Queers in the Kingdom

Markie Hancock's documentary centers on Wheaton College, an Illinois-based school defined by many alumni as the “Harvard of Christian colleges.” Wheaton's brand of Christianity is evangelical, and the film argues that the institution's religious foundation and heritage is out of step with contemporary considerations regarding gay and lesbian youth. Hancock presents Wheaton's perceived tradition of homophobia against the broader backdrop of the history of Christian colleges in the United States—although, to be fair, the rise of the LGBT student movement is a relatively recent development, and Christian colleges were actually more progressive than secular schools in accepting blacks and females as equals to their white male students. Several former Wheaton students appear on camera to recall their personal struggles in coming to terms with their sexual orientation, recalling unsatisfactory personal experiences at Wheaton. Queers in the Kingdom also details the creation of OneWheaton, an alumni group for once-closeted LGBT students. Not surprisingly, no one from either the Wheaton administration or the current student body appears here to discuss the charges brought against the school. And the filmmaker strikes an oversimplified partisan note by briefly claiming that anti-gay rhetoric is exclusively Republican, apparently forgetting that major Democratic politicians were vocal against same-sex marriage as recently as the 2012 elections. While this is admittedly a thorny subject, Hancock's often strident approach ultimately casts more heat than light. Optional. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)