Glitzy Benefits Can’t Hide Homophobia

While the potential impact cannot be denied of “some top power brokers in the entertainment industry” committing to attend a $250-per-person event to support the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (“Guess Who’s Coming to Gay-Rights Dinner,” Calendar, Aug. 5), one wonders if this isn’t yet another example of self-congratulatory Hollywood being open and liberal-minded for a few glittering hours.

After “An Evening Under the Stars,” will anyone on the “virtual ‘Who’s Who of Hollywood’ ” list actually respond with heightened sensitivity to the rights of gay men and lesbians? Or is this another case of Hollywood shelling out moola to assuage guilt while perpetuating its some-of-my-best-friends-are image?

Not surprisingly, according to Calendar, “Efforts to reach many executives on the invitations were unsuccessful.” This is the opposite of not putting your money where your mouth is; some fail to put their mouth where their money is.

During the last decade, Hollywood has become famous for glitzy AIDS fund-raisers, thankfully raising millions of dollars for the cause. However, have the fund-raising activities raised the consciousness of any of our town’s top power brokers? Evidently not, if one looks to film or television for an enlightened reflection of gays and lesbians. In spite of ongoing glamorous functions in the name of AIDS, the realities of AIDS have been virtually ignored by the television and film industries.

Deeply embedded homophobia within the Hollywood workplace remains as all powerful as it was during Rock Hudson’s heyday several decades ago. Whether one is an actor or a grip, a screenwriter or a casting director, there are precious few examples of open homosexuals being embraced and nurtured by the television and film industry.

Until it is OK to be gay or lesbian in Hollywood, the insidious homophobia of a town that routinely discriminates (against women and all minorities) will continue to influence what makes it onto the screen. Decisions being made behind the closed doors of the power brokers, many of whom are gay (heterosexuals do not have a monoply on homophobia), are what color gay and lesbian subject matter--not the hip stance adopted for an isolated party night.

After the checks have been written to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will action be taken to ensure the rights of gays and lesbians in the entertainment industry or will it be homophobic business as usual?

Will there be a concerted effort to hire gay and lesbian screenwriters and directors with a desire to unapologetically explore their gayness in the way a Spike Lee explores blackness? Will there be an attempt to create a climate in which an actor can come out of the closet and not feel threatened? Will there be a drive to replace twisted screen stereotypes with gay and lesbian human beings? Will there be a vitalized energy to responsibly depict AIDS?

Until behavior is changed, however valuable raising monies is, it is simply not enough to exonerate Hollywood from its historically inferior treatment of gays and lesbians.