Off the Straight & Narrow

Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Television, 1967-1998

Duration: 63 min
ISBN: 1-893521-64-8
Date Produced: 1998

Filmmaker Info
Study Guide
Transcript
Film Festivals
Praise for the Film

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Off the Straight & Narrow
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Television, 1967-1998

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.

Sections: The Early Years | The AIDS Crisis | Saints, Singles, and Celibates | Representations of Bisexuality | Race and Sexuality | The Case of Ellen | Gay Images, Queer Pleasure

Filmmaker Info

Executive Producer: Sut Jhally
Producer, Director, Editor: Katherine Sender
Consultant: Larry Gross
Narrator: C.A. Griffith
Interviewees: Edward Alwood, Richard Dyer, John Erni, Larry Gross, Lisa Henderson, Marguerite Moritz, Charles Nero, Sasha Torres
Interviewers: Vincent Doyle, Katherine Sender
Graphics: Matthew Soar
Camera: Paul Dalpe, David Rabinovitz
Sound: Thomas Monahan
Additional Sound: Adam Brooks
Editing Assistants: Jeremie Winslow, Mark Wolkon
Research: David Canavan, Sharon Kubo, Michele Morris, Allison Ruda

Filmmaker's Bio

KATHERINE SENDER | Producer, Director, & Editor
Katherine Sender is Assistant Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She is author of Business, not Politics: The Making of the Gay Market, which was nominated for 2006 International Communication Association Best Book Award. She has also published numerous articles, including the forthcoming Dualcasting: Bravo's Gay Programming and the Quest for Women Audiences and Professional Homosexuals: The Politics of Sexual Identification in Gay and Lesbian Media and Marketing. She was a 2006 recipient of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women's Summer Research Award. Katherine is also the producer of MEF films Off the Straight & Narrow: Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals & Television, 1946-1998 (1998) and Recovering Bodies: Overcoming Eating Disorders (1997).

Film Festivals

Inside Out: Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film & Video Festival 2000

Press Reviews

Praise for the Film

"An unusually accessible yet sophisticated educational resource."
- Joan M. Garry | Executive Director, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)