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Years Before Court Ruling, Pop Culture Shaped Same-Sex marriage Debate [Hollywood's Role!]
LATimes ^ | June 28, 2015 | SCOTT COLLINS AND MEREDITH BLAKE

Posted on 06/28/2015 12:06:34 AM PDT by Steelfish

Years Before Court Ruling, Pop Culture Shaped Same-Sex marriage Debate

Shows such as ABC's "Modern Family," which showed two gay characters marrying last year, have long helped shape public opinion on same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues. By SCOTT COLLINS AND MEREDITH BLAKE

For decades, gays and lesbians were almost invisible in film and television. Homosexuality in the larger culture was draped in code words, and onscreen depictions either disguised gays and lesbians or treated them as objects of ridicule or scorn.

Then things started to change. In 1969, the Stonewall riots triggered by a police raid in New York's Greenwich Village created the modern gay rights movement, and the next year William Friedkin's "The Boys in the Band" became the first studio movie to center on gay characters.

From that start, pop culture has slowly but steadily helped bring gay people into the mainstream, from Lance Loud in the groundbreaking 1973 PBS documentary "An American Family" to Tom Hanks' Oscar-winning role as a dying lawyer in "Philadelphia" in 1993 to Pedro Zamora, the AIDS-stricken housemate on the 1994 edition of MTV's reality series "The Real World."

The Supreme Court on Friday legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. But years before that 5-4 decision, film and TV helped spur Americans' acceptance of gays and lesbians.

"Movies and television have played an immense role in getting us here — and I'm going to take some credit for the TV side," said Michael Lombardo, the programming president of HBO, which brought the gay-themed plays "Angels in America" and "The Normal Heart" to television, and has prominently featured gay characters on such series as "Six Feet Under," "Sex and the City" and "Looking," about the relationships of a group of gay friends in San Francisco.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2015erickaschiche; homosexualagenda; libertarians; medicalmarijuana; obamanation; salonjune27
The impact of the Ellen Degenerates, while Christians remained quiet. America's pastors let us down.
1 posted on 06/28/2015 12:06:34 AM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

It was Joe Biden who persuaded Democratic President Obama (who opposed it during his campaign) to push for it. Therefore the Democrats own it.


2 posted on 06/28/2015 12:12:25 AM PDT by CptnObvious
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To: Steelfish
"Years Before Court Ruling, Pop Culture Shaped Same-Sex marriage Debate [Hollywood's Role!]"

...... In the mean time .... the GOP is still trying to figure out what the word "Pop" means ......

...... Heck ...... Give them another decade .... and they might actually figure it out ....

3 posted on 06/28/2015 12:13:05 AM PDT by R_Kangel ( "A Nation of Sheep ..... Will Beget ..... a Nation Ruled by Wolves.")
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To: Steelfish

Hollywood is going to have to break into their archives and burn a lot of their old films.


4 posted on 06/28/2015 12:14:29 AM PDT by clearcarbon
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To: Steelfish

The first openly gay character I remember seeing was Billy Crystal’s character on the TV show “Family.” It was funny then. It’s not funny now.


5 posted on 06/28/2015 12:18:13 AM PDT by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: fidelis

It was SOAP that he was in. Ironically, his chracter gets women pregant in the series so he wasn’t that gay after all.


6 posted on 06/28/2015 12:24:46 AM PDT by scbison
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To: scbison

Right you are— the show was “Soap”.


7 posted on 06/28/2015 12:27:46 AM PDT by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: Steelfish

In Hollywood it’s been going on since the 1970s. Gay or bi was in then in Hollywood. Loads of drugs, glitter-soaked guys, songs like AC/DC. When I was growing up it was all around me. There were guys in full makeup in my high school. They were popular except in the locker room where they did get beat up. When I worked in hotel kitchens there were also a bunch of out gays in the 1980s. When I worked in Ronald Reagan’s office tower the entire word processing staff were gay men, including my boss, and Halloween they all dressed like female hookers. In 1982 Santa Monica Boulevard was chock a block with young gay or just willing men (often students) hanging out on bus stops or corners hoping to score a $20 from a closeted guy driving by. Yes, I knew some of those guys. Low on cash, they’d just go and pull a trick. After AIDS those streets cleared a LOT. But out and proud has been a long time coming.

Hollywood has not gotten any gayer. They just slowly started to leak it into the media they sold.


8 posted on 06/28/2015 12:28:10 AM PDT by Yaelle ("You're gonna fly away, Glad you're going my way...")
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To: Steelfish

Absolutely—the Churches ceased to be a force in the culture-—particularly the Catholic Church which forced obscenity laws on Hollywood in the 30s through the Courts and had a solid moral code for movies—but after VII, with the end of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s TV program and death of JFK, the Catholic Church just disappeared. The next time you heard about them it was always about the pederasty. (except they pretended it was “children’ so it wasn’t known it was a “homosexual” thingee. At that time there could be NO negatives about the “gay” lifestyle. That is why the LIE about the Matthew Shepard case-—he was killed by one of his homosexual orgy partners because of a drug deal gone bad.

All the news was to give the CORRECT perceptions to the masses: Homosexuals “good” and Christian White people —EVIL and Bigots and Haters. That meme was repeated over and over and over in subtle ways like the oxymoron “homosexual marriage” and it becomes the truth/possible-—esp. to the generation forced to have “Pride Days in anal sex” and forced to hear books telling lies-—like Heather has two Mommies.

The schools forced generations to embrace Evil as Good. They flipped the moral code of children—it didn’t matter who the parents were because schools took over the role of parent along with the TV.

You had Protestants try to pick up the torch in the 80s but the MSM was so powerful, they made many into jokes—demeaned them with photos and by framing the words in the articles which gave the wrong perceptions. They also set them up, planted honey traps, etc. for big take-downs.

it was the lazy parents, though, who allowed their children to watch TV and embed the morals of those who were sleeping around and hyper sexualized like “Friends”. Sex was meaningless and just for recreation and you were SO COOL and SO BEAUTIFUL if you could sleep around with a number of guys or girls.

Prior to 1960-—morality was formed by playing and practicing real life skills and interaction with real people, playing board games where children could learn to control their base emotions by learning how to make and keep friends. Relationship skills have to be practiced continually through ALL stages of life-—and it can’t be done watching a screen....that programs the brain which shuts it down to a large extent.
Children need to move around and use all their senses in the real world to understand Reality—and have Common Sense-—so they can use Reason which controls emotions (true maturity)..

Now they prefer screens to people and relationships unless it is for a little sex-—but many males are now just too lazy and stay with the porn in the basements...It is EASIER-—to sit in front of a screen.. Artificial emotions——trained to have to be entertained every minute (instant gratification) which destroys Virtue, and there can be NO REFLECTION. With no reflection (quiet-no screens etc), it is not possible “to Know” anything and find the Truth, and make sense of all the information given.

Just a bunch of “brains in a vat”. ( The Amish were the smartest of all-—no dehumanization at all).


9 posted on 06/28/2015 1:01:33 AM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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To: Steelfish

Back in the 90’s, Ellen Degeneris had a sitcom. In the beginning days, she portrayed a straight woman, but eventually there was an episode in which she announced that she was gay. This was a huge deal with some gay and lesbian co-workers. I remember them discussing it, and some of them said they were so overcome with joy that they cried. All I could say was, “You are getting your validation from a sitcom.”


10 posted on 06/28/2015 1:56:09 AM PDT by mrs. a (It's a short life but a merry one...)
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To: savagesusie

“Now they prefer screens to people and relationships unless it is for a little sex ... have to be entertained every minute (instant gratification) ... Matthew Shepard”

Very astute observations throughout your post. When I’m in the break room at work, I notice how there can be little interaction between co-workers as many stare at their device screens. There are actually a couple of New Testament Scriptures which point out the need for interpersonal connection:

“Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and speak face to face so that our joy may be complete.” -2 John 12

“I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face.”
-3 John 13

We are a microwave, “instant gratification” society. I think this makes driving more dangerous as people take crazy risks and are prone to road rage because they cannot stand having their wills delayed in the slightest. The need for constant entertainment makes me think of some words from “Brave New World”:

“No longer conscious of our bondage, we are soothed by endless entertainments.”

The Matthew Shepard case shows how easily much of the populace can be manipulated by television. Believe it or not, the reporter Elizabeth Vargas basically exposed the truth about the case on one of the ABC news magazine programs a few years back.

It’s amazing how many people believe that men are born gay when you continually see two scenario among males of the homosexual orientation:

Like Matthew Shepard they either lack a father or have a father that is cold or distant that they can’t bond with. They can’t recognize their masculinity, become overattached to their mothers and suffer gender confusion. They futilely seek missing male affirmation in compulsive sexual encounters and then try to soothe their consciences with drugs.

In the second scenario a boy may have a fine father but is sexually abused and becomes confused about his orientation.


11 posted on 06/28/2015 2:03:16 AM PDT by MDLION ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart" -Proverbs 3:5)
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To: Steelfish

This is no big revelation since we all knew what they were doing, and quite frankly, it’s not as successful as they think it is since there is quite a backlash building right now because of SCOTUS.


12 posted on 06/28/2015 2:14:39 AM PDT by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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To: Steelfish

Yeah, and Hollywood long promoted smoking as cool until almost 50‰ of the population got hooked and millions died horrible deaths as result. Who in Hollywood will take credit for that? And now Hollywood has helped infect the country with homosexuality. Great.


13 posted on 06/28/2015 10:06:35 AM PDT by Obadiah (This is Bravo-6, we have Zips in the wire! I repeat, Zips in the wire.)
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To: MDLION

The Bible is brilliant-—alway was and alway will be. It is what resulted in the explosion of Modern Science and Individualism (only a Christian concept) and the need for Truth. It led to the idea of Freedom—that we are designed by God to be our own master. That Virtue is necessary for Reason to control the animal nature.

We saw it blossoming in the minds of the Greek Masters when Socrates was sure of eternal life and a Soul. The Greek Philosophy-—which was only possible with close observation of the “Laws of Nature-—(God’s Works) collided with the Bible (Christianity)—Revelation with Reason—all other “philosophies WERE THROWN IN THE DUST PAIL. There is no contradictions in Truth/God and all other Eastern philosophies and Islam are incoherent and irrational (filled with contradictions).

We saw Reason and Faith (God) combined in the US Constitution—unlike the secular humanist radical “egalitarianism” of France which was a fiasco and led to brutal, irrational killings.

With the destruction of Slavery, the Leftists knew it was time to put on the screws and destroy the Worldview of the USA-—flip Good and Evil. They started to institute Socialism-—first destroying the Black Family and the Marriage contract (as Lenin did) and promoted massive hedonism targeting the children with Sex Ed which destroys normal sexual identity formation—and destroys seeing dignity in the opposite sex (because they are immature and prefer the “Same” in latency).

What I write about took me 10 years of constant reading—many of the Great Books in Western Civilization-—and reading the Neo-Freudian stuff which warps children’s minds about mother and father, authority figures (God) and embeds hate and fear (the cute baby white seals are dying)..and Fern Gully tripe..........Tyrannies need to promote Fear and Hate and embed that fear and hate in children and Republics need to promote “public virtue” always (Montesquieu).

The Left took over the legal system in the early 1900s to promote socialism. Solzhenitsyn stated that even a LITTLE BIT OF SOCIALISM will ROT the SOUL. It conditions dependency and sloth to destroy Virtue.

The Leftists with Wundt, Fichte, Marx, de Sade, Godwin, Nietzsche, Adorno, Gramsci, Marcuse, Kinsey, Freud (all godless) -—created a FOOL PROOF methodology that would rot the Souls/Minds of all the children (like the Hitler Youth). When parents were trusting enough to allow strangers (TV/Computers) to program the minds of their children——it was ALL OVER for culture. When they destroyed the maternal instinct by glorifying “working” women (ha ha) to make them slave wage workers was to destroy bonding and nurturing children (to destroy Individuality and self-esteem in children and allowed women to be taxed (controlled by the State). The curricula of Marxists is to shape and force an ideology and “proper” emotions.

Groups of peers destroy individual “thinking outside the box” because of the child’s need to be liked and “the same”(herd instinct). They embed the puerile behaviors of the age group and never see true maturity and Individuality (Reason) modeled. It is all emotions in groups as Nietzsche stated-—Reason takes silence, reflection and alone time something that was destroyed in the “public school” system which is constant interruptions and total dependency being embedded.

Rublic “schools destroy how children were designed to “learn” to be (humanized) and virtuous-—practicing real life relational skills to get emotions under control, and learning to master them inside the family unit before it is possible to master emotions OUTSIDE the family unit.

Catholic Theology used to understand the importance of parents being the educators of their own children and they refused to have “kindergartens” because children were too vulnerable to be removed from the family unit-—not emotionally ready to be exposed to “group think” and control emotions outside of the family or with a few close friends. Large groups create conformity and when most children have no moral compass (which is the majority now) those immature behaviors will be embedded into the others and corrupt them and make them hate parents (anyone who asks them to do anything to create virtue (good habits).

Computers/Screens/TV actually shut down the brain activity and enlarge the Limbic area (primitive part of brain). It is an artificial environment—devoid of human interaction. That is why some Amish decided NOT to have phones-—it would prevent “face to face” interaction which they knew was essential for control of human emotions and understanding fully with all the senses. Eliminating some senses in learning-—esp. in childhood, destroys the ability to ‘think” the way God designed the brain “to Know”.

Hard copy books create tactile memory also......and without it you do not remember nearly as well.

The integration of the brain is crucial in childhood and you CAN’T take SHORT-CUTS. Parents are constantly taking the “lazy parent” way out.
Even I did in my stupidity (cultures will affect you)—but the Malthusain, Marxist ideology pumped out 24/7 wasn’t embedded in me because I went to a tiny Catholic school which taught Classical Education-—tools to be a critical thinker. I played outside and worked picking fruit as a very young child.

We have known for decades that the more TV a child watches the dumber they are. It is because TV does everything for the Mind and literally shuts it down at the CRUCIAL states of the mapping the brain which occurs in childhood up to adulthood..... so the Mind works correctly—as God Designed-—which takes Reflection and quiet and BOREDOM. Not constant white noise which destroys the ability to think (Wisdom). NO distractions which is ALL public school is.

Children who are brainwashed are ONLY capable of being ideologues—and that is a system that rejects the Truth/Facts, Reason and Logic, and God.


14 posted on 06/28/2015 11:13:41 AM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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