'Out in America' portrays everyday ways

[milomorris]

I saw this posted in the current Daily Sheet over at Do Conform DCF. I can hardly wait to see this documentary.

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2011/02/out_in_america_portrays_everyd.html

Horse trainer Mike Hartman isn't all that comfortable being interviewed -- "I think I rattled on that day and probably didn't have a whole lot to say that was beneficial" -- but he was still happy to answer questions and be included in the documentary "Out in America."

The one-hour film, directed, written and produced by Andrew Goldberg, seeks to paint a portrait of lesbian, gay and transgender Americans in their everyday lives.

Hartman, who lives in Woodburn and works with horses on a farm in Eagle Creek, has been the face of rural gay America before. When "Brokeback Mountain" was up for an Oscar, he was interviewed for an article titled "The Real Gay Cowboy" in a publication whose name he can't recall.

"I really didn't understand the big deal," Hartman said, "and to be honest with you, I still don't."

(snip)

And that's kind of the point of "Out in America": To show that not all gay people conform to a "Queer as Folk"-style, hard-partying image. Many of the Americans featured in "Out in America" live not-a-big-deal lives, particularly "the Harolds," a biracial couple in their 80s who have been together for five decades.

Goldberg said too often LGBT people are portrayed in the media in ways that don't mirror the lives of the vast majority.

"The drag queen is the most disproportionately represented person of any," he said. "We see them so frequently and they make up such a minuscule part of the population."

(snip)

As he set to work on the film, Goldberg found himself drawn toward the stories of some older LGBT Americans after many people he talked to said a handsome, 30-year-old white male is the regular face of the LGBT conversation.

(snip)

Hartman has never had such concerns. His story is briefly featured in "Out in America," and more of it may be included in extras on a DVD release later this year. He says in the film he was so busy with work, he never considered that he might be gay until his late 20s after having relationships with women.

"I know how crazy that sounds," Hartman said from a horse show in Scottsdale, Ariz. Despite disapproval from some family members who he remains close to, Hartman said he's felt accepted since moving in 1990 from Idaho to Oregon.

"It hasn't been a big deal. If I've felt kind of uncomfortable in any way, it's more that I don't think I really fit into the gay world as well."

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Thanks for posting this Milo, I look forward to seeing it too. I am glad it is going to be on PBS. (Guess it is too dull for Logo.)