Jim in Bold

Jim in Bold is a documentary about Jim Wheeler, a gay high school student in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, who committed suicide in 1997 because of constant harassment at school.[1] The film was created by the Equality Forum and directed by Glenn Holsten. The original music was composed by Michael Aharon.

Jim in Bold
Directed byGlenn Holsten
StarringMichael Glatze
Benjie Nycum
Scott MacPhee
Ted McGuire
Release date
  • 2003 (2003)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film, titled after a poem by Wheeler, details the abuse he received at the hands of his classmates because of his homosexuality. It also presents interviews and a cross-nation road-trip with members of Young Gay America, an online teen organization for gays, and compares the teasing and physical abuse Jim suffered to the increasingly open attitudes towards homosexuality six years later when the film was first shown.

Screenings and reactions

The film premiered at the Equality Forum 2003 on May 1 at The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. A later showing, held September 28, 2003 at the Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg as a fundraiser for Common Roads, a local gay youth support group, was protested by 10 members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a religious institution well known for their extreme anti-gay views.[2] Because they announced their intention to protest in advance, they were overwhelmed by over 800 counter-protesters who declared the day "Unity Day". The counter-protest was organized by the Pride Festival of Central Pennsylvania led by community organizer Reynaldo Lacaba.

References
  1. "'Jim in Bold' looks at life as a gay teen, past and present". Chronicle.Augusta.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  2. Controversial Group Protests at Capitol, Beale Air Force Base


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.