Grizzly Bears and "Sexual Psychopaths"

First, let me apologize to my regular readers, (and I know for a fact there are more than a few of you ;) ), that I did not have a post for last Tuesday. I believe that I mentioned that I am a full-time student, and last week was midterms. Nuff said. I am currently on Spring Break and have chosen to use this time to conduct a significant portion of my research for my next project.

For those that don’t know, my next doc is about the Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) in California, and its mistreatment of homosexuals in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. It was during this period that the hospital became a major research center into the treatment of what was then considered “sexual deviancy”. 

Homosexuals were considered “sexual psychopaths” until the 1960’s when the law was changed and they became “Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders”. They were committed without due process and for an indefinite period of time, during which they were subjected to electric shock therapy and an even more heinous treatment with a drug known as “Anectine”. They were tortured in an effort to “cure” them of their homosexuality.

I have been researching the subject since January and it has not been easy. For one, the State has not digitized any of the information regarding ASH and its policies or procedures; thus, the only way to get at it is by showing up at the Office of the Archives of California (OAC) in Sacramento and asking for whatever records they have left. The second major issue is that all of the really important stuff is protected by medical privacy laws like HIPAA.

Three weeks ago, I discovered a potential gold mine of info amongst the ‘restricted’ records held by the State. I had to submit a detailed justification to the State Archivist as to the reasons why I needed access to them. Understand that these are records that are not usually provided to an indie doc maker. But, thinking ‘creatively’ I realized that my research met their criteria for use and was able to convince them of my need. Thus, here I am, in Sac, spending hours a day going through some of the most boring files in State history. Yet still, I love it.

A large part of my pre-prod for “a final peace” was spent researching my family and my uncle’s history. It was like solving a family mystery, and became the most enjoyable part of the process. It is in the research that we learn the most about our subjects and begin to form our ideas and opinions on how to present them. That was true with “a final peace” and it is true with my new film as well. So far I have learned that homosexuals were made to participate in “group therapy” sessions with convicted pedophiles and rapists. They were also threatened and beaten by hospital staff in addition to the other mistreatment they endured. And yet, that is exactly what they did, they endured, and for that they are exemplary. 

If there is one thing I love about being a documentarian it is in the learning that there are always two sides to every story; and that there are often heroes. To me, the men that endured the horrific treatment at ASH are heroes, and it is my privilege to let others know about it.

So what about the “grizzly bears”? Last week, I saw Werner Herzog’s documentary about Timothy Treadwell, aka the “Grizzly Man”. Though I imagine most have already seen the film, I think it is a great example of how to approach a complex and largely unsympathetic subject. By the end, it had me wondering if Treadwell isn’t a modern day John Muir. I highly recommend it and would be interested in your opinion of Herzog’s work. The link above is only the trailer but the entire film is now available on Netflix. Next week we will continue the story of “a final peace” and the interview with my Aunt Tina. Till then, have a great week.