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Coming Out (Documentary)

By Golu
Coming Out is the personal story of young filmmaker Alden Peters. The film follows his coming out process as he tells his parents, friends and siblings how he has repressed his sexuality for a number of years. In using a homemade video style of filming, Coming Out gives us an insight into not only Peters’ journey but into his mindset as he starts to immerse himself into the LGBTQ lifestyle.The documentary is targeted primarily to a young, LBGTQ audience, facing the uncertainties of revealing their true selves to their family and friends. But the universality of much of the film’s message, makes it an emotionally moving and thought-provoking film for viewers of all backgrounds.

The film goes on to describe Peters’ childhood and emotional situation leading up to his decision to come out, before capturing on film each conversation in which he reveals his sexual orientation to a loved one. The first half of Coming Out focuses heavily on Peters’ confrontation with his own sexuality. Fearful to come out to his friends, who have previously used gay slurs, and his gun-toting fireman father, Peters’ apprehension is very relatable, but thankfully misplaced as he is only met with positive reactions. Every coming out process is unique and Peters represents this by continuously filming each member of his family. His mother reacts by asking him about gay sex and his siblings almost refuse to believe him.  His father is surprisingly more accepting than he thought he would be. Reactions of Peters’ family members were more accepting and positive than he expected, or inferred from their behavior, as well as what they expected of each other. Important issues such as why LGBTQ people face bullying and discrimination as well as how the internet has influenced the coming out process are also focused on in various conversations with authors, journalists and others. 

I wish I had seen this closer to the time when it came out. Times have changed and people have become more educated and more accepting, but the documentary still resonates very much. The structure of Coming Out is very simplistic, but it works in its favor. It starts off microscopically with Peters‘ story and then zooms out to encompass LGBTQ culture, identity and pride. Peters is a likable leading voice here but it’s his interaction with friends, family and LGBTQ leaders which drives the documentary, as these interactions demonstrate how LGBTQ people feature in society. Through the personalized nature of the documentary, we realize there is no cookie-cutter approach to facing a situation like this. The smooth storytelling blended with honest and authentic emotions will immerse viewers for the entirety of the film, and the insightful look into another’s reality will spur conversations and incite questions. Its honest portrayal of identity, family, and a very specific struggle that draws on universal human emotions will resonate with viewers and will help to shape their ideas and behaviors. A must-watch for anyone interested in the authentic journey of self-acceptance. (6.5/10)
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