PFLAG, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (self-identified
"lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay multimedia
watchdog organization") also praised "Roseanne."  Unlike PFLAG, however,
GLAAD utterly gushed -- to the point of critical INcredibility.  On the
evening of the broadcast, GLAAD declared:  "Tonight, American television has
been enriched by one more lesbian character....  The show pointed out the
frustrations and pain Beverly felt living life in the closet and the
challenge of coming out to one's family regardless of age."

These things the script simply did NOT do.  Perhaps GLAAD's critical
perception has been dulled by the organization's coziness (financial and
otherwise) with Roseanne.  Contact:  William Waybourn, Managing Director, Gay
& Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 640,
Washington, DC 20009, tel. 800-429-6334 or 202-986-1360, fax 202-667-0902,
e-mail [email-masked] or [email-masked],  http://www.glaad.org.

[William Henry's criticism can be found in "That Certain Summer," Channels,
April 1987; for Larry Gross' views, see "Out of the Mainstream:  Sexual
Minorities and the Mass Media," in Gay People, Sex and the Media (pp. 19-46).
Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press].

[2]

C R I T I C A L  C O N D I T I O N

Preceded by some $10 million in promotional hype, last month's (Oct. 25)
debut of "Millennium" was a case study in cheap cliche.  The premiere episode
featured various homosexual horrors, including a gratuitously gay
psycho-killer...  "confused about his sexuality."

As the initial hype recedes, the series has become grist for a debate between
critics of "smut and violence" and the defenders of "bold TV."  Missing from
this on-going debate is any concern for, or even cognizance of, BLATANT
homophobia.

Typical of the trend is a "TV Guide" (Nov. 16-22) cover story, which asks:
 "Is 'Millennium' Bold TV, or Does It Go Too Far?"  The "controversial"
series is examined in a six-page feature story AND a separate review column,
which both give ample attention to the much-hyped premiere episode.  The
question of anti-gay defamation is never raised, however.  Apparently "too
far" is a measure of generic violence and graphic horror -- EXCLUDING the
particular hate of homophobia.

"TV Guide" critic Jeff Jarvis begins his column ("The Couch Critic") with
unwitting irony. "Unless I'm missing something," Jarvis says, "'Millennium'
is just another murder mystery."  Though he references the premiere several
times, Jarvis COMPLETELY misses the show's strident homophobia.  As he sees
it, the series plot is "just cops and killer" -- "the good guy" and "some
sicko."

Never mind if a script reserves heterosexuality for the good guys.  And
leaves all of the killing to homosexual sickos.

In his longer feature ("Heart of Darkness"), staff writer Mark Schwed fares
no better than Jarvis.  Once again, the article's opening line is ironically
telling  A subtitle warns readers to:  "Be afraid...  'Millennium,' the
season's hottest new drama, is designed to tap into your worst nightmares."

According to Schwed, the series premiered "with the highest debut Nielsen
rating for any show in Fox history."  "Twenty-one percent of the TV sets that
were on in America were tuned to 'Millennium's' first episode," says Schwed.
 "Obviously, quite a few people were lured to the dark side...."

In sampling some of the "issues... being debated" after the pilot aired,
Schwed manages to report only the most vapid and unrevealing:  "'This is
going to be on TV?,' said one... observer.  'I think it's great,' said
another."  For the most part, Schwed simply cites industry boosters,
including the newly-appointed president of Fox Entertainment, Peter Roth.

"Yeah, we've gotten some calls from people who find it a little rough," says
Roth, "But we've gotten an equal number of calls from those who feel it is
terrific television.  I count myself as one of those."

Schwed also interviews (at length) "Millennium" writer-producer Chris Carter,
who "has no qualms about sharing his paranoid and sometimes violent vision of
the world with TV audiences."  "It is irresponsible to just set out to tell
sweet stories because I think it is Pollyanna-ish and it dies a disservice to
the audience," Carter says.  "It is our responsibility -- our OBLIGATION --
to show just how bad it can be."

How could homophobia be of service to the 17.1 million viewers of
"Millennium's" debut?  If Carter has any qualms about sharing that defamatory
vision, "TV Guide" isn't interested.

Carter does not bother to defend -- let alone acknowledge -- his show's
anti-gay slant, and why should he?  No one is asking.  "TV Guide" and other
media pundits are seldom critical -- but unusually silent -- when homophobia
"goes too far."

* * * *  ACTION ALERT!:   Urge media columnists and creators to become alert
to -- and critical of -- homophobic portrayals; it is "their responsibility
-- their OBLIGATION -- to show just how bad it can be."  Send feedback to:
 Jack Curry (Managing Editor), Jeff Jarvis (Critic), and Mark Schwed (Los
Angeles Bureau), "TV Guide," Radnor, PA 19088, http://www.tvguide.com;  Peter
Roth, President, Fox Entertainment Group, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA
90123, tel. 310-277-2211, fax 310-369-1433, e-mail [email-masked].

[For additional background on "Millennium's" homophobic premiere, see:
 "Shlocky Horror Picture Show," MEDIAlert!, Oct. 31].

[3]

( B E ) C O M I N G   A T T R A C T I O N S

Twentieth Century Fox is currently developing a lesbian-themed movie, "Change
of Heart."  According to "Variety"  reporter John Brodie (Nov. 12), the new
project is "...a romantic comedy about a Manhattan lawyer who woos an old
college crush not knowing that she has become a lesbian.  The woman
encourages his attentions, however, because she and her partner are shopping
for a surrogate father."

Whatever the intent, "becoming lesbian" is still an unfortunate phrase in the
mainstream press; it plays needlessly to homophobic notions of recruitment
("she became homosexual after watching Ellen") and cure ("but thanks to Pat
Robertson, she's become normal again...").  In wooing lesbians, what straight
men are "not knowing" is how heterosexist they have become.

* * * *  ACTION ALERT!:   Suggestions regarding unbecoming style can be sent
to Peter Bart, Editorial Director, "Variety," 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los
Angeles, CA 90036, tel. 213-857-6600, fax 213-857-0742.  Direct any comments
for 20th Century Fox to P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, tel.
310-277-2211.

[4]

T H E  N E T  S T A L K E R

An English priest "who sexually abused young boys while exchanging
pornographic materials with a pedophile ring on the Internet" ("Chicago
Sun-Times," Nov. 13) was recently sentenced to six years in jail.  While
managing to avoid the stereotypical conflation of homosexuality and
pedophilia, news accounts of the case nevertheless pandered to a rising fear
of the "information superhighway."  Popularized by an almost-hysterical
media, this fear has fueled the sex-negative, pro-censorship and anti-child
attitudes behind a host of profitable Internet "blocking" and on-line
"protection" services.

Focusing on the technology of molestation,  London's "Daily Telegraph" (Nov.
13) reported that "the Rev. Adrian McLeish, 45, lured victims from
churchgoing families and.... related accounts of his conquests through the
Internet and built up a library of computer discs containing 11,000 images."
 Reuters (Nov. 12) also reported that McLeish had :  "amassed a huge
pornographic collection of indecent pictures of boys on his four computers.
 The haul of pornography was the largest ever in Britain concerning the
Internet."  According to Reuters, "prosecution lawyer Beatrice Bolting said
it established a link between child abuse and the display of lewd material on
the worldwide web."  

From the Chicago to the London, newspapers dutifully quoted Bolting's claim
that:  "there is a proved inextricable link between communications of a
pornographic nature on the Internet with other pedophiles and the actual
sexual abuse of young children."

Of course, one criminal case is hardly proof of any "inextricable" scientific
correlation; such simplistic sound bites merely continue a rush to blame
"Internet porn" for all manner of ills.  Yet, none of the news accounts asked
Bolting to explain or otherwise defend her claim.  

Claims made by homophobes -- purporting every fiction from "special rights"
to "child recruitment" -- are routinely given similar treatment in the
mainstream press.  Attribution is not a substitute for investigation,
however, and journalists could at least ask a few simple questions beyond
their quotes.  The quality of accuracy is not limited to accurately reporting
misinformation.

* * * *  ACTION ALERT!:   Comments can be sent to:  Chicago Sun-Times, 401 N.
Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, tel. 312-321-3000, fax 312-321-2120, e-mail
[email-masked], http://www.suntimes.com;  Reuters America, 1700
Broadway, New York, NY 10019, tel. 212-603-3401.

While the media continue to fixate on "net stalking" and "cyber porn," there
are a wide range of other significant issues involving children and the
Internet that continue to remain largely ignored and under-reported.  The
commercialism Of children's on-line services is one of the subjects studied
by the Center for Media Education (1511 K Street NW, Suite 518, Washington,
DC 20005, tel. 202-628-2620, fax 202-628-2554, e-mail [email-masked]);
 a broader youth agenda is also outlined in "America's Children & The
Information Superhighway," a report available from The Children's Partnership
(1460 4th Street, Suite 306, Santa Monica, CA 90401, tel. 310-260-1921,
e-mail [email-masked]).

[Though he omits any specific concern for lesbian and gay youth, media critic
Jon Katz has been one of the few to argue for "kid's cyber rights" (and
against the thoughtless proliferation of, and adulation for, "blocking"
software); for details, see his article "The Rights of Kids in the Digital
Age," Wired, July 1996.  For a general overview of differing conceptions of
journalistic "objectivity," see "Morality & The Media:  Ethics in Mass
Communication" (pp. 329-364), in Mediamerica/Mediaworld. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth].

[5]

M E D I A l  e  r  t  !  /  B R I E F S

***  CYBER HATE . . .    Tracking misinformation on the superhighway,
HateWatch [http://hatewatch.org] monitors a "growing and evolving threat of
hate group activity on the Internet... and provides on-line resources for
concerned individuals, academics, organizations and the media to keep abreast
of and counteract hate activity in our world."  This discursive web site also
serves as "a forum for people to engage in substantive debate about a variety
of issues related to the spread of hate on the Internet."

***  MEDIUM RARE . . .    In late November, the Bravo cable channel reprised
a 1988 theatrical release "We Think the World of You."  Set in 1950s London,
the film's plot involves a middle-aged gay man (played by Alan Bates) and his
imprisoned bisexual boyfriend (Gary Oldman).  "Facets Gay & Lesbian Video
Guide" describes the movie as "a work of subtle gestures about the
consequences of unrequited love," and -- as one fan points out -- it's "worth
seeing if only for the all-too-rare media portrayals of older homosexuals."

Contact:  Bravo, 150 Crossways Park West, Woodbury, NY 11797, tel.
516-364-2222.

***  SPIN HEAD . . .    Long-time media activist Robert Bray is leaving the
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) to join the Institute For
Alternative Journalism, where he will head up the Strategic Progressive
Information Network -- S.P.I.N. -- starting this January.  Bray's new
campaign will provide "media trainings to progressive activists from a
variety of social change movements around the country, and organize
progressive public relations operatives into a media information network."
 IAJ is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting critical awareness
about media and advocating for diversity in journalism.

Contact:  Robert Bray (tel. 415-552-6448, e-mail [email-masked]) or Don
Hazen, Executive Director, IAJ, 77 Federal Street, San Francisco, CA 94107,
tel. 415-284-1420, fax 415-284-1414, e-mail [email-masked],
 http://www.alternet.org/an/.

***  THE ACTION OF PEACE . . .    Between January and March of next year, PBS
stations will broadcast a four-part "Making Peace" series.  From the
perspective of grassroots activism, these hour-long programs will examine
"youth empowerment, domestic violence, racism, community reclamation
projects, rape, urban schooling, gang violence, and a number of other
topics." 

A national anti-violence project, the Making Peace Action Campaign (MPAC), is
currently offering free videocassettes of the series (along with workshop
leaders' guides) to "any group that wishes to use these videos for local
anti-violence efforts."  MPAC hopes to spark community discussions about
violence prevention to coincide with local broadcasts of the "Making Peace"
series.  According to organizers, the broader goal is "to encourage the use
of media as a tool for social change...  not simply a means of
profit-making."

For a piece of the action, and more information, call MPAC at 510-540-8597 or
e-mail [email-masked] (include your name, organization name if
applicable, postal address, and telephone number).

***  THE RIGHTS STUFF . . .    The ACLU Foundation of Northern California's
"Annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration" takes place on December 15, in San
Francisco.  Paying tribute to civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, the theme
of this year's event is "Viva La Justicia!"  The celebration also features
submissions from high school students in a "Freedom of Expression" art show;
over 75 works of art celebrating free speech in the 90's will be exhibited.

Contact:  Nancy Otto, Director, First Amendment Education Project, ACLU, 1663
Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-621-2493, e-mail
[email-masked].

***  FEMALE / E-MAIL . . .    An e-mail list for those "who want to share
experiences and opinions with a worldwide network of researchers on gender
and new information and communication technologies" has been launched by
GRANITE.  Primarily intended for discussions from "a feminist/women's studies
perspective," the list is open to everyone and all points of view are
welcome.  To subscribe, send a message to [email-masked], with this
text in the BODY of the message (not in the SUBJECT heading):  subscribe
GRANITE your full name.

***  MASTER LIST. . .    Need a newspaper or radio station's E-MAIL address?
 If it exists, Peter Gugerell ([email-masked]) probably has it; check out
his continuously-updated, worldwide media lists
[http://www.gugerell.co.at/gugerell/media].

--------------------------------------------------------------

ABOUT MEDIALERTS

Distributed as a community press service since 1992, "MEDIAlert!" [TM]
(formerly the "GLAAD Media Watch") is a biweekly, advocacy-oriented column of
media criticism, primarily focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender
issues.  Recipients may print, publish or post this material, in whole or
part, under this or any title, without prior permission.  When appropriate,
attribution can be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "MEDIAlert!"  File copies
of publications using all or part of any "MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated
(and can be sent to the address below).

Next "MEDIAlert!"   =   December 1-15, 1996.

Contact:  A. Kielwasser, MEDIAction, 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA
94110-5835, voice-mail 415-826-5203,  fax 415-826-5203 (ext. 8), e-mail
[email-masked].

--------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHOR NOTES

Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York:
 Haworth Press).  His criticism and research have been published widely, in
both mainstream and academic publications (including the "Journal of American
Culture," "Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," and
"Critical Studies in Mass Communication"); he was twice elected Chair of the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.

______________________________________________

Shape the forces that shape our society . . .
challenge homophobia in and through the media.
_______________________________________________