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An overly cheerful documentary about bisexuality that is more celebratory than informative. The documentary has you believe that there's a revolution going on, people are changing their minds about bisexuals and people are happy and comfortable with the fluidity of their sexuality. I don't know if that's the case, but if you ask many people, bisexuality is either an anomaly or non-existent. This doc doesn't touch on this issue except to say that times are changing and look at all the happy bisexuals out there! The overly manic joy of this doc signals something of an attempt from the participants and the documentary filmmakers to convince themselves and everyone else that bisexuality is great and accepted by a lot of people.

That's not to say there's aren't many happy bisexuals out there, and god knows there needs to be more positive attitudes of bisexuality beyond "the exotic slut who can't choose a side." But the glossing over of the negative aspects of bisexuality (the stereotypes, the suspicion, lack of support, invisibility etc) somehow decreases the film's credibility as an informed source of information on bisexuality. But I suppose every Queer segment of the population needs its cheerleaders in film, and if it makes bisexuals feel welcome and OK about their own sexuality, then it serves a purpose I can't fault it for. Just be aware that this doc isn't exactly the most thorough investigation of the subject matter.

Bi the Way had its World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. The film is an enjoyable and entertaining documentary about the changing nature of sexuality and sexual identity in America today and how the next generation is redefining its sexual mores. The directors travel across the country talking mostly to young people about their new definitions of sexual identity. It is an eye-opening film, because it really begins to break down our normative dichotomous definitions of heterosexuality and homosexuality. It is a fun film to watch with good cinematography, good music, and entertaining characters. The film is, however, a little long and could probably be edited down by 10 or 15 minutes since it gets a little repetitive at times.

Although the film does include some interviews with scientists and scholars, it doesn't really include much in the way of data about bisexuality and the scientific discussion is limited and pretty ambiguous. It does do a good job of asking a lot of intriguing - and often unasked - questions about sexual identification and presenting a variety of views on these topics.

The interviews lean rather heavily on young people who are either bisexual or experimenting with variations of bisexuality with little attention paid to those with more typical sexual identifications. The focus on a 10-year-old boy with a gay father who is trying to figure out his sexual identity is particularly interesting. It is hard to tell if his issues are typical of kids his age or not. The voices presented aren't really a representative sample of American society. The film makers suggest that they have captured a revolutionary change in the way that Americans identify sexually. That remains to be seen. They may have captured a change in a limited segment of the American youth culture rather than a generational change.

Clearly, many Americans are more willing to talk more freely about sexuality and are less repressed in their sexual interactions and discussions of them. This is both a positive and a negative phenomenon. Bi the Way is a good film for encouraging Americans to debate and question our staid definitions of sexual identity. It raises far more questions than it actually answers. There are sequences that are very graphic and the directors might want to consider putting out a PG-13 version that young people could watch more comfortably with their parents. The graphic visual material isn't really necessary to make the points that they are making.

Unfortunately, while it deserves wider distribution, it is the type of film and subject matter that rarely gets seen by people other than those that already substantially agree or are highly sympathetic to its message. Over time, however, I suspect its ideas will become more widely discussed and more mainstream in the broader society.