Subject: "MEDIAlert!" [B] - 08.11.97 (Media/Briefs & Web Watch)
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 02:44:19 -0400 (EDT)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX:  "MEDIAlert!" - 08.11.97  [Part "B" ONLY]

MEDIA/BRIEFS

-ITEM 1:  "Potential Tragedy"  [Avenue Pictures; ABC; Andrew Cunanan].
-ITEM 2:  "Lifetime Coverage" [ Lifetime; Any Mother's Son; TV Guide;
People].
-ITEM 3:  "It's A Crime"  [Inside Edition].
-ITEM 4:  "Rock and Souls"  [Marilyn Manson; Christian Coalition; AFA
Journal].

-ITEM 5:  WEB WATCH  [American Library Association; Great Sites for Kids &
Parents; YouthArts; Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere; Rainbow Youth
Links; Incite!; Oasis].

[Part "A" ("Fall Repeats," "Uninformed Opinion," and "Good People") posted
separately].
----------------------------------------------------------------------

M   E   D   I   A  l   e   r   t   !
__________________________

M  E  D  I  A  /   B  R  I  E  F  S

August 11, 1997   Al Kielwasser

[1]

***   POTENTIAL TRAGEDY . . . .    As news coverage subsides, the saga of
Andrew Cunanan has become fodder for the entertainment division.  According
to the Associated Press (July 30), ABC television has "jumped into
development on a movie about alleged serial killer Andrew Cunanan."  The wire
service further reports that, "The network has signed Avenue Pictures to
create a drama that will focus on the 27-year-old man characterized as a gay
gigolo by his own mother" (a claim Cunanan's mother now denies, faulting the
media for distortion of her words).

According to a spokesperson for the production company, Avenue Pictures is
already "concluding deals with people who have knowledge of the case."  "The
intention by all concerned is not to make a headline-exploiting movie," said
Cary Brokaw, company chairman.  "It's a complicated and tragic story that we
want to do justice by."

C o n t a c t :  Jamie Tarses, President, ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of
the Stars, Century City, CA 90067, e-mail [email-masked];  Cary Brokaw,
Chairperson, Avenue Pictures, tel. 310-442-2200.

[2]

***  LIFETIME COVERAGE . . .    Premiering on the Lifetime cable network
(August 11), "Any Mother's Son: The Dorothy Hajdys Story" has drawn mixed
reviews.  This fact-based movie centers on the murder of Hajdys' son, Allen
Schindler -- a gay sailor who was the victim of a particularly vicious hate
crime, and a subsequent cover-up by the Navy.  Schindler was beaten to death
by his shipmates in 1992.

On a scale of one to ten, "Any Mother's Son" scored a four from "TV Guide"
(August 9-15), which suggested that the movie attempts too little, too late.
 Making the claim that "TV has been confronting homophobia for years," critic
Susan Stewart found the plot predictable.  "We know just how this is going to
go," Stewart said.  "Ignorance ('Dig him up.  Do tests on him to show he
wasn't queer') gives way to wisdom, then catharsis, with much graveyard
weeping.  This might have been a cutting-edge drama -- five years ago."

Another popular periodical, "People" magazine, offered a more favorable
review.  Grading the film as a "B" effort overall, critic Terry Kelleher
applauded the portrayal of Hajdys' painstaking confrontation with homophobia
in herself and society.  "Dorothy's awakening is moving, and her anger is
powerful, perhaps all the more so for being overdue," said Kelleher, who
praised both the performance and the plot.  According to Kelleher, lead
actress Bonnie Bedelia's "emotionally honest performance avoids one-note
righteousness, and the film resists the temptation to transform a reflexively
homophobic, working-class mother into a smoothly sloganeering spokesperson
for gay rights."

Repeat broadcasts of "Any Mother's Son" are scheduled for August 14, 17, 23
and 31.  

C o n t a c t :  Lisa Nee, Program Director, Lifetime, 309 West 49th Street,
New York, NY 10019, tel. 212-424-7000, fax 212-957-4448, e-mail
[email-masked], web-site www.lifetimetv.com;  Jack Curry, Managing
Editor, "TV Guide," Radnor, PA 19088, web-site www.tvguide.com;  Carol
Wallace, Managing Editor, "People," Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center,
New York, NY 10020, fax 212-522-0794, e-mail [email-masked], web-site
www.people.com.

[3]

***  IT'S A CRIME . . . .    Producers of the popular TV news-magazine
"Inside Edition" apparently think that lesbianism is akin to a dirty toilet
-- both can be "cruel and unusual punishment."  During a segment about one
woman's imprisonment in a Bangladesh jail (August 5), the announcer lamented
that, for five years:  "She witnessed rampant lesbianism and endured a lack
of sanitation."

C o n t a c t :  "Inside Edition," King World Productions, 1700 Broadway, Fl.
33, New York, NY 10019, tel. 212-315-4000, web-site www.kingworld.com.

[4]

***  ROCK AND SOULS . . . .    The latest "media devil" for the
fundamentalist set seems to be singer Marilyn Manson.  Manson's unorthodox
music has been attacked for advocating everything from bisexuality to
suicide.

Among Manson's detractors is Al Menconi, the president of Menconi Ministries
-- a self-described "Christian Ministry whose mission is to educate and equip
Christian parents, leaders and youth to consider the values communicated in
their entertainment -- especially today's music."  In a recent column for the
"AFA Journal" (August, 1997), Menconi says of Manson:  "This popular
drug-using, bisexual rocker is one of the most demented artists to hit the
scene in the history of rock music."

Unlike many of his colleagues in censorship, Menconi has at least listened to
Manson's music -- and even went to one of his concerts to witness the
depravity first-hand.  "I couldn't believe how shocked some of my Christian
friends were when they heard that I went to see Marilyn Manson," said
Menconi.  "Some of them even asked if I wasn't afraid of demon possession!"

Menconi further reported that "the concert was loud and profane, with many in
attendance cross-dressing just like their hero."  While the singer "did strip
down to a leather jock strap," he failed to offer any of the "animal
sacrifices" Menconi expected.

Manson is also the subject of a boycott supported by the American Family
Association and the Minnesota Christian Coalition.  These Right Wing groups
are advocating a campaign against the Best Buy Company, because the
nationwide retailer was one of several sponsors of "Ozzfest" -- a tour which
featured Marilyn Manson.  

"Best Buy's promotion of this hateful act is the moral equivalent of dealing
drugs to children," explained Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association.
 "The company doesn't deserve the patronage of families struggling to raise
children in difficult times."

C o n t a c t :  Al Menconi, President, Menconi Ministries, P.O. Box 5008,
San Marcos, CA 92069, tel. 619-591-4696;  Tim Wildmon, Vice-President,
American Family Association, P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel.
601-844-5036, fax 601-844-9176, web-site www.afa.net;  Richard M. Schulze,
Chairperson, Best Buy Co., P.O. Box 9312, Minneapolis, MN 55440-9312, tel.
612-947-2000, fax 612-947-2422;  Marilyn Manson/Interscope Records, e-mail
[email-masked], web-site www.interscoperecords.com.

[5]

W  E  B   W  A  T  C  H
_____________________

In an effort to calm parental fears about the Internet , the American Library
Association is distributing a guide to "Great Sites for Kids & Parents."
 Widely touted through the press, this list recommends some 50 web pages for
preschool and elementary-age children.  

Compiled by "librarians who work with children and are familiar with the
Internet and what it offers," the ALA's sites-to-see include such diverse
resources as:

*  "American Memory" --  a guide to primary documents and historical
materials 
available online from the Library of Congress
(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html).

*  "Black History:  Exploring African-American Issues on the Web" --  a
collection of "activities, lists of famous persons, and essays on Black
History Month and its importance, as well as links to a number of related
sites" (http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html).

*  "Children's Express" --  an award-winning news service, featuring stories
reported by and about young people (http://www.ce.org/).

Despite its broad scope, however, the guide fails to include any lesbian or
gay-specific sites.  Such an omission is not characteristic of the ALA, which
traditionally has supported gay and lesbian concerns.  Given the unique role
that the Internet can (and should) play in the lives of queer and questioning
youth, this oversight is all the more glaring.

Sites were selected for the ALA's list on the basis of their quality and
age-appropriateness, and "because they are fun to visit, entertaining and/or
educational."  According to the ALA, "they are also easy to navigate, have a
clearly identified source, and make effective use of the web to create a
unique interactive experience."

Surely, it should not be impossible for the ALA to identify similar web pages
by, for or about lesbian and gay youth.  A more-inclusive guide, for example,
might have listed such "great sites" as:

*  "!OutProud!"  --  a national coalition for gay, lesbian and bisexual youth
that provides online resources for youth as well as educators, including a
"Community Role Models" archive that depicts "gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender individuals throughout history and today who are making a
difference in the world" (http://www.outproud.org).

*  "COLAGE" --  a site representing Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere,
offering everything from "fun facts" to pen pal services, for children 5 and
up (http://www.colage.org).

*  "Rainbow Youth Links" --  a basic database for young lesbigays,
referencing such resources as "Cool Events" and "Personal Homepages"
(http://www.youthweb.com/rainbow).

*  "Incite!" --  an online organizing tool aimed at "California queer youth
and our allies," featuring a combination of activism-oriented chats, news,
actions, and school resources (http://www.incite.org).

*  "Oasis"  --  a "queer youth webzine," which has served thousands of
readers since its inception in 1995 and currently features over 35 regular
columnists, ages 14 and up (http://www.oasismag.com).

*  "AltKids Webpage" -- a site "filled with links and information for kids 
who are searching out their sexual orientation"
(http://www.afn.org/~afn6343/).

*  "YouthArts" --  an online "museum/library of the creative work of young
lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered, and questioning young people,"
which includes a singular and growing collection of poetry by African
American youth (http://queer.qcc.org/yap/).

While the first edition of ALA's guide does not include sites such as these,
the organization has indicated that its collection "will be updated and
expanded on an ongoing basis."

Based in Chicago, the American Library Association is dedicated to "promoting
the highest quality library and information services and public access to
information.  The association was a lead plaintiff in the recent Supreme
Court case that successfully struck down the "Communications Decency Act."

* * * *  ACTION  ALERT!   Remind the ALA to uphold its inclusive tradition
and  commitment to diversity; encourage publication an expanded guide to
"Great Sites for ALL Kids & Parents."  Contact:  American Library
Association, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611, tel. 800-545-2433, fax
312-944-8520, e-mail [email-masked] (general inquires/comments) or
[email-masked] (specific inquires/comments on web guides), web-site
www.ala.org.  A free copy of the current ALA guide can be obtained online
(www.ala.org/news/parented.html), or by calling 1-800-545-2433 (ext.
5044/5041).

[End of Part "B"]

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

ABOUT MEDIALERTS

Distributed continuously since 1992 as a community press service,
"MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly action and advocacy-oriented column of media
criticism, 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.  Contact:  MEDIAlert!,
163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203,
e-mail [email-masked].
--------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHOR NOTES

The editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York:  Haworth Press), Al
Kielwasser's media criticism and research have appeared widely in both
mainstream and academic publications; 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!"
________________________________________