One Nation Under God

1 more product image	Directed by Francine Rzeznik;Teodoro Maniaci Starring: - FIRST RUN FEATURES, 1993, DVD Customer Rating: 9 reviews   Recommend List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $22.49 (Price details) You Save: $2.46 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Free Shipping on orders over $25.

{WINNER! Audience Award-Best Documentary, 1993 San Francisco Int'l Lesbian & Gay Film Festival}
ONE NATION UNDER GOD takes on the history of the religious right in America and the techniques they've used over the past fifty years to try to change gays and lesbians into straight people.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD provides a historical context as well as political analysis of the frighteningly large and well-financed anti-gay campaign being waged by the religious right and conservative political leaders, who are "curing" gays and lesbians in the name of Family Values, Morality and Patriotism. It analyzes the underlying social and cultural factors that have contributed to the persistent and harmful myth that gay people are somehow damaged and can be "fixed."
"Reparative therapies" such as "orgasmic re-assignment therapy" sound too humorous to be taken seriously. Yet, they are part of a system of destructive aversion therapies that includes exorcisms, beauty makeovers for butch lesbians, football for gay males, and other truly frightening methods that have been used to cure, discourage and stigmatize homosexuality.
Interviews with people involved in the ex-gay movement, including the former ex-gays Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper. Bussee and Cooper were the founders of Exodus International, a large ministry aimed at changing gays into straights, but renounced the group after falling in love. Gary and Michael state, "We learn three messages growing up gay. First, don't be gay. Second, if you're gay be miserable. Third, if you're not miserable shut up!" By combining such insightful interviews with archival footage from the 1950s and 1960s in a stylish mixture of humor and horror, ONE NATION UNDER GOD not only entertains and enlightens, but also celebrates diversity and promotes a sense of shared values.

It's a familiar story. Boy meets boy. Boy and boy start an organization to help gays "convert" to straightdom. Boy realizes he's in love with boy, and they leave their group to become outspoken denouncers of the movement.

Okay, so maybe it's not that familiar. Regardless, One Nation Under God is an insightful peek into the world of "ex-gays." Gary and Michael were two founders of Exodus, a ministry devoted to "curing" gays. Religious men, they felt that a gay lifestyle was incompatible with the teachings of the Bible, so they promoted heterosexuality. But despite leading heterosexual lives, the two men realized they were in love with each other. Their commentary anchors this documentary directed by Teodoro Maniaci and Francine Rzeznik. Interviews with the current head of Exodus, ex-gays, teachers in the ministry, psychologists, and ex-ex-gays create a surprisingly well-balanced film. While a glimpse inside the workings of the ministry would have been interesting (how, exactly, do you make a person "ex-gay"?), the archival footage from 1950s and '60s psychologists and discussions create an occasionally funny, definitely thought-provoking film that will both horrify (the implications of what the Religious Right is doing here are ghastly) and entertain. — Jenny Brown

Title: One Nation Under God
Sales Rank: 24203 in DVD
Actor: -
Director: Francine Rzeznik;Teodoro Maniaci
Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES, 2004-06-08, Theatrical Release: 1993
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.33:1
Languages: English (Original Language)
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 83 minutes
Package Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches, 0.18 pounds

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