One Nation Under God

When Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, "ex-gays"--that is, homosexuals who were "cured"--were asked by their boss at Exodus International to do a follow-up report concerning 400 "cured" homosexuals who had been through Exodus's treatment program, they ran into a problem. They could only account for 30 possible "successes"...a figure which dwindled down to 11, two of whom were Bussee and Cooper. The fact that these two guys got married to each other didn't help the statistics any. Filmmakers Teodoro Maniaci and Francine M. Rzeznik have created a bizarre and fascinating look into the history of religion and medicine's attempts to "treat" homosexuality (believe it or not, up until 1974 the American Psychiatric Association officially classified homosexuality as a "disease"). Mixing archival footage with contemporary interviews of gays and lesbians and spokespeople for Exodus and other organizations, One Nation Under God shows the often absurd lengths that straight religious and medical people have gone to in their efforts to change gays and lesbians. Methods which include: beauty makeovers for butch lesbians, football for gay males, and truly frightening forms of aversion therapy (such as nausea-inducing drugs). Funny, sad, outrageous, and thought-provoking, One Nation Under God exposes the twisted ideology underlying many extreme religious right groups: an ideology composed of fear, hate, and ignorance, at its worst; a gross misunderstanding of basic Christian precepts at its best. Highly recommended. (Note: One Nation Under God is also being sold direct to individuals at $29.95 by First Run Features, and is available through Ingram at the home video price.) (R. Pitman)