Hating Peter Tatchell

Tatchell started his activism as a very young man in the late 1960s. That took a lot of guts! If not for people like him, society would not have progressed this far. This biodocumentary chronicles the discrimination and hate people suffered in the past and sometimes, in the present. It isn't pleasant to watch but important to remember. I think we all need to be reminded once in a while to be kinder and more tolerant to each other.

In not sure I agree with his outing tactics, but he didn't go after mere closeted people, but those gay people working against gay equality.

A new addition to Netflix, this documentary chronicles the life and activism of Peter Tatchell who has campaigned for gay rights and indeed, human rights since his late teens.

Born in Australia, he campaigned for issues such as Aboriginal land rights whilst at college.

He moved to Britain where days after his arrival he learnt of the Gay Liberation Front, promptly joined and then within a month was a major player who wasn't just participating in events but also helping to organise them.

The film details chronologically his campaigns including the time when he ran as a Labour candidate for the seat at Bermondsey in the by-election in 1983 after joining Labour in 1981. He was openly gay and the opposition's campaigns against him were based on homophobia and smears with hatred directed against gay people being rife within wider society at the time.

Whilst you may think Hating Peter Tatchell is a congratulatory affair that does nothing but praise Tatchell and his actions, this isn't the case with the campaigns staged by his group OutRage being explored and spoken about his the many people who contribute to this film. Such actions as outing several prominent people within the church as gay whilst they condemned homosexuality in the name of their faith and disrupting a prominent Easter service given by George Carey the then Archbishop of Canterbury made Tatchell as many detractors as supporters in the press.

But it was Tatchell's direct action that switched public opinion towards him. Seen as foolish by some (although no one can deny he has guts) to stage citizen's arrests on such figures as Robert Mugabe, Mike Tyson and even Vladimir Putin, he suffered physical retaliations in some of these actions and has suffered semi permanent brain damage as a result. Tatchell saw this as being a small price to pay when fighting for the rights of others.

The contributors include such luminaries as Stephen Fry, Tom Robinson and Ian McKellan who interviews Tatchell. Even George Carey is interviewed about the incident regarding the disrupted Easter service.

The film shows that Tatchell had the tenacity, strength and conviction to openly oppose certain people and their views whilst fighting for the rights and dignities of often marginalised groups. He wants equality and this means fighting for all sides regarding this. An example of this was when he fought for heterosexuals to have the right to have civil partnerships as he could see that they provided some advantages to some rather than traditional marriages.

We are also taken on one of his campaigns so that we can see how nerve wrecking such an event is, how much planning goes into it and how courageous Tatchell is. The event in question is Peter going to the Olympics being held in Russia to expose the country's vile stance regarding gay people there.

From revolutionary agitator to national treasure but don't let that fool you. Tatchell's work isn't over yet. This documentary shows just how valuable the Tatchells of this world really are and what REAL activism looks like.

An amazing documentary about a man who has dedicated his life for justice.

Brave beyond belief. Selfless and truthful. The documentary should become compulsory subject for high school students at their social studies, history and leadership classes. Thank you for all the documentary footage and also the assistance of Ian Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry as Peter Tatschell's interviewers.

A sweeping looking at an infamous media & political character, love him or loathe him, his heart's in the right place & for that we must be grateful for his indomitable spirit in the face of often mountainous odds.

We see here that Tatchell's messages were regularly received somewhat poorly, mainly due to his rather humourless & dour approach, such a shame he didn't employ humour as it always helps the medicine go down, obviously that's just not who he is.

Produced by Elton John & David Furnish, it's a decent effort & has some balance, with critiques of his methods, but it could've gone further; being interviewed by Sir Ian Mckellen for instance, it's obviously a soft, non probing chat & not a Paxman like drill down.

From a technical, film making point of view, the audio mix is very poor, as the 'background' music is either at the same level of the dialogue or quite often louder, this makes it both difficult to hear what people are saying & enjoy the subject matter; it's really rather annoying!

The sadness, maybe even tragedy that's followed from Peters' righteous struggles is that people didn't realise or recognise when the fight no longer needed to be fought & they now hunt out anything or anyone in order to be offended & 'cancel' it, continuing a struggle that has largely been won, in the west at least. Here he also talks about 'solidarity' which is a wonderful thing, but this has lead to the trap of alphabet group identities; I don't identify with any group mentioned here, I'm me, I hope group identity becomes the busted flush it so obviously is.

As a viewer, who just happens to be gay, it's a tough watch & I used to find Peter a bit of an irritant, as I was just trying to fit in, but when you hear of his injuries & his continuing defiance, he really must be saluted. I just hope that people will now come together & STOP looking for the differences between us.

But telling of it ruined by constant dramatic music blaring over the interviews making it hard to actually hear what's being said.

Worth a watch but have your remote to hand to turn up and down as needed.