Update: The New York Times ran an article by Michael Sieply about the short-lived distributor ThinkFilm, which went under in 2008, on January 5, 2014, here.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
"Lake of Fire": a tough, and thorough, documentary on the abortion debate and "pro-life" movement; where is "South Dakota"now?
“Lake of Fire” (2006), by Tony Kaye, presents both sides of
the abortion debate in searing black and white.
The title of the film puts the absolutist position of the religious right
in metaphorical terms, making the color-free photography of all the news
footage even more ironic. The movie often spells the title (and names of speakers) upside down, rotating this tile around the "O" in the central preposition "of".
At the time of filming, South Dakota’s bill HR 1215 was in
controversy, threatening to ban almost all abortion despite Roe v. Wade. The film opens with mention of that issue. See the 2006 Time essay by Nancy Gibbs here.
I could say, as a gay male, that this issue has nothing to
do with me, but then it means everything. The film open depicts the religious
right bringing in other issues, like homosexuality, as if they were logically
related anyway. Absolute obedience to
God, some demand. Or perhaps there is
the idea that homosexuality, at some broader level, somehow denies the
importance of future life, or even of some less competitive current life. Toward the end of the film, some observers,
including Alan Dershowitz and Noam Chomsky, enrich their previous commentary by
noting that one can imagine a moral continuum between deliberate refusal to
procreate, to mastubatory sex, to contraception, finally to abortion. The unborn life is human life, but it is
unable to know anything or make decisions or want to live. The mothers is still to be in control of the
moral universe, however biological, within her own body. A male never completely understands. Actually, some physicists believe that the “soul”
develops gradually during childhood into adolescence (see Book review, Hofstadter,
June 1, 2013).
The movie traces some of the personal history of Roe v. Wade
plaintiff Norma McCorvey, who said she lived in fear holed up in Dallas for 13
years, and then had a change of heart after being convinced that her activism
led to the death of 35 million unborn children.
She gives some details of life in Dallas, along Greenville and McKinney
avenues, and even her work in gay bars (probably on Cedar Springs).
The film shows at least two abortions, somewhat late in
term, in graphic detail. In one case,
the unborn’s parts are laid out on full tray, and torn apart. The look frog-like.
The film, especially in its extensive middle section (it
runs 152 minutes) covers the belief system of the most radical element of the
anti-abortion movement, including its tactics and use of intimidation and
violence. There is a sequence where a fatal attack on a clinic in Brookline, MA is reconstructed. Progressives, says one
speaker, don’t want to admit that these tactics often work. Sometimes they would buy property next to a
clinic so they could harass it and its visitors. One woman describes some anti-abortionists as
unattached men who get pleasure out of dominating women politically if they
aren’t successful in marriage directly.
Politically, the extreme right has used gerrymandering and cunning
tactics to gain local control.
The filmmaker does interview Randall Terry, and also
convicted killer Salvi, who says he takes all authority from the Pope.
It also covers the story of Eric Rudolf, the Olympic Park
bomber in Atlanta (1996), who also threatened a gay club as well as abortion
clinics. Wikipedia describes Rudolf’s
values as typical of right wing religious extremists, with an emphasis on the “family
hearth” and “complementarianism”, almost like those of a Christian Taliban.
There’s one curious segment that looks like it was filmed in
downtown Dallas in black and white, going nowhere. It could come out of a horror film.
There’s not a lot on YouTube.
The film was distributed by ThinkFilm and Image. There is a full movie version free on YouTine
from “AtheistClone”. I watched the
Netflix DVD. See the related film "After Tiller" reviewed here Nov. 4.
The mention of the bill in South Dakota (followed by a “waiting
period” law in 2011) would call attention to the film “South Dakota” by Bruce Isaacson, from LionHeart Movies. IMDB says the film was to be available in
late 2013 but it appears to have been shot in 2010, and is written as a drama
on the abortion issue, apparently related to the legal climate in that
state. (The title sounds ironic, given
the success of “Nebraska”, reviewed here Nov. 23). The movie
has a Facebook page here and people are writing comments asking when
the film will be available. Does the
controversy scare way distributors and multiplex chains? Actor Reid Ewing mentions it briefly on a
short TMZ YouTube video (link) . When will we see this film?
First picture:, above downtown Dallas, TX, near First Baptist Church, my picture, Nov. 2011. Below: July 4, 2013 on mall in Washington DC, fireworks does look like a mushroom cloud in this shot.
Update: The New York Times ran an article by Michael Sieply about the short-lived distributor ThinkFilm, which went under in 2008, on January 5, 2014, here.
Update: The New York Times ran an article by Michael Sieply about the short-lived distributor ThinkFilm, which went under in 2008, on January 5, 2014, here.
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