Friday, 5/2/97 ‘Ellen’ lead character ‘comes out’ to viewers
Controversial episode boosts ratings, fosters mixed reactions
By Tyler Maxwell Daily Bruin Staff "I am gay." These were the
words Ellen spoke Wednesday night to over 35 million viewers in a
precedent-setting event for prime-time television. Ellen DeGeneres’
"coming out" as a lesbian would have been difficult on its own. But
doing so on national television was cause for celebration among the
gay and lesbian community. No lead character in a prime-time TV
show has ever come out to viewers explicitly. The event brings to
the spotlight questions about just how far gays and lesbians have
been accepted into mainstream society. People are divided as to
what this event means for gay and lesbian individuals as well as
for the community at large. The reaction among the gay and lesbian
community has been primarily positive, with "Ellen" parties held
across the city to celebrate the event. "I really liked it, it was
pretty realistic," said Alison Beck, managing editor of UCLA’s gay
and lesbian newsmagazine, TenPercent. "I think it was a good thing
for the (gay and lesbian) community." However, as in any
controversial issue, there are differing opinions. "Tonight it’s
homosexuality, tomorrow it’s something else," said David Curtin,
executive director of the Illinois Christian Coalition, in
Thursday’s editions of the Chicago Tribune. The goal for many gays
and lesbians is creating awareness about the reality of their
identity and lifestyle. "As a community, we have to fight against
those who attack us," Beck said. "Personally, I have a tendency to
react with anger. At the same time I realize these people have been
fed lies about gay and lesbian people. "Part of our job is to offer
information to those who have been lied to. The ‘Ellen’ episode
offers a slice of true information about lesbian and gay people to
a large audience," she added. Others praised "Ellen" for its
realistic portrayal of a lesbian in modern society, as opposed to
the previous treatment of gays and lesbians in other television
shows. "Gays and lesbians tend to be on shows only because they are
gay," said Wendi Deetz, a third-year English student. "They have a
gay character on ‘Melrose Place’ that is gay and people refer to
him as ‘the gay guy on the show.’ People are reduced to their
sexuality (on many TV shows), which doesn’t happen with straight
people (on TV)." English Professor Arthur Little, who teaches gay
and lesbian literature, said he approved of the humorous portrayal
of the subject matter on "Ellen." However, he stressed the serious
aspects that surround this controversy. "It allows the American
public to see the humor and that gay people laugh too. We have gay
teenagers killing themselves at three times the rate of their
heterosexual counterparts. This is a serious issue," he said.
Despite the controversy surrounding the episode, the ratings for
the show were impressive. ABC estimated that 36 million people saw
some or all of the show Wednesday night. Nielsen ratings showed
that 35 percent of all American households were tuned in to the
"Ellen" episode, said Susan Sewell, a spokesperson for ABC. By
comparison, the show averages about a 16 percent audience share,
making Wednesday’s episode 164 percent higher than the season
average. The season-long buildup toward DeGeneres’ character’s
emergence as a lesbian took place against a backdrop of declining
ratings for both ABC and "Ellen." ABC has trailed NBC and CBS,
respectively, throughout this television season. And "Ellen," which
finished the 1994-95 season as the 13th most popular show in the
Nielsen rankings, currently occupies 36th place among the top 160
shows. The show aired in every state except for an ABC affiliate in
Birmingham, Ala., which refused to air it on moral grounds. On
Wednesday night, men handed out religious pamphlets while more than
2,000 paying guests watched the episode via satellite in the
Birmingham City Auditorium. "Our church is on (that TV station)
every Sunday," said protester Andrew Cantelmo. "When they stepped
out and said they won’t show it, I said, ‘This is great.’" The
negative reaction to the subject matter by certain groups and
individuals has stirred apathy and remorse from those who feel this
is a positive step forward for the gay and lesbian community. "Part
of what we have in this country is a history of gay people trying
to be part of the public conversation," Little said. "Gay people
are part of our public culture. (The negative response) says that
gay people don’t have a right to be in public spaces." In last
night’s segment, titled "The Puppy Episode," during Ellen’s evening
with a male friend from her college days, she found herself
powerfully attracted to his female aide, played by Laura Dern.
Guest appearances on the episode were made by Oprah Winfrey as
Ellen’s therapist, noted lesbian music artists Melissa Etheridge
and k.d. lang, and other celebrities including Demi Moore, Dwight
Yoakam and Billy Bob Thornton. Despite the raging controversy
surrounding this issue, Little said that "gay people are as much a
part of our public culture as straight people." With reports from
Daily Bruin wire services