Review of Coming Out Under Fire (1994) by Steven L — 20 Nov 2011

Arthur paints a compelling portrait of being gay/lesbian in the military during the high-tension terrain of WWII by using factual voiceovers, interviews with officers impacted by anti-gay legislation, and excellent archival footage and photographs (a hallmark, really, of Arthur Dong films).

What's different in this adapted documentary (the original version was a book), is that there is usage of a somewhat voice-of-God commentary--though only for the contextualization of facts, excellent for informing audiences of how legislation has transformed over time to exclude gays from the military (as sex perverts, as psychotics, and as a menace to military cohesion).

Not only is this film informative, but the interviews with veterans (both honorable and dishonorably discharged), are so enthralling, it compels viewers to see the true torment the legislation had on gay military members at the time.

Of course, there's no shortage of archival footage rarely found anywhere else. Lastly, this documentary is undoubtedly relevant to our time--a post "DADT" era with no shortage of challenges as well.

Dong's film further reenforces the notion that to prevent gays and lesbians from serving in the military (and to punish them for doing so), ultimately says that gays and lesbians are less worthy, and less American, than the expected status quo.

At the end of the film, however, I do think it would be interesting to learn more about the reasoning behind the military's enforcement of such counterintuitive legislation.