As the Beastie Boys say, “you've got to fight for your right to party,” although two new documentaries look at more important battles in the ongoing struggle for American freedoms. Presented by Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed [VL Online-10/04]), The ACLU Freedom Files is a vibrant, occasionally wrenching, and often funny (thanks to commentary from comics Lewis Black and Margaret Cho, among others) 10-episode series on controversial legal battles fought by the American Civil Liberties Union. Nine of the half-hour programs focus on specific matters—religious freedom, voting rights, gay and lesbian rights, women's rights, the rights of minors, the war on drugs, homeland security policy, the suppression of dissent, and racial profiling, while the 10th takes an interesting look at the inner workings of the Supreme Court, with ACLU lawyers discussing their views of the individual justices within the context of a case on random student drug testing. Well-produced and evenhanded (the first program, for example, details a case in which the ACLU argued in favor of a student's right of religious expression in a public school), this double-disc set includes bonus interviews with the filmmakers and additional material from some of the comics. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)One of the more recent examples of freedom fighting transpired in February 2004, when Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized San Francisco to start issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. That's the starting point for Carmen Goodyear and Laurie York's (themselves gay newlyweds) Freedom to Marry, which conducts follow-up interviews with some of the gay couples married on the steps of City Hall, about the reasons why they exchanged vows. For David Jones and Don Williams, the ceremony was in support of social justice. “We've been together for 24 years, so we didn't do this to cement our relationship,” Jones points out. Another couple, Molly McKay and Davina Kotulski, had sought permission to marry since 1993, visiting City Hall every year on Valentine's Day to ask for the rights that come with being officially wedded. At one point, Kotulski dramatically illustrates the difference between civil unions and legally recognized marriage by holding up two containers of little candy hearts, one filled with the 1,138 rights that a married couple receives under federal law, the other with the 15 rights of domestic partnership. Giving voice to couples in long-term relationships, Freedom to Marry (which also features comic Margaret Cho) underscores the extraordinary legal difficulties that same-sex couples face, and while the film is unlikely to sway staunch opponents of gay marriage, the focus on the human side of the issue may at least help raise questions, while also strengthening supporters' resolve to continue fighting for rights that many of us take for granted. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Wadland)
The ACLU Freedom Files; Freedom to Marry
(2005) 2 discs. 280 min. DVD: $24.95. The Disinformation Company (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. ISBN: 1-932857-50-8. Volume 21, Issue 5
The ACLU Freedom Files; Freedom to Marry
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