The Chronicle

Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
Last update: 3/4/08 at 6:39 AM EST

Media Credit: Ian Soileau DukeOUT members were concerned that the graphic nature of the film "Shortbus" (above) would create an uproar. Screen/Society opted to pull their name from advertising after seeing the film's content.

Film series tend to be quiet affairs on campus, but the new "Love = Love" series has managed to garner some attention for the highly graphic content of one film.

Following the success of the Love = Love T-shirt campaign last semester, DukeOUT-the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual and queer group for graduate and professional students-organized the film series set to the theme of gay relationships. The six-film series sparked interest on campus with the presentation of its first film, John Cameron Mitchell's "Shortbus," Feb. 20 in Griffith Theater.

Since then, one other film has been shown and four more are scheduled throughout the remainder of the semester.

"Shortbus" contains graphic depictions of sex and a cast of characters including a dominatrix, a sex therapist and a sexually-liberal gay couple. DukeOUT Chair Mayuresh Tapale, a second-year student at the Fuqua School of Business, said the organization prepared for any controversy associated with the film by issuing a warning on flyers and at the start of the film. Only students older than 18 were permitted to attend.

Still, because of the sexual content, Tapale said the group considered not showing the film, especially after the controversy that resulted from last month's Sex Workers' Art Show, but Tapale said the group decided to press on because of its interpretation of the film.

"What you're showing in the film is some kind of love," he said. "It wasn't about sexually explicit material. It was about relationships and people. So in the end we decided to go ahead and show the film because it was about more than sex."

In addition to issuing warnings for any audience members potentially offended by the film, DukeOUT invited an expert on sexually explicit material from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to lead a conversation following the screening.

Screen/Society, a branch of Duke's film/video/digital program, is a facilitator for the series, but chose not to associate its name with "Shortbus" after seeing a screening of the film. FVD Director David Paletz, a professor of political science, said he was worried about the content because parts of the film were potentially offensive to viewers.

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