FAMILY FUNDAMENTALS

Arthur Dong's documentary Family Fundamentals introduces us to three situations involving conservative, homophobic, Christian families that produce gay children, and explores their relationships, attitudes, and opinions.

Our audience found portions of this film uproarious in how absurd some of the parents' ideas were. The first case study is that of Paul and Kathleen, who run an organization for parents of gays who believe that their children are bringing about the destruction of mankind. Kathleen outlines the five factors that cause a child to "become" gay, informs us that "you cannot misinterpret the Bible... It's impossible," and much more. We are introduced to Susan, Paul and Kathleen's lesbian daughter, and Dave, Paul and Kathleen's gay grandson. Dong's incisive questions lead to some startling answers. Like I said, our audience (and I along with them) laughed in pure shock at some of their more outlandish statements about God and homosexuality, but it was truly the opposite of humorous laughter, as these people truly believe what they're saying.

We also meet Brett, the son of a Mormon bishop who is going back home to Salt Lake City for a wedding, the first time he will see his family since coming out. Dong captures Brett's thoughts while he packs, during the airplane flight, and as arrives at the airport to greet his parents. At this point, however, Dong informs us in a voiceover that Brett's parents decided last-minute that they didn't want to participate in the documentary, after all, so Brett's story doesn't get as fleshed out as the others. However, we do get to witness his end of an intimate phone conversation with his parents, followed by a heartbreaking, confessional-style monologue to the camera.

Meanwhile, Brian tells the tale of his father-son relationship with Bob Dornan, his mentor and a vehemently anti-gay politician. Archival footage of Dornan in televised debates, screaming away his disgust with homosexuality, is particularly unsettling. Brian offers his assurance that Dornan tried for years to accept this part of his "son," but ultimately could not fathom the possibility that he could have been wrong all these years, and disowned him.

It's absolutely chilling to hear Paul, Kathleen, Bob, and the other parents condemn their offspring with such conviction. Even from a strictly psychological point of view, it's fascinating to see human beings so lost in their own delusions, they alienate their own children. Brett and Susan both receive many letters from their parents, containing horrifying judgments of their lifestyle and all sorts of claims about how Satan has possessed them and God will punish them—and then have the gall to conclude the letters with "I miss you" and "I love you" sentiments (also, in the case of Brett's mom, "Why aren't you answering our calls? Your answering machine must be broken.").

I want to say that I'm impressed with Dong's artistic integrity in withholding any biases he has, but what I really mean is that I'm impressed with his self-control. It would be taking the easy way out to simply portray the parents as callous, unloving monsters—and this is not to say that they're not, but it's certainly not all they are, and Dong doesn't hold this back. The parents present their own arguments and reasoning for believing what they do, and I'm sure it's unnecessary to point out all the ways in which those arguments are idiotic (though I can't deny my own bias), but the important thing is that he includes them. This is a film that both sides can appreciate, and that is what makes it stand out.

There was an insightful Q&A session with Arthur Dong after the film, in which we learned more about the actual filming process, who in the film ended up seeing the finished product, and what they thought of it. As it turns out, I think everyone in the film saw the finished product, except for Brett's parents, and they were all pleased with it except for Paul and Kathleen, who complained that they were being portrayed as "bigoted Christians." Wow, I wonder where they're getting that impression. He told a funny story about how everyone in Paul and Kathleen's group liked the film, though, and how livid that made them. Ha! Then some lady in the audience stood up and said that she was a Mormon mother of a gay son, and that she appreciated his balanced approach to the issue, and that she loves her son very much and cried during the film. I didn't cry, but I'm sure I would have if I was in a situation anywhere near those of Dong's subjects. For this reason, I think some of the film's power was lost on me; I found myself more disturbed by these stories than moved, but maybe that was the point.