Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird documentary

[justiceischeap]

I was watching the above mentioned documentary this evening and I was struck with a thought that didn't seem to cross the minds of any of the folks interviewed in the documentary. Many stated how strange it was for a white person to be able to get into a black person's skin at that time and how difficult it must have been for her... and I just kept thinking, this is where people apparently don't see the correlation between being gay and being a minority. I think Harper Lee was able to step so easily into the Tom's skin because she was a lesbian in the south in the 50's/60's. I think Harper Lee knew all too well how African-Americans in the south felt. If you really look at the character of Boo Radley (whom I believe Harper stated was really based on her), you can see how she talks about him being so "weird" and ostracized for being so weird and how that could come from a place of feeling "other" because of ones sexual orientation.

Anyway, just needed to get that out...maybe I'm wrong but it seems logical. I found myself wanting to yell at the screen many times over this revelation.

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. I agree.

Haven't seen the documentary and barely remember the Gregory Peck movie but I do think that we ( sexual minorities) have a natural head start in terms of empathizing with other marginalized groups.

I think that's generally true of Jews as well and also of most AAs .... notwithstanding the long standing influence of the Black churches.... which in aggregate seems to impede what would otherwise be a natural inclination to empathize ( at least as far as lgbts are concerned.).

[Mmurphy]

2. Hey,Boo

I worked on this documentary & found no first and evidence that Harper Lee is a lesbian.
If you have some, please tell me what it is. Thank you

[Bolo Boffin]

3. I don't think I've ever heard that Harper Lee was a lesbian.

I did a search and only found there were rumors of such, but also talk of an unrequited crush on a married man. Maybe she was afraid she'd turn into her mother and avoided any intimate relationship. But there's no doubt she didn't feel like she fitted into the society she grew up in.

[justiceischeap]

4. Even if she wasn't a lesbian herself

the fact that she was friends with Capote and spent time at Fire Island, she was a smart woman and able to see the correlation I'm sure.

[Bolo Boffin]

5. Oh, most definitely.

I'd never thought about her being a recluse just like Boo Radley. It's one of those things where you've got 2 over here and 2 over there, and then an article like this comes along, and bam, it's 4!

[Behind the Aegis]

7. Have you seen the documentary to which the OP refers?

It is really good. Mr. BtA and I watched last week on Netflix while all the shows were hiatus. Watched a daylong marathon of "Auwchwitz: Inside the Nazi State," on Christmas...ain't I a joy.

[justiceischeap]

8. I thought about watching that and decided against

I can't remember what series I watched instead... I know I watched a lot of documentaries though.

[Bolo Boffin]

9. No, and I didn't know it was on Netflix!

A definite add to the queue.

I started Auschwitz over the holidays myself, but realized I'd already seen it. Just an incredible series all around.

[Bolo Boffin]

11. Just watched it last night. Very good indeed.

It was neat to see her older sister.

[closeupready]

6. I do agree with the idea that gay people are better at empathy.

That's always seemed obvious to me.

[Bohunk68]

10. Very interesting

Don't know how I missed this thread all week. Our local theater group just did TKAM this past year. I played the role of Bob Ewell, who I interpreted as a man who was not only banging his daughter in the physical sense, but also in the sexual sense. I conveyed this to the audience by pointing at myself at the end of Act I where my character was on the witness stand and says, "My Mayella". It conveyed that to the audience so well, that afterwards, I was approached and told I was really creepy. YAHHHH Success. I had thought about the role of Boo and wondered as to why he was confined to the house like the crazy aunts in the attic. Your hypothesis makes a lot of sense to me. As a side note, the person who played Boo in our play was also the Mayor of a local town and told me that if I wanted to get married, he would be honored to perform such service. This just after Marriage Equality happened in NYS.

This was a difficult role for me to play. I had portrayed no villains before this role and I had patterned it on my stepfather who had molested me and my two sisters who was also an alcoholic. I had thought that I had gotten over it 50 years before, but had not, really, and it took me more than a week to get back to "normal". I'm still having dreams with him in them, moreso lately. I've often wondered what happened to my stepfather as a child. I've often suspected that he was a closet case.