The Rejected: Difference between revisions

| released      = {{Start date|1961|09|11}}

| country        = USA

Reavis, an independent producer who was apparently unconnected to the [[homophile]] movement, wrote up his idea for ''The Rejected'' in 1960.<ref name = cap39>Capsuto, p. 39</ref> Reavis originally titled the documentary ''The Gay Ones''. He explained his goals for the program in his proposal:

{{quote|The object of the program will be to present as objective analysis of the subject as possible, without being overly clinical. The questions will be basic ones: who are the gay ones, how did they become gay, how do they live in a [[heterosexual]] society, what treatment is there by medicine or [[psychotherapy]], how are they treated by society, and how would they like to be treated?<ref>Tropiano, p. 5</ref>}}

Thus, Reavis approached the topic from the standpoint of homosexuality being a social problem akin to [[alcoholism]] or [[prostitution]].<ref name = c&c /> This echoed how many [[List of pre-Stonewall American television episodes with LGBT themes|earlier programs]], often produced as episodes of local talk shows, addressed homosexuality with shows bearing such titles as "Homosexuals and the Problems They Present" and "Homosexuality: A Psychological Approach". ''The Rejected'' focused exclusively on gay men, with no representation of [[lesbian]]s.<ref name = c&c>Castañeda and Campbell, p. 259</ref> Reavis expressed his reluctance to include lesbians in his proposal: {{quote|First, the repugnance &mdash; or desire not to think about the problem &mdash; is even greater in society than that towards the problem of Gay men. Second, the number of persons involved is much smaller....<ref name = cap39 /> Third, the problems are vastly different, as are the solutions. For example, promiscuity is much less, relationships apt to be bilateral, economic and social sanctions are less, and the ability to carry on a relationship of this sort is greatly simplified.<ref name = trop7 />}} Commercial stations turned down the program, as did sponsors. KQED bought the project in early 1961 under the new title.<ref name = cap39 /> The documentary was shot entirely in the KQED studio except for one segment on location at the [[Black Cat Bar]], a [[San Francisco]] [[gay bar]] that had been fighting state and police harassment since 1948. Reavis and co-producer [[Irving Saraf]] filmed ''The Rejected'' on a budget of less than $100.<ref name = alwood41 />

{{quote|With all the revulsion that some people feel toward homosexuality, it cannot be dismissed by simply ignoring its presence. It is a subject that deserves discussion. We might just as well refuse to discuss alcoholism or [[drug addiction|narcotics addiction]] as to refuse to discuss this subject. It cannot be swept under the rug. It will not just go away.<ref>quoted in Tropiano, p. 5</ref>}}

   | accessdate = November 3, 2009}}</ref>

[[Category:LGBT-related television films]]