The Laramie Project.

[Wytchi Grrl]

Hi,

I can't find a thread about this, feel free to move it if there is one



I watched this a few weeks ago but it has taken me that time to gather my thought on the subject.



I wanted to watch it because when the situation occurred with Matthew Shepard, I was just coming out and I tired hard to bury this situation to the back of my mind.



I found my coming out to be very easy, and for that I consider myself very lucky( I hate that I have to consider my self lucky for that but this is how the world works.) My Parents were particularly understanding considering that my father had very bad experiences with what he refer's to as Gays and that my Mum didn't actually know what Bisexuality was.



I asked my mum to watch this film as I don't think she understood what sometimes the GLBT community can come up against and watching the film really helped her to understand just what can happen. So i'm very thankful for it passing on a message.



Have you seen this film? and if so How did it effect you?

It left me silent and feeling very small for a considerable amount of time.

Wytchi

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Witchcraft Grrls

Sassy Eggs

[Jennpurr]

Well, I'd have to watch it again to really be fair on my feelings about the movie, but what I do remember, is... it made me cry numerous times through out the movie.



It was very touching and really hurt to watch, but it was something that I was glad that I HAD watched. I can't listen to Melissa Etheridge sing, "Scarecrow," without wanting to cry. I think it will probably always be that way.



I might watch this soon, again. I've been meaning to. Maybe then I can comment more.



It was a good movie. Stockard Channing did such a wonderful job!



Jen

||My Fan Fiction and More!|| ||My Yahoo Group||
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"See... that's where you're a dummy. I think about... what you grew up with, and... then I look at what you are... it makes me proud. It makes me love you more." - Willow to Tara in, "Family"

[Wytchi Grrl]

I agree. I thought it was wonderful the amount of very famous Actor's and Actresses that appeared/took part in this movie-I had no Idea that they were in it but that was a good thing for me, It meant they hadn't overly advertised their part and they were in it for the right reasons.

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Witchcraft Grrls

Sassy Eggs

[Rowan158]

I have seen this movie once or twice.

The first time I watched it, I was left feeling very sad. I wish I had been able to tape it, because I think that more people should be able to watch it and I know of a few people I think should watch it.

Anyway, I also thought it was well done, good story telling, etc.

*No Talent* *No Skill* *No Luck* *All You Need Is Faith*



I just like to see my name in lights.

[LilacWine22]

hi all i just watched this movie the other night i wasn't familiar with the situation that had occurred i hadn't heard about it before seeing this movie as i don't live in America, but just wanted to say what a brilliant film it was it was emotional,told well and it really makes you think about what kind of society we live in today and i would recommend anyone to see it!

[Shiney and New]

I'm guessing it's a US thing? For all those who have their vision cut off slightly from being surrounded by water could someone explain pls?



Cause I'm pretty intreeged. It got me out of lurkdom a tad...



Nomi

~Nomi~



Though lovers be lost love shall not and death shall have no dominion

[WTJunkie]

I'm very happy that this film was made, because it meant that more people could be exposed to it. But originally it was a play, and I am happy that I got to see the play first. The play is done with a small cast, and each actor plays several roles. Its also meant to be done in a small intimate place, so the performance is really in your face. As the actors move fluidly from one character to another, it creates that erie since of Laramie being "Anywhere, USA" and that you see these people everyday. The theatre production was absolutely chilling.



After I saw the play, I bought the play script as soon as it was published. Then I bought a copy of the play for my father, who happens to be a college theatre professor. I gave it to him for christmas, but the funny thing is, he had bought a copy of the script for Me as well. :-)

The next fall my Dad's college put on their own production of the Laramie Project. Its a small college in a small conservative town, and it was quite the event. It was done during Homecoming, and The theatre department helped produce a special "diversity conference" to address GLBT issues. That may not seem unusual at other colleges, but this is a small conservative college where gyas were completely invisible just 5 years ago. This college is also my alma mater, and for the first time I felt compelled to go to Homecoming. My partner and I went to my hometown for the festivities. It was an overwhelming experience to be in my small hometown, watching the Laramie project, and attending a gay conference. It was the first time I completely let my hair down and was OUT on my home turf.



Ok I'm rambling here. sorry. suffice it to say that Laramie project is a really powerful piece of work, and it continues to touch people's lives. Thank you Matthew.

[kukalaka]

Nomi:

Matthew Shepard was a gay student who was brutally beaten up in Laramie, Wyoming, and then tied to a fence and left in the cold by two other guys. He was found hours later and died some 5 days later in hospital.



Since he only was murdered for the simple reason that he was gay, it's the perfect example for what people call a "hate crime" and some argue there should be more severe punishments for hate crimes than "normal" crimes.



AFAIK his case caused a lot of uproar in American media and brought some much needed attention to the willingness of some people on the extreme right to use violence in general and the situation of gays in the U.S. in particular.



If your interested in learning more about it, just google for "Matthew Shepard" and you should get a lot of hits.



HTH,

Angie





And anyone, especially U.S. kittens, feel free to correct everything I wrote.



Edited to correct the state.

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To look life in the face, always to look life in the face, and to know it for what it is, to love it for what it is.

Edited by: kukalaka at: 6/19/03 5:23 am

[Wytchi Grrl]

W/T Junkie, This is exactly what I hoped to envoke-What a wonderful experience!

That it takes something like this to create an opening for these sort of events is disgusting but that something positive can come out of it is reasurring also.

I felt this film and the tragic event had this way of effecting people, as you see on screen also, but It's good to know that it still is.

The way you describe your experience is very uplifting! I would love to see the play too as I can only imagine the realism that would come with it.

thanks for sharing

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Witchcraft Grrls

Sassy Eggs

[Iamyouknowyours]

The film/play is so fascinating to me because it is compiled of transcripts taken of the people in Laramie. So although it is about Mathew Sheppard, its focus is on the people in the town where he lived. And it is extremely telling. It's what the people didn't say that really reveals the extent of the prejudice and homophobia in Anytown USA.



The cast of the movie is stellar. I'm a big Christina Ricci, Jeneane Garafolo and Clea Duvall fan. And I'm always impressed with Joshua Jackson.

[WebWarlock]

Going on mere blocks from my house.



www.chicagotribune.com/ne...i-news-hed

Quote:

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Offstage drama over school play

Proponents say `The Laramie Project' is a lesson in tolerance, but others call it an opportunity to push a homosexual agenda in area high schools



By Bonnie Miller Rubin and Nancy Munson

Tribune staff reporters

Published October 24, 2003



With a true story, a tragic hero and a haunting ending, there is no shortage of emotion unfolding on the stage at Prospect High School this weekend.



But another drama is taking place outside the spotlight, with some parents calling for cancellation and threatening to protest "The Laramie Project," based on the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student in Laramie, Wyo.



To some people, the play--which opened Thursday night at Prospect in Mt. Prospect and Hersey High School in Arlington Heights--is a lesson in tolerance. To others, it turns homosexuality into "just another lifestyle choice" and Shepard into a martyr.



"It is nothing more than an opportunity to push a homosexual agenda," said Bruce Tincknell, one of the play's most vocal opponents. His daughter is a senior at Prospect.



At Mendota High School, "The Laramie Project" was scheduled to open Oct. 31 but was yanked this week because of a copyright problem. When Amy Henley, the drama director at the school about 100 miles west of Chicago, edited out some profanity and scenes she thought were inappropriate for a high school audience, she was warned by opponents that she was in violation of copyright laws. After checking with the company that sold the school the rights to the play, she was told that permission to change the script would not be granted, and six weeks of work went down the drain.



"I thought it was time for something modern," said Henley, who added that she considered her conservative town's sensibilities when making directorial decisions. "We had a lot [of students] try out . . . who really believe in the whole idea of the play, which is acceptance."



The controversy is playing out in high schools across the nation, as educators wrestle with the mission of high school theater and parents rally against some productions.



In Amherst, Mass., it was "West Side Story"--shut down because of its gang culture. In Knappa, Ore., outrage canceled "Dark of the Moon," a 1940s drama perceived by some people to be anti-Christian. In Indianapolis, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was pulled because of racial epithets. Other staples of student drama groups--such as "A Christmas Carol"-- have been targeted by parents who find certain themes and language objectionable.



The current climate can have a chilling effect on educators who find it safer to stick to "The Sound of Music" and "Cinderella" rather than attempt more provocative material, said Carol Harms, a teacher at Belleville East High School and past president of the Illinois Speech and Theater Association. "I'd say we are more timid of looking at something else. You think that maybe this is better left to college."



That didn't occur to John Marquette, the director at Prospect High, who hailed "The Laramie Project" as "an important piece of contemporary theater" and one of the most significant shows of his career.



"This isn't about homosexuality," said Marquette, who has put on more than 100 student productions over four decades. "It's about understanding and accepting people who are different."



However, few productions have touched such a raw nerve. Even though it has been only five years since Shepard's slaying, the play, by Moises Kaufman, has quickly been embraced by about 400 high school drama groups, including Naperville North, Rolling Meadows, and Stevenson in Lincolnshire. When the drama was produced last year at Naperville North, it generated a few complaints. But at Rolling Meadows--another District 214 school--it came off without a hitch, as it did at Stevenson, according to school officials.



Its popularity irks Peter LaBarbera, director of the Illinois Family Institute, a group that advocates a "pro-family" agenda. He sees the Shepard story as distorting the facts and glossing over sordid details.



"There are lots of stories about man's inhumanity to man," he said. "Why choose this man? Why glorify someone who had HIV by the age of 21? Who had a history of seeking new sexual partners in bars? While we strongly denounce the murder of Matthew Shepard, we would never elevate this confused young man as a role model for teens."



Said George Toth, an Arlington Heights parent: "They call it tolerance, but it's really about acceptance and celebration of homosexuality. . . . We are the taxpayers . . . and schools need to remember that."



Tincknell is so convinced that the play is at odds with his community's values that he has hired a survey company to solicit the opinions of 300 parents.



But Marquette is unfazed.



"Would I do it again? Absolutely," he said. "We have an obligation to show all sides of a situation so students can make an informed judgment rather than a prejudicial one. At a time when we have more than enough hazing, name-calling and nastiness in high schools, this message is an important one."





Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune

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Web Warlock

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[sam darls]

Oh my god, I have just seen this movie- I saw it last night and It really affected me, I cried along with it. i thought it was so beautifully done and had a really amazing cast (especially Christina Ricci, Clea Duvall, Janeane Garafolo and Joshua Jackson). The movie made me mad too, with some of the words the people were saying. Matthew Shepard was amazing .Love sammi xx

Edited by: sam darls at: 11/11/03 5:43 am

[Repost Moderator]

Originally posted by effrena



hey everyone!

i just watched it with my gf on dvd and it was amazing!

it`s so strange, that hardly anyone here (austria) knows this movie! ok, i think it`s an hbo production, but so is "if these walls..." which is oddly enough called "women love women" in german speaking countries...



it took us ages to watch it, cause we kept pushing pause and talk about it!

anyway, i just wanted to ask what the kittens think about it!

[effrena]

oh my sorry! i`ve searched for it, but totally overlooked it! sorry again!

Can`t we not suck anymore?! Ellen DeGeneres

[urnofosiris]

No need to say sorry, it's no big deal. It is easy to overlook a thread when you look through the pages, but you can also check the Ask Any Question + Thread index thread. Not every thread is linked in there, but most of them are. It makes searching a little easier.