Sergeant Matlovich vs. the US Air Force, first televised August 21, 1978, is the true story of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who was dismissed from the Air Force for being gay and his fight to be reinstated. Matlovich worked to combat racism in the Air Force in the early 1970s and realized that gays also face similar discrimination. He became an outspoken advocate for the gay community and was given and general discharge from the force.
His fight to be reinstated became a groundbreaking episode that helped rally the LGBT community. He took a settlement from the Air Force and he became an activist for gay rights. He was the first openly gay person to be featured on the cover of a major newsmagazine Time.
The movie starred Brad Dourif in the title role. David Ogden Stiers, Rue McClanahan, Marc Singer, and Mitchell Ryan.
Matlovich died in 1988 just before his 45th birthday. His tombstone in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC (since he wasn't allowed to be buried in Arlington Cemetery) does not bear his name, but has the inscription:
"When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
In 1919, German film director Richard Oswald directed, produced and co-wrote the movie Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others), which is the first movie to present a sympathetic view of gays in film.
The movie centers on Paul Korner (played by Conrad Veldt), a successful violinist who falls in love with one of his students, Kurt Sivers (played by cutie Fritz Schulz). Their relationship is discovered by an acquaintance of Korner, Franz Bollek (played by Reinhold Schunzel), who in turn blackmails Korner.
Korner agrees to pay him but keeps it a secret from Sivers. Unfortunately, Sivers finds out when Korner decides to stop the blackmail payments and a fight with Bollek ensues. Sivers disappears, going it alone. I doubt if this was meant to be but the fight is a bit of comic relief.
Korner is inconsolable without Sivers and tries to 'cure' himself with hypnotherapy, but it is just a scam. He attends a lecture with Sivers' sister Else. The Doctor (played by Magnus Hirschfeld) talks about homosexuality and other similar topics, about how it is not a mental condition but determined physically.
Korner reports Bollek for blackmail but is arrested himself. In retaliation, Bollek outs Korner. The Doctor testifies on behalf of Korner. The judge is sympathetic toward Korner and sentences him to a week in prison. Bollek is sentenced to 3 years for his crime.
Afterward, Korner finds out he has been ostracized and rejected by his friends and family. He is no longer employable so he commits suicide. Kurt Sivers hears about his death and rushes to his side, but Korner's family blames him for his suicide.
Sivers decides to kill himself, too, but the Doctor stops him delivering a final speech:
"You have to keep living; live to change the prejudices by which this man has been made one of the countless victims. ... [Y]ou must restore the honor of this man and bring justice to him, and all those who came before him, and all those to come after him. Justice through knowledge!" I watched the movie on Youtube (with Italian narration) and found it to be somewhat ahead of its time. Especially currently, we seem to have fallen backwards to more primitive times. One of the lines from the movie talks about how Napoleonic code laws against homosexuality were dropped after the French Revolution since they were seen as a violation of fundamental human rights. Another that stuck with me: May justice prevail on this grave injustice, so science defeats superstition, and love wins over hatred. Isn't that awesome!
