09-17-08 Wilamette Week: Ask Not
[DIRECTOR ATTENDING] It seems like a good time to revisit "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's policy of banning openly gay and lesbian recruits from active service enacted as a compromise by President Clinton in 1993. Johnny Symons' documentary kicks off with Jake Reitan, a queer crusader who is currently living in Portland as he helps out gay advocate Terry Bean with the Obama campaign. But this film isn't so much about Barack as much as it as about military barracks and whether or not queers would create problems if they were to openly live in one. Reitan, a leader of the queer social justice group Soulforce, comes off as shrill and preachy as he tries to infiltrate Army recruitment offices in Times Square and elsewhere. Much more compelling is the story of "Perry," an out and proud Castro Street queer who goes back into the closet to join the Army in Iraq and slowly but surely gives up his queer identity for the safety of being a soldier. When one of his friends back in San Francisco asks, "What's the point? You're a gay man, and the country doesn't want you--what the hell are you doing?" you can't help but wonder if all this hemming and hawing about queers serving country is a cause worth fighting for. BYRON BECK. 7 pm Saturday, Sept. 20.
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