Florida lawmakers are considering an incentive package to attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.  Productions with “nontraditional family values,” however, would be ineligible.  State Rep. Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando), who introduced the bill, said that films depicting gay families should not get the tax credit, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Gov. Charlie Crist agreed, defining “traditional” families as those with a married man and woman. (Someone should tell him that according to the 2000 U.S. Census, less than 25% of all families in the U.S. consist of a married, opposite-sex couple living with their own (biological or adopted) children.)

The bill (HB 697) was approved unanimously last week in the House Economic Development Policy Committee, and is apparently a priority for Republicans as part of their promise to create jobs.

Not everyone who wants to limit the tax credit to “family-friendly” films agrees with Precourt about the definition of family values. Some say that limiting the tax credit to “G-rated” films is enough. It is also unclear whether the language about “nontraditional family values” would make it through the state Senate version of the bill. Still, this type of thing sets my teeth on edge.

After the jump, the relevant section of the legislation. “Nontraditional family values” are lumped in with smoking, sex, nudity, gratuitous violence, and vulgar or profane language. There go my hopes of selling a screenplay that’s a sort of Heather Has Two Mommies meets Pulp Fiction.

Family-friendly productions.—A certified production determined by the Commissioner of Film and Entertainment, with the advice of the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council, to be family-friendly, based on the review of the script and the review of the final release version, is eligible for an additional tax credit equal to 5 percent of its actual qualified expenditures. Family-friendly productions are those that have cross-generational appeal; would be considered suitable for viewing by children age 5 or older; are appropriate in theme, content, and language for a broad family audience; embody a responsible resolution of issues; and do not exhibit or imply any act of smoking, sex, nudity, nontraditional family values, gratuitous violence, or vulgar or profane language.

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Unfortunately, the song, “And Mom and Kid,” isn’t yet available online. I give you instead “Roy G. Biv,” from their generally awesome album Here Comes Science. At least it has a rainbow theme. (It’s from their weekly podcast, so there’s a short spoken intro.)

This also serves in lieu of our vlog for the week, which won’t be happening because of unforeseen circumstances. Stay tuned for one next Thursday. (And please leave a comment if there’s a topic you’d like to hear us address!)

I am a member of the Amazon Associates program, and get a small referral fee from all purchases made at Amazon.com via links on this site. You are under no obligation to purchase through them.

Entertainment Weekly writer Jennifer Armstrong says, “I salute ABC for not ruling out gay parents now that it has one set on the schedule with Modern Family.”

Hear, hear. Kudos also to them for showing an older child, not the media-typical infant, and for acknowledging that not all lesbian and gay families start as lesbian and gay families. The interconnections of families are varied and complex.

Lots of promise in this one. Let’s hope they deliver.

Overall, this is a great film, aimed at the elementary school ages, that focuses on children of various backgrounds speaking about their families. There are children with same-sex parents, opposite-sex parents, single parents, parents of different races, adoptive parents, children living with grandparents, and more. It is a wide-ranging sampling of the great diversity of family life in our country. If there is one gap, it is that there are no children with transgender parents—or at least none that speak about having them.

This is not primarily a film about Rosie and her family, although there is one segment in which she speaks with her daughter Vivienne Rose about her recent separation from her partner Kelli. Divorced and separated parents will appreciate their dialogue, in which Rosie assures Vivienne Rose that they are still a family.

The musical guests, including They Might Be Giants, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Ziggy Marley, are terrific. I hope HBO puts out a CD or DVD of just the music, in addition to a DVD of the whole show.

Here’s the tricky part. The latter part of the film talks a lot about how families came to be, and necessarily gets into explanations of sperm and egg. The explanations here are age-appropriate for elementary school children. One scene involves an animated sperm wooing an egg to the strains of Frank Sinatra. Some of the children also discuss amongst themselves their understanding of sperm meeting egg. Most are clinical and unrelated to any sexual activity, and may even help parents to realize that they can explain these issues without freaking out about discussing sex with their kids. One child, however, does state that a man and a woman “have sex” in order to make sperm meet egg, but there is no further explanation of what “sex” is.

Don’t get me wrong—I think it is important for children to receive honest and age-appropriate explanations of these issues. For parents looking for a way to start these conversations, Rosie’s film is a great tool.

My concern is that by mixing discussion of family structure with discussion of reproduction (no matter how simplified and age-appropriate), Rosie will turn away parents who do not feel their children are quite ready for the latter. They will therefore not reap the benefits of the former.

Also, the right-wing has already tried to ban family diversity films that do not touch on reproduction at all. In fact, one of their main arguments for keeping LGBT-inclusive media out of schools is that it is not “appropriate” for young children—with the implication that it necessarily involves talking about sex. It doesn’t. As most readers here likely know, embracing family diversity is first and foremost about family structure.

By blurring the line, and discussing both family structure and reproduction in one film, however, Rosie risks adding fuel to the right-wing argument that “all” discussion of LGBT families is at root a discussion about sex. That is not to say that she shouldn’t have done this—but we as a community should be prepared to deal with the reaction.

Perceptive and open-minded parents will understand the difference, though, and will appreciate A Family Is a Family Is a Family for what it is—a celebration of family diversity and the various ways our families came to be.

(HBO, through various ad networks to which I belong, has purchased advertising for “A Family Is a Family Is a Family” on this site.)

The show is titled, somewhat sensationally, “The World’s Strictest Parents,” but the description for the show makes it sound more like “parents who can set appropriate boundaries for teens who need them.” A promotional document for the show explains further:

The BBC are looking for role model families from the Gay Community to take part in a new TV show, in which they send two teenagers from England to go and live with them for a week to learn about discipline and respect!

The first two series were HUGE in the UK and was one of the highest rated new BBC3 shows ever, and we hope that this series is going to be even better. We are looking for diverse families with teenagers who would be good role models to our unruly British teens.

Families whose teenagers enjoy their own freedoms but ultimately respect their parents!

Sounds like you or someone you know? Contact sarahrubin@twentytwenty.tv

+ 44 207 424 7728

Sensational or not, I think it’s a good thing that they want to include lesbian and gay parents in the mix.

Much of the film features children talking about their families, including ones with same-sex parents, single parents, adoptive families, and mixed-heritage families. Part of it features Rosie talking with her daughter Vivienne Rose about how their family came to be—and how, even after Rosie’s recent separation from Kelli, the children’s other mom, they are still a family. There are musical and animated interludes, including original songs by They Might Be Giants and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

For one segment, however, I have to fall back on the HBO description:

O’Donnell’s tongue-in-cheek performance of “My Science Project” tells the animated story of a young girl whose class project describes the scientific way she came to be. And Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Too Marvelous for Words” is accompanied by an animated sequence of a sperm in top hat serenading a glamorous egg.

It looks like a wonderful film, but parents should be alert that it could raise some questions about biology and reproduction. Be prepared to provide fuller explanations to your kids if these are topics you haven’t discussed with them yet. For those looking for a way to explain those issues, however, the film could be just the help you need. It seems like the bulk of the film is rightly on the children and their family interactions, though, not on the mechanics of their origins.

Trailer after the jump:

As always, more videos with positive images of LGBT families at the Mombian YouTube channel.

What would happen, I wondered, at the actual performances? Protests? Catcalls? Snickers from fellow students in the audience?

The reality was much happier. Sarah S. Brannen, the author and illustrator of gay-inclusive children’s book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, attended the show on Saturday and was kind enough to submit this guest post about it.

December 13, 2009

Falsettos in Concord

I went to see Falsettos at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School on Saturday night. According to the Boston Globe, it was the first-ever production of the musical by a public high school. A production of The Laramie Project by the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School two years ago met with pickets and protests, so I was delighted to see nothing outside the school but audience members hurrying through the cold.

Falsettos combines two one-act plays by William Finn and James Lapine: March of the Falsettos and, after an intermission, Falsettoland. The musical is through-composed, with no spoken dialogue other than an occasional line, and calls for just five actors in the first act with two more added in the second. The stellar high-school cast mastered the slightly dissonant jazzy harmonies and complex rhythmic interplay with apparent ease and only one line fumble in the entire show.

Although the lead role is ostensibly Marvin, who leaves his wife for a man before the musical begins, the central character is really his twelve-year-old son Jason, played in Concord by sophomore Hannah Kilcoyne. She was a tiny adolescent angsty joy to watch, and a big-voiced thrill to hear. I’m going to remember her name and look for her on Broadway a decade or so from now.

Zander Ansara was a strong Marvin, with Charlie Abend his hunky and boyish lover Whizzer. They were convincing as they portrayed all the multiple phases of their relationship and completely committed to the roles; it was fairly wonderful to sit in a public high school and watch two boys in bed together, one sleeping, the other singing him a love song, with nary a snicker from the audience. In fact, the song was received with rapturous applause.

Kailey Prior, as Marvin’s ex-wife Trina, proved a professional and convincing actress with a small but pretty voice. The lesbian couple in Act II have smaller roles but Jessica Stout has a stunningly beautiful voice and Celeste Hall, also a fine singer, was comically hilarious.

Finally, Evan Sibley as Mendel, the psychiatrist who marries Trina, had the audience eating out of his hand with his comedic timing, rubber face and strong singing.

Complex ensemble numbers like “The Baseball Game” and “Days Like This” were tight and delightful and most of the ballads were spell-binding. I have been to many, many worse professional productions. The small band played brilliantly, and Peter Atlas, the director and producer, is clearly great at his job as well as at ground-breaking programming.

A full house gave the three-hour musical their rapt attention and leapt to their feet, cheering, at the end.

Editor’s Note: I am a member of the Amazon Associates program, and get a small referral fee from all purchases made at Amazon.com via links on this site. You are under no obligation to purchase through them.