Out of the Past: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights In America
This is a documentary that combines the current struggle of teenager Kelli
Peterson to create a Gay-Straight Alliance at her high school with a look back
on gays and lesbians in history. Actors Edward Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow,
Cherry Jones, Stephen Spinella, and Leland Gant read the letters and diaries
of these individuals to provide an insight into the difficulties they faced. This
film won the Audience Award in Documentary section at 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
Out of the Past Traces Gay History In America
By Emanuel Levy
Variety February 9, 1998
PARK CITY, Utah (Variety) - Relevant and informative, Jeff Dupre's aptly titled "Out of the Past" explores the crucial
link between the knowledge of history and the knowledge of self.
Tracing the emergence of gay and lesbian consciousness in American history through the eyes of a courageous female
adolescent, docu centers on the latter's creation of a Gay-Straight Alliance in a Utah high school that became a hot
political issue in 1996.
One-hour running time presents some problems for theatrical distribution, though winning the Audience Award at
Sundance is certainly an indication that the film should play well in movie houses, perhaps on a program with another
gay-themed short feature.
Boasting an original and evocative structure, "Out of the Past" tells the story of Kelli Peterson, a bright teenager whose
well-intentioned efforts to legitimize the gay and lesbian cause in her high school by establishing a caucus provoked a
backlash in conservative Utah.
Initially, the school board and state legislature went out of their way to keep the teenage association from gathering in the
school. Forced into the national spotlight, Kelli and her cohorts conducted a dauntless public struggle to secure the right
of gay teenagers to gather on campus.
As interesting as Peterson's tale is, Dupre's nonfiction work takes on a greater socio-historical significance through its
examination of five landmark stories of American lesbians and gays.
Following chronological order, the first figure to be explored is the 17th-century Puritan clerk Michael Wigglesworth,
who recorded a secret diary about the tension between his sacred calling and more profane desire.
Other historical segments, which are interspersed within the contempo Utah story, concern the Boston "marriage" of
19th-century novelist Sarah Orne Jewett and prominent socialite Annie Fields; Henry Gerber and the 1924 founding of
the first American gay rights organization in Chicago; Bayard Rustin's momentous role in the civil rights movement and his
ambiguous relationship with Martin Luther King; and Barbara Gittings' pioneering activism in the '50s and '60s.
Focused interviews with Peterson, her friends and her family highlight the dangers inherent in the isolation of gay youth in
school, often a result of societal pressures, and the importance of historical role models to youngsters deciding to come
out and fight for their rights.
Dwelling on little-known but determining episodes in American politics, helmer Dupre integrates a number of interviews
with distinguished scholars, such as historians George Chauncey and Lillian Federman, who discuss these stories in detail
and reflect upon their implications for historians.
By examining how these tales of gays and lesbians have been obscured and then heroically reclaimed, "Out of the Past"
explores the processes by which American history continues to be reconstructed from a contempo perspective.
Production values and archival footage are excellent. Prominent actors (Stephen Spinella, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cherry
Jones, Edward Norton and Leland Gantt) provide narration for the five figures, bringing to life historical portraits by
reading letters and diaries that, for the most part, have been unknown to the general public.
With: Stephen Spinella, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cherry Jones, Edward Norton, Leland Gantt.
Produced by Jeff Dupre. Executive producer, Andrew Tobias. Co-producers, Eliza Byard, Michelle Ferrari.
Directed by Jeff Dupre. Screenplay, Michelle Ferrari. Camera (B&W-color, 16mm), Buddy Squires; editors, George
O'Donnell, Toby Shimin; music, Matthias Gohl; associate producer, Kevin Jennings. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival
(competing), Jan. 16, 1998.
Reuters/Variety
More Info
Cast List:
- LINDA HUNT as the Narrator
- STEPHEN SPINELLA...Michael Wigglesworth
- GWYNETH PALTROW...Sarah Orne Jewett
- CHERRY JONES...Annie Adams Fields
- EDWARD NORTON...Henry Gerber
- LELAND GANTT...Bayard Rustin
Additional info- reviews, article on Kelli Peterson
GLSEN's Out of the Past Page.
Sundance Festival "Out of the Past" page
If you have new information on Edward Norton (and you can provide a
verifiable and reputable source), please email me-
Susan
Note: Articles and images have been posted without permission for noncommercial and nonprofit use
with no intention of copyright infringement. The purpose of this reprinting is to disseminate correct information about the
actors, films, and studios. I have included author names and links to sources whenever possible.
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