Dustin Lance Black & Reed Cowan on ’8: The Mormon Proposition’
Legislating bigotry :: Dustin Lance Black & Reed Cowan on ’8: The Mormon Proposition’
A scene from 8: The Mormon Proposition.
While to some it may feel like a piece that is a part the past, the unpleasant memories of the passing of Proposition 8 in California in November, 2008 are alive and well in the gay community not only in The Golden State but everywhere in the United States. How did Prop 8 pass when California is seen as such a progressive state with huge gay populations in major cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco? What can we do make sure we all finally can obtain the right to marry and have equal civil rights?
One documentary film, 8: The Mormon Proposition(which opens this Friday in cities across the country), answers a lot of those questions by laying out factual documents on how the Mormons methodically and cunningly went about creating a quiet army of disciples that would unquestioningly make sure people would vote Yes on 8. The film doesn’t only provide a history lesson and point fingers at the Mormons but also provides some direction as to how this action can never - and hopefully will never - happen again.
8: The Mormon Proposition director Reed Cowan was able to get gay rights activist/Hollywood screenwriter/director Dustin Lance Black to come on board and narrate the film and, with their Mormon backgrounds, they are able to give a deeper perspective on why the Mormons can’t just live in harmony with the LGBT community. The two men talked with EDGE’s Jim Halterman about the journey of making this film, their surprise (or lack thereof) when they found out exactly how the Mormons went about getting Prop 8 passed and what the film says to not just the LGBT community but to everyone who wants to see gay civil rights someday be a guaranteed right.
One documentary film, 8: The Mormon Proposition(which opens this Friday in cities across the country), answers a lot of those questions by laying out factual documents on how the Mormons methodically and cunningly went about creating a quiet army of disciples that would unquestioningly make sure people would vote Yes on 8. The film doesn’t only provide a history lesson and point fingers at the Mormons but also provides some direction as to how this action can never - and hopefully will never - happen again.
8: The Mormon Proposition director Reed Cowan was able to get gay rights activist/Hollywood screenwriter/director Dustin Lance Black to come on board and narrate the film and, with their Mormon backgrounds, they are able to give a deeper perspective on why the Mormons can’t just live in harmony with the LGBT community. The two men talked with EDGE’s Jim Halterman about the journey of making this film, their surprise (or lack thereof) when they found out exactly how the Mormons went about getting Prop 8 passed and what the film says to not just the LGBT community but to everyone who wants to see gay civil rights someday be a guaranteed right.
Reed Cowan
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Jim Halterman
www.jimhalterman.com
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