A documentary is a film aimed at portraying and recording existent issues. Though we derive knowledge from many sources, a method that utilizes all the five senses is more efficient that those that utilize one or just a few of them. Documentaries make use of all the senses making the experience awesome and very educative.
The title of the documentary under review is Fagbug. After attending an event in favor of the rights of homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-genders, Erin Davies returns to find her parked car vandalized. The initials FAG had been spray painted on one side and U R GAY on the opposite side. Although her first reaction was anger, she shies away from repairing her car and instead makes use of the incident to inform the public about the discrimination that the homosexuals go through.
She arranges for a tour of 58 major cities in the whole of U.S, visiting locations that were pro-gay and those that were violently opposed to the rights of these minority groups. On the tour she was accompanied by journalists who recorded the reactions to her vandalized vehicle which carried a very sensitive message. This documentary was formally chosen for the San Francisco international lesbians, gays, and bisexual and trans-gender film festival.
Gays are men who have sexual relationships with other men, lesbians are women who are intimately involved with those of their sex, and bisexuals are those involved in both heterosexual relationships and same sex relationships while trans-genders are those who have switched their sex. The issue of gay rights is a sensitive topic in many societies. Many mainstream religions are against gay rights as they claim that their teachings do not allow such practices since they are abominable. Despite the progress made in western countries, gays are still viewed with suspicion and are discriminated against.
Most societies and religions believe that a sexual relationship is between a female and a male. There is a clash especially in the western world where progress in democracy and tradition clash as most countries have passed legislation safeguarding gay rights. At the moment gays are allowed to join the military in the U.S and churches like the Anglican Church have ordained gay priests.
The issue of gays and homosexuals is a very sensitive topic which requires maximum attention. What complicates this issue most is the real cause of homosexuality. There are behavioral causes and genetic causes. In the cases of genetic causes, should an individual be persecuted for a behavior that is outside their control but in their genes?
Another reason that makes it an urgent and important issue is the treatment of people who are gay. Most of them are attacked, discriminated in their place of work, and even in institutions of learning. Some countries especially in Africa and Asia are contemplating passing legislation making it a crime punishable by death. Lately some donor countries have threatened to cut financial aid to countries that are discriminatory towards gays.
The documentary, Fagbug has clearly exposed the issue of the gays in an explicit manner due to the fact that Davies travels through out the country in a car with a very offensive message. The strength of the documentary is in bringing out the attitudes of people towards this topic as Davies tours anti-gay and pro-gay areas. One weakness of the documentary is that it just brings out the attitude of the audience towards the message in the car but does not show how this people will act towards a real gay or lesbian. The documentary is not biased at all as it raises awareness about gay rights.