Glee, Modern Family, A Single Man, Taking Woodstock, Pedro and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List are all among GLAAD’s nominees for things like Outstanding Film and Outstanding Drama Series. But missing from the list — which you can see in full here — is Kirby Dick’s Outrage, arguably 2009’s most riveting gay-oriented film, which based on our knowledge, meets the criteria of GLAAD’s Oustanding Film/Limited Release category. And yet it’s not there.
Then again, GLAAD is about positive representations of gays in the media, and Outrage was, by its very definition, about portraying gay politicians as terrible people. Which its subjects mostly are. (GLAAD is also about paying back its corporate sponsors; among them, ABC.)
But also, Outrage probably did more to encourage dialogue and debate about LGBTs today than, say, Little Ashes, which is nominated, in a cheap ploy to get Robert Pattinson to walk the red carpet at one of GLAAD’s New York, LA, or San Francisco awards show galas.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The GLAAD Media Awards are about elevating and promoting the fair, accurate and inclusive stories of LGBT issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and our pursuit of equality.
Outrage is a fine movie and an important one that focused attention on anti-LGBT politicians whose efforts put our community and our families in harm’s way. But the GLAAD Media Awards aren’t the Academy Awards, they are about highlighting media that move America by telling the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – not those who run from who they are.
The decision to come out as LGBT is an extremely personal one that benefits the individual and the people who know them. While there is certainly an argument that is made for speculating on the sexual orientation of anti-LGBT politicians in an effort to hold them accountable for the harms they inflict on our community, that sort of speculation doesn’t promote awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and thus does not fit the criteria for the GLAAD Media Awards.
damon459
Wait what ? I’m so confused by this site is this the bash everything gay site or a site about gay life or what? At least I’ve heard of Little Ashes I’ve never heard of this film Outrage so I don’t see how it got more people talking about LGBT issues? Who writes these blogs really I mean it seems like it’s written by some bitter bitchy queens with nothing better to do.
Tami
I have to rant about these awards. In what world is “Everybody’s Fine” a gay movie? And it’s not just that. Instead of nominating gay-themed movies, who could need the extra publicity, GLAAD sometimes prefers to nominate products that are “gay”, simply because it features a background character who happens to be gay (I’m talking about Greek).
And this may come off as wrong, but what is it about “Glee” that makes it gay. And I don’t want to hear stereotypical mumbo-jumbo, of how gays are into musicals and camp. Some gays in the community are into that, and I hate when all gay men are defined as lifetime-loving, musical obsessed fashionistas. To me, it’s as homophobic to generalize these stereotypes as it is to use a gay slur. “Glee” features a supporting gay character, but that is not enough. “Beautiful People”, “Queer as Folk”, “Will and Grace”, “The L Word”, “Exes and Ohs” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are gay-themed, even if I don’t like some of the aspects introduced in them. As long as we satisfy ourselves with crumbs, instead of asking for more, we’ll never have another series centered on the LGBT community.
Landon Bryce
GLAAD really needs to shut down. Not only did they subject us all to the Adam Lambert mess, but they nominated LZ Granderson the same year he wrote this:
“The 40th anniversary of Stonewall dominated Gay Pride celebrations around the country, and while that is certainly a significant moment that should be recognized, 40 years is nothing compared with the 400 blood-soaked years black people have been through in this country. There are stories some blacks lived through, stories others were told by their parents and stories that never had a chance to be told.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/16/granderson.obama.gays/index.html
So, trashing gay white men and the whole gay rights movement do not disqualify you from being praised with GLAAD’s highest honor. I feel the same about GLAAD as I did about the NAACP when they gave Isaiah Washington an Image Award for his anti-gay antics.
scott ny'er
yeah. i don’t see Glee as being gay. Maybe Bros and Sisters. That gay couple has more exposure and more storylines.
Mike in Asheville
@No.1 Damon459:
Outrage premiered at the New York Tribeca Film Festival last year and then had a limited release (typical for documentaries) in major cities. Perhaps you live in an area where is did not play.
Importantly, a few months ago, HBO was playing Outrage as one of its feature films, playing on the various HBO channels many times over. Its still on the HBO schedule but with less play time.
Per your own post, you know nothing about this film and yet you criticize Queerty about raising this issue? Maybe you should educate yourself about things before you leap into a rant about the way others view LGBT issues? Simply Google “Outrage” and you will find that this film was discussed on CNN, FOX, ABC. NBC, CBS, NPR and written about in the New York Times, Washington Post and many more. The discussions themselves became controversial as some news organization edited their media reports to exclude references of hypocritical homophobe closet cases named in the film. Obviously you missed the news but not the millions who watched it on HBO.
So, WTF GLAAD? A movie, directed/produced by a straight man, that exposes hypocritical closet case bigots who inflict their warped sense of morals on the LGBT community, and its not GLAAD enough? Dip shits.
Jeremiah
I’ve tried to be patient with GLAAD, but this is the last straw.
David Ehrenstein
“Outrage” has brought visicious closet queen Charlie Crist’s political career to a screeching halt.
It’s the sort of film that’s against everything GLAAD (a totally owned and operated subsidiary of ABC) crawls like a slime-covered slug across the floor for.
AndrewW
GLAAD is a political organization. Outrage touched their hearts, but not in a good way. Jarret Barrios is a politician.
alex
Most certainly, “Glee” deserves to be on the GLAAD list. It’s inclusion is not because “gays are into musicals and camp”. Instead, it features a central character who is gay. (Arguably, two other characters in the ensemble are bisexual.) The show also made did a remarkable job of having the character’s father support him as gay.
@Tami: I will give you a little leeway on the stereotypes on “Glee”. But, I’ll also point out that the show has systematically taken the stereotypes and shatters them. “Glee” is satire, after all. But, if you don’t watch the show, it would be easy (and understandable) to only see the stereotypes.
damon459
@Mike in Asheville: I guess your right I live in a small town in Montana but that fact is I know of Little Ashes so maybe GLAAD is trying to nominate shows/movies that reach even us gay hicks in the middle of nowhere rather then just limit release films I’m not trying to take sides but it does seem like some of these blogs are very high and mighty in their approach. Glaad isn’t perfect either but i’d rather see constructive criticism towards these organizations rather then the bitterness I see all to often in these blogs.
chris
@Landon Bryce:
Holy shit GLAAD is stupid. 40 years? Do they realise that gays have been persecuted since the rise of christianity around 2000 years ago? The only group of people who have faced discrimination longer than us is women.
stupid, stupid GLAAD. go away.
FakeName
@Tami: GLAAD sometimes prefers to nominate products that are “gay”, simply because it features a background character who happens to be gay (I’m talking about Greek).
Calvin is not a background character. He’s a secondary character who has had several storylines and three relationships in the course of the series.
FakeName
Queerty sez: Kirby Dick’s Outrage, arguably 2009’s most riveting gay-oriented film, which based on our knowledge, meets the criteria of GLAAD’s Oustanding Film/Limited Release category.
The film meets none of the criteria for the Outstanding Film/Limited Release category because it is a documentary and thus not eligible for it.
The requirements for the documentary category, found after about a minute of poking around GLAAD’s website, are: “Documentaries must either be televised in more than one local market, or be released theatrically. If released theatrically, film must be released by a recognized distribution company, and play for paid admission in Los Angeles for seven consecutive days. If televised, the broadcast date must be no more than two (2) years after the completion of the film.”
The general criteria for receiving a nomination are:
* Fair, Accurate and Inclusive Representations – Rather than portraying the LGBT community in broad stereotypes, the project deals with the characters or themes in a fair, accurate, and multi-dimensional manner. (This is different than a “positive role model.”) Inclusive means that the diversity of the LGBT community is represented. This includes economic, geographic, and political diversity, as well as people of color, seniors, differently abled people, etc.
* Boldness and Originality – The project breaks new ground by exploring LGBT subject matter in non-traditional ways and handles the LGBT content in a fresh and original manner. Is this project cutting-edge?
* Impact – The project impacts society in a significant way. Does this project dramatically increase the cultural dialogue about LGBT issues? Or, does this project reach an audience that is not regularly exposed to LGBT images and issues?
* Overall Quality – A project of extremely high quality adds impact and significance to the images and issues portrayed. Fair, accurate and inclusive images can sometimes be weakened when they are part of a poor-quality project.
I do not know if Outrage meets the category criteria. I have not seen the film and so cannot speak to whether it meets the general criteria, although if it’s an attack dog-style outing piece it may not be considered a “fair, accurate and inclusive representation”.
thyl
I wanna be nominated! Nimonate Me ! lolz
homo superior
HBO doesn’t qualify as “local distribution”?
Just watched it. A provocative film, not quite up GLAAD’s alley, if I know them at all.
FakeName
Since the documentary Be Like Others is nominated and from HBO, I assume that yes it does.
FakeName
I haven’t seen the film so I can’t speak to the specifics of GLAAD’s explanation, but it seems reasonable on its face.
Lady Ga-Gasp
GLAAD nailed my sentiments toward that nasty business of outing… perfectly.
homo superior
Re: GLAAD’s response.
As I said earlier, not really up their alley.
Andrew Sullivan said that HRC was the gay Rotary Club; well, GLAAD is a like a gay Chamber of Commerce employing the gay version of the Hays Code: Safe, boring and often chilling to artists doing important work.
I can’t think of anything more damning to the closet than exposing the hypocrisy and self-destruction of politicians who stay in it, as Outrage does. It’s not a pretty picture so GLAAD is not interested.
We should all realize how limiting and outdated GLAAD’s mission is in 2010. Ignore it, don’t give it money. No self-respecting artist should.
Maverick2012
@FakeName: I’m fairly certain Tami has not watched Glee or Greek extensively enough to critique them. His assertions that they do nothing for the gay community fall flat for any half-logical person who has watched the series. As soon as he said greek and glee did nothing for LGBT awareness I stopped reading.
alicia banks
and what do politico homohaters do other than speculate and slander homos???
shame!!!
this brave classic film deserved better!
alicia banks
eloquent fury
Bubba in TX
“But the GLAAD Media Awards…are about highlighting media that move America by telling the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – not those who run from who they are.”
IIRC, while most of the subjects in “Outrage” were closet-cases and alleged closet-cases, the movie also included interviews with openly gay politicians like former Arizona senator Jim Kolbe, who related that being outed, while painful at the time, turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him. How is that not “telling the stories of LGBT people”?
Something smells fishy here….
Rick Powell
GLAAD is not a political org in the sense that HRC is, and I don’t see how one can argue that it is. It’s not involved with electoral politics.
It’s a watchdog, advocacy and oddly, marketing group, often so tone-deaf as to be laughable. I believe institutionalizes political-correctness and its mission is outdated.
What we really need is a national lgbt arts advocacy and funding organization.
Brian
GLAAD is a political organization because Barrios is a politician. He wants to hold office (again) someday. So, he plays politics with our LGBT resources.
Rick Powell
@Brian: That’s an interesting take on it. So you’re saying he’s laying the groundwork for a future political career. OK, maybe.
But please point out what political work GLAAD is actually doing. Just because a politician is a member of an organization doesn’t mean that’s it’s de facto political, any more than Al Gore being on Apple’s board of directors makes Apple a political organization.
Actually, I’d like to know what important work GLAAD is doing at all that isn’t being done better by the gay media, bloggers and the msn.
Rick Powell
Countering the idea that Outrage actually does the outing, here’s what Chicago film critic Ray Pride has to say:
“[Director] Dick doesn’t reveal any names or behaviors that haven’t made it into the press in one form or another.”
Further:
“At the end of Outrage, there’s as much sadness and melancholy as outrage to go around: public lives spent in denial, supposedly productive lives spent in self-contempt, are a tragic spectacle.”
That last bit is probably why GLAAD wouldn’t touch Outrage. No tragic spectacles, please. Oh… unless it’s Brokeback Mountain.
Review here: http://www.mcnblogs.com/mcindie/archives/2010/01/dvds_passing_st.html
Brian
@Rick Powell: Barrios runs GLAAD. He’s the +$350,000-year President.
GLAAD used to make sense. Policing the media and highlighting bad behavior made some sense. Now, the Blogs and Gay Media can handle that. Recently, all GLAAD has done is embarrass us.
McShane
Coming out is “very personal”? Since when was homosexuality about hidding in the woodpile. With your brains presumably,GLAAD, hiow insulting and assinine.