A decade after
the release of a documentary that profiled Jesse Helms,
one of the fiercest enemies of gay rights, Dear
Jesse comes to DVD -- including a never-before-seen
interview with Matthew Shepard -- and reminds us
how far we have come.
Almost a decade
has passed since Tim Kirkman filmed his Emmy-nominated
documentary Dear Jesse, yet the piece retains
its significance as one of the first accounts of the
divisive rhetoric that has come to characterize
American politics. This short film is a first-person
compare-and-contrast between the gay filmmaker and the
notoriously conservative Jesse Helms, who served five
terms as a Republican senator from North
Carolina. Kirkman, who grew up in a similar
environment, seeks to understand what motivates decent,
“God-fearing” people to practice the politics
of hate.
In 1972, Helms
became the first Republican to represent North Carolina in
the U.S. Senate since the 19th century. His conservative
politics quickly earned him the moniker
“Senator No” -- that is, no affirmative
action, no abortion, no gay rights. Despite his
tendency toward intolerance, Helms would become the
longest-serving popularly elected U.S. senator in his
state's history.
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Gaughan, a former intern at The Advocate, is a
junior at the University of Southern California.