"A society moves toward inclusion," Bruce Silverlieb said in the beginning of the full-length documentary, "Mission to Matrimony: A Gay Marriage Proposal." Silverlieb, a gay father, hopes that "Mission" will help to just this, by demystifying and defending a politically and socially controversial issue.
The film's producers senior Matt Pohl, his brother Noah Pohl, and award-winning filmmaker Jerri Sher, screened a rough cut of "Mission" on Wednesday night, asking for comments and critiques from the audience present, among them the families featured in the film.
Following the screening of the film, Silverlieb explained the social importance of legalized gay marriage. "We deserve the same support given to every family," he said, "We want nothing that [other families] don't have."
The film analyzes both the societal and highly personal facets of gay marriage by showing footage from the first day of legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts last May and focusing on the families who were directly affected by the unprecedented action,
With animated transitions that recall the basic symbols for "boy" and "girl," the documentary has an even pacing and structure. The film opens with a stark black screen punctuated only by a definition of marriage taken from Black's Law Dictionary, followed by a definition of same-sex marriage.
A montage of gay weddings and receptions, the happy scenes that could grace any family's home video collection, are the transition into the first section of the film, "What's to fear?" This, along with the other sections, organizes the many components of the social issue for the viewer.
"[Gay marriage] is so huge a topic, so complex," Sher said. "Depending on what [the audience] started out with in their minds, bodies, and souls, they'll all come out with different things."
Difference characterizes the many interviews shown. The film includes protesters that range in opinion from such conservative voices as Pastor Leonard Gendron and his wedding dress-clad, couple-months-pregnant wife, to gay rights activists such as Patrick Guerriero of the Log Cabin Republicans. Defense of Marriage Act author Bob Barr, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, and Massachusetts Senator Marian Walsh are extensively interviewed as well, providing a political context for the topic of gay marriage.
More affecting, however, are the families featured in the film. Two Massachusetts families, one with two fathers and their son and another with two mothers and their children, show the next-door-neighbor face of same-sex marriage. The families allowed the cameras into their lives to document their everyday routine, from getting a pet, to attending a barbecue, to taking out the trash.
Director Sher finds that these families have universal appeal. "Some people who see it don't know who's straight and who's gay, and I think that's a good thing," she said.
The normal aspects of household life were interspersed with scenes taken from interviews with the featured parents who detailed their lack of security without legal marriage status under the law. This project is one that they hope will help to state their case in a public setting. One father, Bruce Silverlieb of Marblehead, said, "We felt that this was something that we could do to show people how un-intimidating we are and that there's no need to fear us."
Tufts sophomore and Massachusetts native Jess Bernard felt that the subjects of the film were well chosen and that both sides of the issue were appropriately documented. "The families were great," she said. "They really illustrated that same-sex marriage works and that the children are raised with love."
While the film had content that displayed both sides of the gay marriage coin, one viewer at the ensuing question-and-answer session inquired where the moderate voice was in the film. Matt Pohl and his collaborators found that it was difficult to find those who would state that particular view on camera. "We had a tremendous amount of difficulty targeting people who don't believe in same-sex marriage," Pohl said, "It's a valid concern."
In the wake of the November election and the adoption of gay-marriage bans in 11 states, the political and social context of this issue change continuously. According to Sher, the directors faced the difficult challenge of keeping the film current while still remaining within time and budget constraints - especially when travel was factored in. In the process of making the film, the team had to travel to several states on the east coast to get opinions on the issue.
The film concluded on a note unrelated to gay marriage that nonetheless highlighted the cultural norm shared by homosexuals and straight people alike: movies. The final section, "Preferences: Do Movies Imitate Life?" showed each interviewee discussing his favorite film and why he likes it. Originally a suggestion of Noah Pohl's, director Sher was unsure at first how she would incorporate it into the film.
Sher said, "When we asked people the question, people really got their guard down. It was humanizing.
Former congressman Barr highlighted "Chariots of Fire," as it details the journey and determination of a hero to achieve his goal, while Susan Jacobs, a gay mother, chose "Harold and Maude," for its lessons about life and love. Sher found that these responses were revealing. "When we got their answers, I saw that they mirrored their philosophies of life."
