One Nation Under God

Associated with right-wing Christian evangelicals, Exodus advocates conversion of homosexuals into heterosexuals through various programs--although precisely what these programs are, how effective they are, and whether such conversion should be attempted at all have been contentious issues since the organization formed in 1976. ONE NATION UNDER GOD seeks to describe Exodus and similar programs and compare their somewhat vague success stories against the realities of those who attempted this sexual conversion and crashed and burned.

The major focus of the film is on Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper. Bussee was among the five co-founding members of Exodus; Cooper was an Exodus volunteer who is sometimes described as a co-founder, depending on the exact source. Both were gay men determined to become heterosexual--but precipitated a mighty scandal in the Exodus ranks when they instead fell in love with each other. Other notables interviewed include Frank Worthen, founder of Love In Action, which pre-dated Exodus; and Martin Duberman, noted author, a gay man who sought to become heterosexual through psychotherapy and whose book CURES documents the process he underwent.

As these and other interview subjects speak out on camera they are occasionally interrupted by "scientific films" drawn from the 1950s and 1960s; religious leaders who condemn or support, as case may be; and some unintentionally hilarious moments, including one that can only be described as "beauty tips for lesbians." The result is a collage of questions to which no two people have exactly the same answer. Can one change one's sexuality? Or not? If so, how? And if so, is it actually a desirable sort of thing? Although ONE NATION UNDER GOD clearly comes down on the side of those who claim that "ministries" such as Exodus are little more than dangerous pseudo-science, the answers to the questions are not quite as clear cut as one could wish--which is, in fact, one of the points the film makes: to this date there has been no serious study of Exodus' success rates. The DVD offers a reasonable transfer, but there are no bonuses of any kind--a great pity in this instance, for it is a fascinating subject that bears considerably deeper investigation than this fairly short film allows.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Michael, the ability to comment on your person digitally is not so good. my name is Richard. you remember me because we were close friends when we lived in Riverside, before i moved to Santa Maria because my dad was transferred to Vandenburg air force base. i guess we were about 12 and we met at school and became friends. i especially remember 7th grade. i read some of the commentary about your insecurities as a child. even then i was aware, being a tolerant catholic. i liked you a lot and i really do not remember you being bullied for being gay or effeminate, but if you say so it must be true. you pretty much behaved like a normal insecure early teen. before adolescent would likely be more correct. we both lived on the poor side of the tracks. then your dad, who was a contractor, built a new house for your family in a better part of town. you invited me over to help you make lolly pops. i was seated on a low chair and you were standing above me. you, taller, stood above me. then for no reason you lowered your face and kissed my mouth. i had never been kissed before by another boy. i ignored what you had initiated and continued to process the lolly pops. your mother and father did not like me, maybe they thought i was a bad influence because of my Spanish surname, or perhaps they thought i might be queer. doesn't matter much to me. i have often thought about you and your sister Kay and your mom and dad. i was aware of your being Mormon, or affiliation with the church of latter day saints. did not think much about it. but i see what your family/faith did to you, and perhaps your birth religion; a great injury. they psychologically injured you and placed you in a place of psycho/emotional risk. and that is something that rarely can be undone. your life has been over the top. i do hope you have found peace. i still have the photo you sent me from your high school graduation. i went on to UCSB and other dumpsters. i moved to New York City in 1980. but i still miss California. Richard

ONE NATION UNDER GOD highlights the thuggish nature of evangelical reasoning when sexual matters are investigated. The film examines Christian "Cure" Counseling which employ aversion therapy and brainwashing techniques that can change erotic behavior, but seem to have only marginal effect on sexual orientation. The jubilance and exultation of these "former" Gay and Lesbians all have a resoundingly false ring. However, it has only been since 1974 that the psychiatric community no longer classified homosexuality as a character disorder, and the theological mindset is very slow to change. The message of this documentary is clearly that ignorance and hatred within the evangelical movement perverts the fundamental message of Christianity. The New Good News For Modern Man now seems to be, "We are all God's children except for those of us who are NOT"!

I've seen a few documentaries showing fundamentalist Christian hostility towards gays, but "One Nation Under God" shows something new: groups who try to cure individuals of homosexuality. Their idea of course is that homosexuality is a mental disorder. Specifically, they put gays and lesbians through forms of aversion therapy in the hope of making them fear their own sexual preferences.

The documentary focuses a lot on Gary Cooper and Michael Bussee, a pair of former "ex-gays": they went through the treatment provided by one of the groups and claimed that they'd gotten cured, but then didn't like denying their true preferences. As far as I'm concerned, homophobia and the belief that one can cure homosexuality is the real mental disorder.

One of the people interviewed wondered how things would turn out over the next ten or fifteen years. Well, we can now comment on that. Bill Clinton established "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Movies like "Philadelphia", "The Birdcage" and "In & Out" offered a new look at gays (previously, cinema had usually portrayed gay men as sissies). Then of course, George W. Bush tries to make banning gay marriage a more important issue than capturing Osama bin Laden, while Jerry Falwell literally blames tolerance of homosexuality for the September 11 attacks. Not to mention that we have gay-bashing public figures who occasionally turn out to be closeted homosexuals.

All in all, I definitely recommend this documentary. You should also watch "The Times of Harvey Milk" and go to the restaurant Harvey's in San Francisco's Castro district. A large tribute to Mr. Milk, it shows the various stages of his life (including a police raid on a gay bar after Joe McCarthy associated homosexuality with communism).

Personally, I would like to see something. One of the people interviewed said that you can't try to make a straight person gay. I would like to try it on a gay-basher: force him to listen to Barbra Streisand's and Bette Midler's music, and then force him to watch "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie".