Outrage in Australia: exposing anti-gay hypocrisy in US politics
Transposed over the opening titles is a recording of a police interview with a man arrested for soliciting sex in a public bathroom.
Man: "I went in to the bathroom; I got in the stall, sat down. Your foot came toward mine, my foot came towards yours; was that natural I don't know. Did we bump? Yes we did. The next thing I knew under the bathroom divider comes a card that says police."
Police officer: "What about your hand?"
Man: "What about my hand?"
Police officer: "I could see the gold wedding ring on your finger ... have you been successful in the bathrooms here before?"
Man: "No. Absolutely not. I don't seek activity in bathrooms."
Police officer: "Well you're not being truthful Mr Senator, I'm kind of disappointed. Sir, we deal with people that lie to us every day."
Man: "So do I"
Police officer: "I'm sure you do."
The man is Larry Craig, a US Senator, arrested in 2007 for lewd conduct after playing footsies with another man in a bathroom stall. His story is one of several featured in Outrage.
Dick is an Academy Award-nominated director best known for This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which criticised the Motion Picture Association of America's secretive and irrational film rating system. He is also working on a new project about attacks and rape on women in the US military.
"As many as one in three women are raped or sexually assaulted while serving in the military. And if that holds true I'd like to see how that compares to other armies around the world." Dick tells SX. It's a no-holds-barred look at US military, in the same way Outrage isn't afraid to pull any punches.
"I was clear about what I wanted to achieve with this film," Dick says. "Would a host of key members of the Washington political establishment be less hostile to gay rights if they came out of the closet and acknowledged being gay themselves?"
Outrage investigates this "massive conspiracy" that keeps high-level political figures safe in the sexual closet thanks to widespread support of "don't tell-ers", and the damage this inflicts on the American people.
Michael Rogers, a well-known blogger and "outer" in America, is featured prominently in Outrage. He justifies his outings in the film: "I'm going to tell people who these horrible traitors are ? and they are traitors to their people, I believe that. I felt that it was time for me to start reporting that hypocrisy".
He's backed up by high-profile US writer and radio broadcaster Michelangelo Signorile, who says the media is as much to blame for hypocrisy ? simply by not reporting on it.
"It was the one area where they [gossip magazines] didn't demand the truth. Everywhere else they wanted to know who was dating who, but when it came to gay celebrities it was accepted and understood that you covered for them."
Dick however, insists, as does the film itself, that Outrage is not about outing people.
"It's reporting on hypocrisy," he says. "The position the film took was that if someone was in the closet, and not voting anti-gay, there's no instance of hypocrisy. So no, I chose not to report on that. I knew several closeted republicans and democrats who were not voting anti-gay. So they're still closeted."
Outrage makes its point by detailing each politician's voting record on hate crimes legislation, gay marriage and AIDS funding before probing into their personal lives.
Along with Larry Craig, Outrage targets include Ken Mehlman, George Bush's 2004 election campaign manager; Jim McCrery, a ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee who retired in 2008; and prominent Fox News anchor Shepard Smith.
The most damning accounts are saved for Florida's current governor Charlie Crist and former New York City mayor Ed Koch. Outrage reveals former long-time lovers of both men, alleging that Koch's companion - and two of Crist's partners - were made to disappear at key electoral moments.
Following the release of Outrage, there was an obvious lack of response from the men featured in the film, Dick says. Still, those that have seen the film say the documentary is a definite "game changer" in shaping the way politics works.
"The ones that were reported on used the typical strategy and ignored it and hoped it went away. Except for Ed Koch who said he was outraged at Outrage. I loved that he used the name of the title twice."
In the wake of a number of youth suicides related to anti-gay bullying in the US, Dick says Obama is moving "too slow" on equal rights for all.
And, like the ending of his documentary, Dick refers to the late Harvey Milk, America's first openly-gay man elected into office on what he thinks is the best way to move forward.
"If everyone came out of the closet, it would be very hard for society to not grant equal rights. You would see gays and lesbians are so much part of our society that not to give them equal rights is crazy."
Outrage airs Tuesday, November 2 at 10pm on SBS ONE.
NATE MICĂ“
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