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06/08/2015
Trailer: New anti-gay movie stars actor who was on Logo's 'Sordid Lives'?!
The crowdfunded movie is called Audacity. It comes from longtime anti-gay propagandist Ray Comfort, and is already earning high praise from "ex-gay" activists like Joe Dallas and rabidly anti-gay conservatives like Joseph Farah. Here's the gist and the trailer:
Peter (Travis Owens) is an aspiring comedian encouraged by his friend Ben (Ben Price, Australia’s Got Talent finalist) to perform at the local comedy club. But stage fright isn’t Peter’s only fear. When confronted with one of today’s most divisive issues, he feels compelled to speak, but can he? Challenged by his coworker Diana (Molly Ritter) to defend his convictions about homosexuality and gay marriage, will he have the courage to stand for what he believes—even at the risk of losing a friendship? And how will he respond when faced with a harrowing life-or-death experience?
“Audacity” uses a unique approach to address a very sensitive subject in contemporary society. Regardless of your views on the gay lifestyle, you’ll gain fresh insights and a new perspective.
In addition to the flick, Comfort is distributing it with another of his anti-gay booklets, this one titled "God & Sexuality":
Because this is not just a simple movie. This is cause that Comfort is pushing into Christian churches. That is what Ray Comfort's work is all about: evangelization. He creates content for the purpose of pulling people to his view. It's political (though he'd see it as spiritual).
So here's where it gets weird. The lead actor and poster boy for the film, who plays a character who literally spends the movie confronting same-sex couples in places like elevators, is an actor who used to appear on the Logo series "Sordid Lives." It's hard to get much gayer than "Sordid Lives." Which makes sense because that actor, Travis Owens, doesn't seem at all anti-gay himself:
And in fact, I've confirmed with him in private conversation that he is, in fact, pro-gay and that his views are not in line with the project.
So my question to you: Is that okay? Obviously, in normal circumstances, it's not at all odd or questionable when an actor plays any sort of character, no matter how nasty or bad or evil or simply differentiated that character may be from the actor himself or herself. But again, this isn't just a movie. Ray Comfort isn't just a filmmaker. Anti-gay groups like the American Family Association started promoting this propaganda piece before Comfort even filmed the thing. It's just a new way the anti-gay movement will try to reach young people through agenda-driven "entertainment." Again, there's a whole guidebook that accompanies the movie that instructs people how to push the film into churches, schools, etc..
So what do we think? I'm really curious about this. Is it okay for a young actor to take a role of a young man who goes around protesting people's homosexuality when that role is for an agenda-driven project of this nature? Is it fair for him or her to simply take the money and move on, even though he or she has signed on to be the face and literal poster child for this cause-driven flick? Is the standard the same as it would be in a regular Hollywood film, or should an actor be a little more cautious once he gets on set and realizes what's going on?
And if the actor really does disagree, does he or she have a responsibility to speak out against the project? Hmm.
***
Here's Comfort talking about the film and how gay people can and should be "free of their sin." That's the point of the movie, he says:
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