In the ongoing debate about Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay stance and the Skip-Ender’s-Game boycott, Gavin Hood has weighed in again in an interview with The Advocate, one of America’s leading LGBT news magazines. The article focuses on the fact that Card’s views seem in many ways to be the polar opposite of what the book is about and stresses the parallels between Ender’s experience and the experience of young gay people everywhere of having to reconcile the way they are with the values and beliefs of their loved ones. Says Gavin Hood:
The story of Ender is really a young person in search of his identity and in search of his own moral compass. And so for me, it is so ironic that the writer of the work that has helped so many [young] people, gay and straight, to find empowerment, to feel empowered, to find their own moral compass — it’s very sad that he, himself, is struggling with these issues. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that in struggling with these issues, he wrote a great book.
But while it may be ironic, Hood does not seem to be surprised by the discrepancy.
Frankly, that’s not unusual. Great art usually rises above the weaknesses and failings of its creators.
Repeating a sentiment that we have previously heard from producer Bob Orci, Hood goes on to voice his support for the current debate, saying that while he understands the boycotters’ stance, he would rather they watch the movie and use the difference between Card’s views and the messages of the book as a starting point to engage in a fruitful debate about LGBT issues.
[W]e would not be having this conversation if we hadn’t made Ender’s Game, and that’s the way you change societies, when you engage in meaningful conversation. So I’m thrilled we’re having this conversation […] And wouldn’t it be amazing if we could turn this thing into what the book is really about? […] As stressful as this is, it’s achieving, in a twisted way, exactly what we set out to do [namely tell a story about compassion and embracing difference – my note].
While quite a few reader comments on this article are unsurprisingly disparaging I am very pleased to see that a leading LGBT news outlet such as The Advocate is acknowledging the complexity of the issue and voicing a positive attitude towards the book and its positive message of tolerance and compassion.
Read the entire article HERE!
Source: The Advocate
