Title: Word is out /
Authors: Amos Vogel Annenberg School of Communications (Harvard Film Archive)
Publisher: Mariposa Film Group,
Year: 1978
Subjects: Sex United States.; Gays; Gay liberation movement.; Lesbians.; Love in motion pictures.; Women Sexual behavior.; Identity (Psychology); Political activists United States
Abstract: Made in 1977 by the Mariposa Film Group, this documentary is a montage of interviews structured in three parts. The first focuses on the closet, and various attempts to pry open the door; the second on the coming-out experiences of Gay indivduals, physical contact and emotional involvement; and the third on present and future concerns, including the consequences of visibility, which, as several speakers make clear can be dire. The film is definitely a period piece, wide lapels, frizzy perms, handlebar mustaches, overstuffed furniture, towering table lamps, pot plants, and all. The film examines the realites of finding acceptance in a straight world. From the comical (one woman's psychiatrist attempts to treat her lesbianism with a diet of green salads), to the painful (one man's parents considered castrating him). Word Is Out is an act of remembrance on a par with Coming Out Under Fire and The Celluloid Closet. Funny, articulate, and troubling, the testimonies offered by the 26 subjects of Word Is Out, entertain, inform, and inspire.