How clear did they make it that the show was about tolerance and not acceptance? Do you think most people really understand that difference? Did they actually put the difference into words, or did one have to infer it?
It was very clear to me that that's what they were going for, but then I was looking specifically for where they would draw the line if they drew a line. There was a direct juxtaposition of acceptance and tolerance on two occasions that I noticed. One was very conspicuous. Ellerbee asked one of the kids, one of the conspicuously Christian kids, if he knew the difference between them and he answered correctly. You couldn't miss that. The other time Ellerbee said that their purpose was to promote tolerance, no more. But both events were quick. The whole pace was quick, so there wasn't any elaboration and the next point came up fast. The word, tolerance, was used a lot in the show. There were also many people stating their opinion that homosexual acts were wrong without any argument or even rolling of eyes. So, I think the message would have been clear to anyone who gave it half a chance but perhaps not to those who went in with a chip on the shoulder. That's my take. I only watched it once. I didn't really study it.
What is less clear to me is if all POVs were treated equally neutrally. I thought the kids who thought gays were bad came across as little bigots, albeit fairly nice, civil ones, and I don't know how much of that was a reflection of my attitude and how much was show presentation. I don't know if someone opposed to homosexuality on religious grounds would have thought they were depicted positively or neutrally or negatively. It seemed neutral to me. All the perspectives presented were neutral, but some may have been more neutral than others, if you know what I mean. |
