Tuesday, January 27, 2009

"Prayers for Bobby"...although this Lifetime movie has been criticised as being "one-sided", with the Christian point of view being misrepresented, I believe this show is far less one-sided, and more authentic, than conversations I've had to endure with many dogmatic folks who close their minds while opening their mouths.   What struck me so powerfully about Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Mary Griffin was her own coming-out journey as the Christian mother of a gay son: the wide-eyed sense of the discovery of a new world-- just like the journey of her son.  Along the way,  Griffin had the strength to dissolve a dogmatic stubborness that had closed the door of acceptance to her son and threatened to destroy her family.  Closing that door had the tragic effect of  opening another door for her son, the closet door, a place of danger, fear and loss--a place her son would not survive.   In her life now, we're lucky to have Mary Griffin reaching out, asking us to open doors.

2 comments:

Richard said...

That's weird that it is being criticized as the show itself, while went rather quickly through her transformation was extremely authentic in their portrayal of Mary. The only criticism should be not of the movie, but why, 20 years after the death of her son, is this religious hatred still accepted in our country?

Tom said...

Unfortunately, religion and hatred have been paired lots of times, and "God is on our side" is the rallying cry for all manner of nuttery. Feeding into this, I believe, is a "queer fear" in America that is at least as stubborn as racism.