The UK Telegraph's Tim Stanley on Hollywood trying to make gay marriage culturally inevitable as the legal and political attempts to redefine marriage falter:
On Saturday night, Google and YouTube will be live-streaming the premier of “8,” a play about the federal trial that overturned a California law banning gay marriage. It’s based on court transcripts and purports to tell the objective truth, although its politics are pretty brazen. The play is written by the talented screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J Edgar) and stars anyone who is anyone who ever voted Democrat – George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Jane Lynch, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis and what feels like the entire cast of Glee. This is how Hollywood thinks you can change hearts and minds – by putting on a show!Tinseltown’s methods have never changed, but its politics certainly have. Can you imagine Bob Hope in 1956 throwing a telethon for transgendered rights? “Pick up your phones, folks. All we need is another $10,000 and we can make every bathroom in Burbank unisex…”
Supporters of gay marriage have wisely moved away from trying to win by the ballot box; the proposition has been rejected by citizens in 31 referendums. Now activists prefer to pursue their demands through the judiciary or local legislatures. California was an example of the former, overturning the result of a popular vote that took place in 2008.
...Despite consistent public opposition, there is a growing sense of inevitability about gay marriage. And Hollywood should take credit, for beneath the political radar it has affected a cultural revolution. Turn on the TV in America and you are bombarded with images of homosexuality as a social norm. Shows that showcase gay characters include American Horror Story, 30 Rock, Modern Family, Being Human, Game of Thrones (yes, really), Broadwalk Empire, Law and Order, Downton Abbey and Southland. A significant number of these (including Glee, Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf) are aimed at teenagers. Even the comic Archie featured a homosexual union in its latest edition. The result is that while adults huff and puff about the ethics of gay marriage, a lot of youngsters are growing up acculturated to it.
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