1998
63 min
1-893521-64-8
![This film has subtitles]()
English
Off the Straight & Narrow
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Television, 1967-1998
Synopsis
How are we to make sense of the transformation in gay representation-- from virtual invisibility before 1970 to the "gay chic" of today? Off the Straight & Narrow is the first in-depth documentary to cast a critical eye over the growth of gay images on TV. Leading media scholars provide the historical and cultural context for exploring the social implications of these new representations.
Off the Straight & Narrow challenges viewers to consider the value and limits of available gay images: who is represented, what they get to say, and how people respond to them. The video is an invaluable tool for all educators interested in introducing students to issues of representation and diversity in the media.
Featuring interviews with: Edward Alwood, Richard Dyer, John Erni, Larry Gross, Lisa Henderson, Marguerite Moritz, Charles Nero, and Sasha Torres.
Sections: Introduction | The Early Years - Seen and Not Heard | Under the Skin - The AIDS Crisis | Saints, Singles & Celibates - The Limits of Acceptance | Betwixt & Between - Representations of Bisexuality | Dimensions of Diversity - Race & Sexuality | Assimilation & Its Discontents - Ellen Degeneres & Andrew Cunanan | Vital Signs - Gay Images, Queer Readings
Release Date:1998
Duration:63 min
ISBN:1-893521-64-8
Subtitles:English
Trailers
Filmmaker Credits
Executive Producer
Sut Jhally
View Sut Jhally's Filmmaker Page
Producer, Director, Editor
Katherine Sender
View Katherine Sender's Filmmaker Page
Consultant
Larry Gross
Filmmaker Biographies
Katherine Sender
View Katherine Sender's Filmmaker Page
Producer, Director, Editor
Katherine Sender is a professor of media and sexuality at Cornell University. She has produced, directed, and edited numerous acclaimed documentaries, including the Off the Straight and Narrow series about LGBTQ+ representations on US television (Media Education Foundation, 1998, 2006, 2023), Brand New You: Makeover Television and the American Dream (Media Education Foundation, 2014), and Threads: Sustaining India’s Textile Tradition (Documentary Education Resources, 2022). She is the author of numerous books and articles, including Business not Politics: The Making of the Gay Market and The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences. She is returning to her focus on LGBTQ media and marketing in her current book project, Queer Media Mobilities.
Film Festivals
Resources: Downloads and Related Links
Downloads:
Praise
"An unusually accessible yet sophisticated educational resource."
- Joan M. Garry
Executive Director, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
Executive Director, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
"Off the Straight and Narrow explores the history of television's treatment of lesbians, bisexuals, and gays, from the infamous 1960 CBS special where gay men were interviewed hidden behind a potted plant, through the disastrous early AIDS coverage, up to Ellen's famous coming out on prime time TV."
- Donna Lee King, Teaching Sociology