In the Life Presents: “The Right to Live”
March 9, 2010
In this month’s episode of In the Life, a documentary-based program that focuses on issues surrounding the LGBT community, an epidemic coined ‘bullycides’ is addressed by the families most affected by it. A bullycide, or a suicide resulting from excessive bullying, can be attributed to a child’s perceived sexuality. Featured in this segment is Sirdeaner Walker, the mother of Carl Joseph Walker Hoover, an 11 year old boy who committed suicide resulting from anti-gay taunts from his classmates. The segment seeks to address an often disregarded issue facing LGBT youth who are bullied, and the toll it takes on a child’s mental well-being.
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover committed suicide after getting bullied for being gay
Parents like Sirdeaner Walker are coming to the forefront to prevent bullycides from becoming a widespread epidemic, by working to get legislation passed to protect children like Carl from suicide resulting from bullying.
Also featured in this episode is a focus on the state of Ohio’s lack of legislation to protect LGBT people. In Ohio, it remains legal to fire an employee based solely on their sexuality or gender identity, unmarried LGBT people cannot obtain domestic partner benefits, and it is impossible for transgender Ohioans to change their sex on their birth certificates. Several LGBT activists from organizations like Equality Ohio are interviewed, discussing Ohio’s legalized discrimination and what they have planned for the future of LGBT Ohioans.
Check your local listings for airings of this month’s In the Life to learn more about these pressing issues that face our community, or visit the series’ official website.
Related Posts:In the Life Showcases Conversations with LGBT Trailblazers
February 1, 2010
This month’s episode of PBS’s In the Life, premiering February 1st, features provocative interviews with some of the most influential entertainers, activists, and allies for the LGBT movement. Highlighting some of the most powerful interviews in the show’s history, some of the topics covered include homophobia in Hollywood, the civil rights movement, and commercialism in Broadway theatre.
Independent film producer Christine Vachon discusses lesbian representation in film with her long time collaborator, Julianne Moore. Vachon, an out lesbian herself, has produced LGBT films such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Boys Don’t Cry, and Far From Heaven– films which paved the road towards acceptance through visibility.
Also featured is a segment with actress Kathleen Turner and openly gay theater legend Edward Albee, and Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Capehart with NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, who together discuss the parallels between the 1970s civil rights movement and the fight for marriage equality.
GLAAD continues to applaud this spectacular news program, which highlights pressing issues facing the LGBT community through captivating interviews with pioneers of the LGBT movement. For airtimes on your local PBS affiliate, visit In the Life’s official website. View the trailer below:
Related Posts:In the Life Presents: “Creating Solutions”
December 1, 2009
Throughout December, In the Life will be airing its latest installment, “Creating Solutions,” on PBS affiliates nationwide. “Creating Solutions” features an in depth look at the scientists working tirelessly to find a cure for and curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
From the press release:
Over twenty million people have died from AIDS since its cause, HIV, was discovered in 1981. Though leading scientists worldwide have dedicated their lifes work to understanding the virus, its genetic complexity is unprecedented and a cure is still beyond reach. This month on IN THE LIFE, we speak with scientists working tirelessly for a cure, advocates speaking out about the stigma of HIV, and look at the success of a cutting edge prevention effort to stop the spread of the disease.
View the trailer below:
Check your local listings or In the Life’s official website for airtimes near you.
Related Posts:In the Life Presents a Special Presentation of Preacher’s Sons
November 1, 2009
Throughout November, In the Life will be airing the introductory excerpt of the film Preacher’s Sons, a provocative, real-life story about The Stewarts: five troubled boys – pulled from the train wreck of foster care, and Greg and Stillman, the two men who are now their fathers.
This intimate look at an unlikely family transcends all political convictions, revealing the struggles, humor and love that unites all families. Filmmaker, C Roebuck Reed shares her experience making this film about a non-traditional family and gay adoption.
In the Life is the GLAAD Media Award-winning gay and lesbian newsmagazine with guest hosts discussing youth and education, health and AIDS, arts and culture, workplace, relationships and family, and global issues.
To learn more about this incredible film, please visit the official In the Life website.
Related Posts:In the Life Presents: “Living On the Margins”
October 2, 2009
Throughout October, In the Life will be airing its latest installment, “Living On the Margins,” on PBS affiliates nationwide. “Living On the Margins” shines a light on the LGBT people who have remained largely invisible, even as the LGBT community has become more visible than ever.
From the press release:
This month, we look at how LGBT people living on the economic margins of our society are organizing themselves to find housing, improve their professional skills, and obtain employment and health care.
The Unseen Gays: Struggling on the Margins
At a time when nearly every corner of the country is suffering from market downturns and high unemployment rates, many in the LGBT community are especially hard hit. In our lead segment, we look at how racial, economic and gender-based discrimination result in disproportionate rates of poverty, unemployment and homelessness among the most marginalized members of our community.
A CONVERSATION WITH…
Stonewall Community Foundation Director Thai Pham, and FIERCE Executive Director Rickke Mananzala discuss the renewed commitment to philanthropy many LGBT people are making, economic activism and the synergy of their organizations.
Habitat’s First LGBT Unity Build
For many LGBT people, the recent economic crisis reinvigorated the spirit of volunteerism. At Habitat for Humanity’s first LGBT Unity Build Day, we speak with the community members who came out in support of affordable housing while raising visibility for the movement.
Check your local listings to see when “Living On the Margins” will be airing near you, or visit In the Life’s official website for download/streaming video.
Related Posts:Out Counts at the Emmys
September 21, 2009
Last night’s 61st Primetime Emmy Awards represented a great achievement in visibility for members of the LGBT community. The show was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the Emmy-nominated star of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother and an actor who has only seen his profile rise since coming out publicly in 2006. Harris got a big thumbs up on his hosting from encore Emmy winner Jon Stewart. “You’re doing a wonderful job,” Stewart said. “I’m serious. You’re tremendous. And these shows, they usually suck.”
Cherry Jones accepts the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Cherry Jones took home the statue for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as President Allison Taylor on Fox’s 24. In her speech, Jones saluted the artistry and gifts of her co-workers as Keifer Sutherland looked on with obvious pride in his co-star.
The trophy for Outstanding Dramatic Series went to AMC’s hit drama Mad Men starring Jon Hamm and Bryan Batt. Batt is a speaker at the upcoming Out in Hollywood III: The Rise of the Out Actor, an invitation-only panel discussion presented by GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Program in conjunction with the SAG National LGBT Actors Committee. At the panel, prominent actors, casting directors, producers and directors will discuss the opportunities and challenges actors face by coming out.
The LGBT community was also well represented behind the scenes. Irish lesbian Dearbhla Walsh earned the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Little Dorritt (PBS), based on the work of Charles Dickens. In her speech, Walsh thanked her partner, Irish television presenter Anna Nolan. Kristin Chenoweth won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the now canceled Pushing Daisies (ABC) produced by the out team of Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. Michael Sucsy, the openly gay writer/director/producer of Grey Gardens (HBO) accepted the award for Outstanding Made for TV Movie.
GLAAD celebrates the work of these talented artists and the networks that support them. As people see stories about their lives and the common ground we all share, it leads to greater awareness, understanding and equality.
Related Posts:In the Life Presents: “It’s About Time”
September 2, 2009
Throughout September, In the Life will be airing its latest installment, “It’s About Time,” on PBS affiliates nationwide. “It’s About Time” explores what it means to grow old as a gay person in America – how a generation once at the frontlines of establishing the modern LGBT movement finds new challenges living life openly gay in what should be their golden years.
In the Life is the GLAAD Media Award-winning gay and lesbian newsmagazine with guest hosts discussing youth and education, health and AIDS, arts and culture, workplace, relationships and family, and global issues.
View the trailer:
Visit the In the Life website to check your local airdate.
Related Posts:Lutherans Pass Policy Statement on Human Sexuality by Supermajority
August 20, 2009
A tornado touched down on the street outside the convention hall where Lutherans were debating whether you could be a biblical Christian and support LGBT couples and their families. Conservative bloggers saw the storm as a dire sign but they ignored the sun breaking through just as the assembly voted for the new Social Policy on Human Sexuality by precisely the 2/3 vote required . As 66.67 to 33.33 percent vote results were posted on the screen, voters and visitors gasped and then burst into applause.
The national meeting for the entire Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) is held every two years—this year in Minneapolis, Minn., August 17-23. The new policy, which creates a theological framework allowing for disagreements within the ELCA over sexuality and scripture, replaces a previous statement that was 15 years old.
Lutherans Concerned, an LGBT affirming Lutheran group, sent a press release to 1800 religion writers and associates through the Religion News Service the week before the assembly, resulting in wide media coverage. Key votes throughout the week and GLAAD’s assistance with media strategies and pitching enhanced that effort. Private interviews with GLAAD trained spokespeople were set with the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, Los Angles Times, and others. Related votes will happen on Thursday and Friday.
On Tuesday a devotional booklet, “One Table, Many Blessings,” was released with the names of 95 out LGBT ministers. On Wednesday, a PBS Religion & Ethics reporter interviewed five key LGBT faith leader (airing August 24). Immediately after the vote on the Social Policy on Human Sexuality, PBS filmed the procession of the LGBT coalition’s worship service attended by about 2,000 people. The videographer quipped, “This will be our stock footage of Lutherans worshipping for years to come!”
The ELCA is the second largest mainline Protestant church in the U.S. with 4.6 million members and now joins the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ as mainline denominations that have moved toward full inclusion in recent years. An increasing number clergy, laity and family members are going on record for equality.
Related Posts:PBS’ In the Life Presents: “Coming Together”
August 6, 2009
Throughout this month, PBS‘ In the Life will be airing its conclusion to its Summer of Stonewall series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots with “Coming Together,” a look at how LGBT culture has shaped and inspired the movement for equality.
In the Life is the GLAAD Media Award-winning gay and lesbian newsmagazine with guest hosts discussing youth and education, health and AIDS, arts and culture, workplace, relationships and family, and global issues. “Coming Together” will feature three segments:
Credited as the first Off-Off-Broadway theatre, CAFFE CINO began in 1958 as a Greenwich Village coffee house with a tiny makeshift stage. This Bohemian refuge was home to burgeoning gay playwrights and performers, who, inspired by its owner, Joe Cino, were liberated to create their most experimental and daring works of self-expression.
In A CONVERSATION WITH… writers Edmund White and Doric Wilson share first hand accounts of the Stonewall Riots, and discuss how bearing witness to the uprising impacted their work and shaped their politics.
Capping off the Summer of Stonewall series, this episode’s REAL TO REEL highlights Crayton Robey’s 2009 documentary “Making the Boys,” a tribute to Mart Crowley’s 1968 play and William Friedkin’s subsequent film adaptation of the classic story that swept gay and straight audiences alike, The Boys in the Band.
“Coming Together” began airing this past weekend and will be available for streaming or download throughout August on the In the Life website. The website also has local airtimes available.
Trailer:
Related Posts:In the Life Presents: “Civil Disobedience”
July 6, 2009
Throughout the month of July, PBS affiliates nationwide will be airing “Civil Disobedience,” part II of In the Life’s Summer of Stonewall series, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
In the Life is the GLAAD Media Award-winning gay and lesbian newsmagazine with guest hosts discussing youth and education, health and AIDS, arts and culture, workplace, relationships and family, and global issues. “Civil Disobedience” examines how the heroic actions taken by the patrons of the Stonewall Inn ignited a movement.
CENTER SPACES
Before Stonewall, few LGBT groups publicly assembled despite their constitutional right to do so. But when they began to, these pioneering activists needed spaces to gather in. Our lead segment highlights the LGBT centers that have sheltered the movement and its organizations, providing refuge, legitimacy – a home – for LGBT people since Stonewall.
In A CONVERSATION WITH… two of our movement’s longest serving executive directors— Katherine Acey of Astrea and Lambda Legal’s Kevin Cathcart—discuss their lives as activists, the impact of Stonewall on their generation, and the passion that keeps them advancing the movement.
STORME DELARVARIE
In this episode’s final story, we profile Storme Delarvarie, the activist, organizer, and celebrated drag performer who—legend has it—threw the punch that started a revolution.
Visit In the Life’s website to check your local listings and view the entire episode.
View the trailer:
Related Posts:POV Premieres Beyond Hatred June 30 on PBS
June 29, 2009
POV, public television’s award-winning non-fiction film series, returns tomorrow with a haunting new installment, Beyond Hatred, which depicts the aftermath of a gruesome anti-gay hate crime in France.
In September 2002, 29-year-old Frenchman François Chenu was brutally murdered by three neo-Nazi skinheads who were trolling the streets looking to beat up anyone they deemed “subhuman.” Filmmaker Olivier Meyrou begins the story two years after the hate crime as the trial of the killers approaches.
Though Meyrou does an extraordinary job of interviewing numerous parties involved in the case, the most poignant moments come from the Chenu’s:
François’ parents write an open letter to the convicted killers, which they read on camera in Beyond Hatred. They tell the imprisoned men how, during the trial, they “attempted to decipher your logic of hate but were unable to do so.” They point by contrast to their son’s trust in others because “he believed in man, whatever his color, religion or customs.” And yet, “we also heard from your lips words that suggested that something was changing inside you.” The Chenus close with an extraordinary wish for the men’s success in forging “a future . . . without hatred and violence.”
The Chenus’ struggle to be true to their values in the face of great injustice and tragedy is a stunning testament to humanity’s power to find a way past the violence that plagues modern society. Their story is an attempt to throw light into the dark, hollow center left by François’ murder.
Beyond Hatred premieres tomorrow at 10:00 PM on your local PBS affiliate. For more information, visit POV’s website. The film will also be available to view on the website for the entire month of July.
Related Posts:In the Life Presents “Confronting Crisis”
May 11, 2009
Throughout the month of May, PBS affiliates will be airing “Confronting Crisis,” the latest edition of In the Life, the long-running LGBT-centric news program.
In the Life’s 2008 episode “Funding the Marriage War” received the award for Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine this past weekend at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco. “Confronting Crisis” continues In the Life’s long-standing record of excellence as it examines the AIDS epidemic as it has affected LGBT communities of color and interviews Kris Hayashi and Glen Francis, the executive directors of two organizations at the forefront of the issue.
You can check out the In the Life website for airtimes, or view the entire episode online.
