Outrage (2009)

Director:

Kirby Dick

Writer:

Kirby Dick (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Do Ask. Do Tell.

Plot:

An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the U.S. |

Plot Keywords:

Anti Gay | Politician | Gay Politician | Gay Interest | Senator

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tony Kushner	...	Himself
Larry Kramer	...	Himself
Barney Frank	...	Himself
Andrew Sullivan	...	Himself
Neil Giuliano	...	Himself
Michelangelo Signorile	...	Himself
Jim Kolbe	...	Himself
Dina Matos McGreevey	...	Herself
Rodger McFarlane	...	Himself
David Rothenberg	...	Himself
Tammy Baldwin	...	Herself
Jose Antonio Vargas	...	Himself
James McGreevey	...	Himself
Michael Rogers	...	Himself
Hilary Rosen	...	Herself
Matthew Weissman	...	Himself
Dan Gurley	...	Himself
Tom Sheridan	...	Himself
Patrick Guerriero	...	Himself
Rich Tafel	...	Himself
Gary Cathey	...	Himself
Alexander Robinson	...	Himself
David Phillips	...	Himself
Frederick Hertz	...	Himself
Wayne Barrett	...	Himself
Larry Gross	...	Himself
Jim Hormel	...	Himself
John Byrne	...	Himself
David Catania	...	Himself
Elizabeth Birch	...	Herself
Kevin Naff	...	Himself
Steven Clemons	...	Himself
Kirk Fordham	...	Himself
Chris Bull	...	Himself
Bob Norman	...	Himself
Mark Cromer	...	Himself
Chris Bull	...	Himself
Dan Popkey	...	Himself

Also Known As:

The Glass Closet (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and sexual references.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45566)

Company:

Chain Camera Pictures

"There's a right to privacy, not to hypocrisy".

Kirby Dick's ("Twist of Faith", "This Film Is Not Yet Rated") new exposé is as revolting as it is provocative. Featuring interviews with journalists, activists, media personalities and the film subjects themselves, Kirby exposes all the hypocrisy behind closeted elected officials (Ed Koch, Larry Craig, Ed Schrock, Jim McCrery, David Dreier and Charlie Crist, among others) who lied their way into high office, claiming to be morally conservative family men while living a double life.

Naturally, the issue of "outing" these men is morally questionable – but as Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank (a former closeted official himself) says, "There's a right to privacy, not to hypocrisy". And hypocrisy is all there is, since once these men are in power, they shockingly, without exception, work against any and every gay right. Theories are discussed about what causes closeted gay men to join those who work against them, joining forces against what would technically be their "community". An interesting analysis goes way back to Roy Cohn and McCarthyism, and to the kid called a "fag" in school that will join the bully to save his own skin. As simplistic as this example sounds, it certainly has a lot of truth in it.

"Outrage" is a terrific documentary because it isn't one sided. It doesn't suggest that every closeted gay person is a hypocrite, and from a predominantly homosexual point of view (documentarians and interviewees), it's acknowledged how difficult the "coming out" process can be and how each person deserves to have their right to privacy respected. However, all citizens also should know what's behind their superiors' speeches, and the fact that these people are working against homosexuals as they lead double lives themselves is repulsing, heartbreaking, and most infuriating. It's one of the most incendiary, straightforward documentaries I've seen in a while, and I hope it gets enough exposure to provoke some serious discussions.

The so-called log cabin Republicans, elected officials or not, tend to put financial and professional reasons above anything else, and since they chose to live a life of lies, they don't care about the rights other people should be allowed to have. I know gay Republicans who will say "Oh, they make such a fuss about gay marriage and such... you can always live with someone, there's no need to have a paper to prove it", etc. Well, personally, I even agree with that in a way, since I don't think I will ever feel the need to legally marry myself (but I'd like to think that, if I change my mind, I will have the right to do it). But what about the concept of equality? Just because you don't care about it, don't you think John and Stuart should have the right to get married if they want to? I can be accused of being biased myself as I say this, that I'm generalizing all gay Republicans by saying this... which is true. But I firmly believe that what they tend to do is put anything that will benefit them professionally or financially above anything else, including the fight for equal rights and the respect for others. In doing that, they lose their own dignity, and if you support just one of these hypocritical officials, you're one of them.

This is a never-ending discussion, but an important one. It's a question of moral integrity to really know those who are being elected so we can actually claim for our rights – whether you are gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, black, white, yellow or blue. 10/10.