another martyr to the truth
by
Douglas Messerli
Jansen Franklin (screenwriter and
director) Live to Tell / 2012 [22 minutes]
US
filmmaker Jansen Franklin’s short film Live to Tell recounts the basic
high school bully story, featuring a young “out” boy, Dylan (Andrew Hopper),
who—despite the daily abuse he suffers as well as the well-intentioned but
totally uninformed reminders by his inattentive father that he should go out
for sports—has the wherewithal to post a daily blog on his experiences, a blog
incidentally that his parents somehow are oblivious to, his mother only
discovering that her son is gay when she uncovers an LGBT magazine under his
bed. When later she attempts to discuss it with her husband, it appears,
through a fight we overhear, that he is no more insightful about how to help
his son or even approach him with their knowledge.
The story is so familiar that it has
become almost a cliché, including Dylan’s discovery that one of the bully
Mike’s (Rory Cosgrove) best friends, Brandon (Chris Petrovski, who more
recently starred in Andree Ljutica’s How to Say I Love You at Night of
2020) not only watches Dylan’s blog but finally admits it to him and becomes a
friend, suggesting he has similar feelings and awarding Dylan a kiss.
And as in so very many such stories,
Brandon is simply not ready to come out or even break ties with his
school-bully buddy, which quickly leads to Dylan’s frustration. Dylan who has
realized the importance of “being yourself,” even attempts to approach the
school principal to begin a Gay-Straight Alliance club at the school, hoping to
start the whole process of breaking through the general homophobia which arises
through ignorance. But the school administrator is as unenlightened as his
students, and suggests that it’s one thing for Dylan to choose to become gay,
but that the school cannot promote homosexuality. You have to credit Franklin’s
script for making it clear that both of those statements are false, that a gay boy
or man does not “choose” his sexuality but that it chooses him and admitting to
being gay is merely identifying the truth about oneself; GSA, furthermore, does
not “promote” anything but tolerance. But it is all to no avail, and once more
Dylan begins his lonely walk home with frustration and despair.
Yet before he can even leave the school
yard, Mike, who has seen him talking to his buddy, demands to know what it’s
all about. Finally, the usually passive Dylan reacts, childishly but still with
a furious power, suggesting that Mike himself may be a “faggot.” The result, of
course, with such homophobic individuals, is that Dylan is beaten severely, the
principal coming out to order someone of the passively watching students to
call for an ambulance.
This is obviously a film devoted to all
those who find themselves, despite the hundreds of films recounting such
experiences, alone, fearful, and terrorized. And accordingly, Brandon suddenly
realizes that his inability to face his own sexuality has only helped to
brutalize others such as his secret friend Dylan. Like Dylan, he now approaches
the principal arguing for the GSA club, and the principal, who himself is
partially responsible to Dylan’s beating for not even recognizing the problem,
finally sees the light and agrees.
In an upbeat ending, Brandon makes
posters which he and his female friends pass out among the students, and
finally calls a meeting, sitting alone in the room until gradually, in ones and
twos, others enter, as well as, evidently just released from the hospital,
Dylan. What the group discusses and how it effects the school is not explored.
But perhaps just to show up for the meeting is itself the important statement.
Unfortunately, such “good feel” stories
are not generally what happens in real life, for if things might be changed
that easily there would be no reason for yet another film about school bullies
and suffering gay students.
All can hope is that other bullied LBGTQ
students might see such films and realize, if nothing else, that they are not
alone and survival is possible, a better world awaiting them.
Los
Angeles, September 10, 2022
Reprinted
from World Cinema Review (September 2022).
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