Visible: Out On Television
VISIBLE: OUT ON TELEVISION - Apple TV+
Visible: Out on Television is a bold, thorough and deeply impactful examination of LGBTQ representation on television and the role that television can play in creating a rigidly stigmatic, laughably offensive or progressive understanding of the daily lives and stories of LGBTQ people. The thread woven throughout this series is of television being used as a powerful “tool” to create an image of homosexuality and gender fluidity to influence a viewer’s mindset into feeling one way or another about LGBTQ people. As well, the constantly gripping documentary series (produced by Wilson Cruz, Wanda Sykes, Jessica Hargrave, and Ryan White; chiefly directed by Ryan White) pays special attention to the symbiotic relationship between television and the real world and how what transpires on one platform can incite or inspire the direction of the other, leading to powerful, rallying cries for equality and visibility in response to the harsh discriminatory realities that plague the LGBTQ community.
Across its compact five-episode run, the docuseries deftly confronts issues of discrimination, humiliation, invisibility and the unfortunately painful results that emerge from coming out to loved ones through the lens of specific groundbreaking television characters, actors, celebrities and cultural icons. Real-life figures such as Harvey Milk, Ellen DeGeneres and Lance Loud alongside television programs such as Will & Grace, Pose, An American Family and Noah’s Arc are given a spotlighted platform to discuss the importance of these particular cultural milestones and their impact on the television industry as a proud statement of presence, relevance and visibility.
Visible crafts a breathtakingly honest and vivid look into the eyes of televised LGBTQ history through the eyes of actors, writers and activists who were either a part of or deeply influenced by these particular characters and people. The series puts in a notable and consistent effort to include a wide variety of perspectives and elevate all of them as equally important contributions to the wider LGBTQ media pantheon. Each episode is confidently paced and transitions smoothly between topics and television events without ever feeling disjointed or thematically disconnected. The show always finds a unique way to connect specific programs and characters to a broader unifying theme, assigning them a grand sense of importance and relevance by allowing these stories to matter in the broader context of the LGBTQ movement and their fight against the prejudiced world at large.
The docuseries moves through the history of television in much the same way that Marlon Riggs might: deconstructing the television as a representation of “all-American family values” and illuminating the importance of television programs that critique this point of view by offering more realistic and diverse perspectives. In this way, the series is sensitive, sharply critical and inclusive in its depiction of the stories that matter to people without a voice. It shows how television can be used to uplift, inspire and strengthen that voice. Visible: Out on Television is an ultimately beautiful and inspiring experience that highlights the role that LGBTQ people have always played in television and examines how representation can be hurtful, harmless or powerful, and what can be learned to make these stories and characters feel more realistic and human.
VISIBLE: OUT ON TELEVISION is streaming exclusively on APPLE TV+ from February 14th 2020
