TV Reviews : Gays, Lesbians and Hate

Underneath the surface of Teodoro Maniaci and Francine Rzeznik’s rambling 90-minute documentary for the “P.O.V.” series, “One Nation Under God,” lies a welter of tribal-like loathings and accusatory stances. While the film is ostensibly about the history of psychological and religious techniques to turn gays and lesbians into heterosexuals, it is really about the growing Balkanization of America.

In true “P.O.V.” tradition, “One Nation” is expressly opinionated, though in this case, Maniaci and Rzeznik attempt to provide an overview of what led to the so-called “ex-gay” movement among Christians claiming to have changed their sexual orientation. The pair means to expose the movement as a fraud motivated by hate; in the process, “One Nation” displays as much hate of that group as some fundamentalist Christians display toward gays and lesbians.

It doesn’t appear that way at first. Several members of Exodus International, a large “ex-gay” Christian organization, clearly and calmly explain their individual conversions and frame their changes within the religious context of sin and virtue. Many, like Exodus president Sy Rogers, are married and, they say, happy.

Enter Exodus founders Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, who left Exodus after realizing that it was impossible to fight nature. These lovers explain to the camera the stresses, pressures and inherent contradictions they see in the “ex-gay” movement.

They, and the filmmakers, then go too far: Michael dismisses some Exodus members as “Stepford Wives,” then Maniaci and Rzeznik cut to poor Willa Medinger of Exodus, who explains a make-over class for women trying not to be lesbians.

In a moment of screen time, the two extremes mirror each other. If “One Nation’s” message had been “You can’t fight hate with hate,” it loses it here.

The film is on much surer ground pulling together comments from such veteran psychologists as Gerald Davison, who once practiced aversion therapy methods to change men from gay to straight, and who now acknowledges its lack of scientific basis.

There is no arguing religion, as Maniaci and Rzeznik must know; but they devote too little time detailing the pseudo-science of countless Freudian analysts and other psychiatrists who tried to alter their patients.

Ironically, Rzeznik says in the film’s preface that she discouraged Maniaci from turning this subject into a fictional drama. A bad idea, as playwright Larry Kramer dramatically proves in his fine play about his own experiences with anti-gay Freudians in “The Destiny of Me,” which happens to be at Long Beach’s International City Theatre through Sunday.

* “One Nation Under God” airs at 10 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28 and KPBS-TV Channel 15.