Fish Out of Water

Directed by Ky Dickens
First Run Features



In Fish Out of Water, Ky Dickens recalls her effort to reconcile her devout, Christian faith with her homosexuality. She claims she feels like a “fish out of water,” because, after coming out during her senior year of college at Vanderbilt, she was ostracized from her academic community, but, at the same time, didn’t quit feel an affinity to the gay community at large. To remedy this intense feeling of conflict within her self, Dickens set out to study the Christian scriptures, mostly by traveling the country to consult leaders of the Christian faith. What she discovered during her journey was that many people lean blindly on the Bible—believing, for instance, that the Bible ordains that homosexuality is a sin, but, for the most part, these same people have very little idea about what actually is written in the Bible.

Therefore, Dickens’s objective in the documentary is to examine, through a series of interviews with key Christian leaders, the seven verses (of over 6,000 total) that are cited as the key verses used to buttress Christians’ condemnation of homosexuality and, specifically, same-sex marriage. Especially revelatory are the four verses analyzed from the Old Testament (the final three are from the New Testament scriptures written by Paul in Romans, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians). In the creation story that begins Genesis, biblical scholars discuss how God created Eve as the “fit helper”—ezer kenegdo, a “corresponding helper”—for “Adam” (meaning human of no gender). Eve was not created as his servant or slave, but as a life companion, in which Adam can find strength to live life to the fullest. Not only does this explication turn misogynist interpretations of the Bible their heads, but it also works to clarify that the primary function of this creative coupling was to not “be fruitful and multiply,” but to live harmoniously. Eve was not meant to be the vessel for man’s reproduction, neither does this injunction to “be fruitful and multiply” connote that sexual relations, of whichever sort, that do not seek to reproduce are “unnatural.”

Another fascinating discussion focuses on the Sodom and Gomorrah story, which is cited by the ignorant masses as proof that homosexuality is “unnatural” and that “sodomites” will be subject to the wrath of God. The moral underlying the tale is not about the unnaturalness of homosexuality, but the consequences of failing to provide hospitality to strangers. Lot offers two strangers shelter for the night, to the dismay of the local villagers, who turn violent from what appears to be sheer boredom. They want to “know” (ie, rape) the two strangers, who turn out to be angels—and these angels unleash their fury upon the villagers, while allowing Lot and his family (his wife, who turns to salt, and his two daughters) to flee the village before it is destroyed. The two daughters, eager to create their own tribe, decide to get their father drunk and then rape him in order to procreate to begin their own tribe. Via analysis of this story, it becomes apparent how irrelevant and ineffective this verse is in a bigot’s arsenal against homosexuality—because it has nothing to do with same-sex relationships or marriage.

Overall, Dickens offers us a more satisfying take on the conflict between the Christian faith and homosexuality than other pieces, especially the tepid For The Bible Tells Me So, which had little substance in relation to is political bite. The focus on exegesis rather than politics renders the documentary a much stronger weapon against blind faith and bigotry. Fish Out of Water is a heartfelt but serious film for those who, like Dickens, long to ease the conflict between their religion and their sexuality. As well, it could prove a quite powerful tool if utilized in pedagogical settings, to dispel misconceptions of scripture in society.

Review by Marcie Bianco

The Invention of Monotheist Ethics, Volume I: Exploring the First Book of Samuel

By Hillel I. Millgram
University Press of America, Inc.

But the wicked will be put to silence in darkness; For not by power shall man prevail. Samuel 2:2

The Invention of Monotheist Ethics, Volume I is the first in a two-volume series exploring the Book of Samuel and its significant role in the evolution from a largely pagan society to a monotheistic one. The book is especially geared towards readers who are new to studying the Bible.

Why study the Book of Samuel, and not start at the beginning, in Genesis? First, Millgram argues, it is a highly accessible biblical text. Samuel’s characters are dynamic and deal with matters very similar to our own. Furthermore, states Millgram, the characters are in constant activity, “there is rarely a dull moment.”

Second, the book is diverse in contents, characters, and issues. It is one of the only books in the Bible with several prominent female characters. The very first character we are introduced to is Hannah. At the beginning of the narrative Hannah is childless, and miserable because of it. One night in act of desperation Hannah prays, promising God that if he blesses her with a child she will dedicate the life of the child to him. Hannah gives birth to Samuel shortly after and eventually becomes the mother of six children.

Despite accessibility and diversity, readers may be most interested in Millgram’s most provocative argument; he is convinced that the Book of Samuel was written by a woman. One clue is that women’s roles in the book are not circumstantial (such as being mentioned only as the wife of a male character) but essential to the moral messages of the book. While the historical aspects of the narrative may not be damaged by removing the female characters, the book’s meaning, its moral components, require the presence of the female players.

To give further credit to his argument, Millgram provides details on the daily lives of women in ancient Israel and debunks certain misnomers, such as the belief that most women in ancient Israel were illiterate. The formation of Israel in fact coincided with the adaptation of the alphabet script, and it is not at all unlikely that more women were involved in writing the Bible than believed.

Throughout the book Millgram takes it for granted that the author of Samuel was written by a woman, an approach that is unique and noticeable to those who have previously studied the Bible. Given the manner that Bible stories permeate American society, such an approach can have an enormous positive impact on the psyche of American women, Christian or otherwise.

My favorite story from Volume One was the David and Goliath narrative. Because the story is largely seen as mythical, it is compelling to have the facts of the story articulated, including insights into the consciousness of David and the other main players.

While the book does in fact make the Book of Samuel more accessible to readers, there are long sections dealing with the politics and wars of ancient Israel that are dense and less accessible than other portions of the book. The Invention of Monotheist Ethics is also printed in a format that is academic and unfriendly to the more lay reader.

Unfortunately the volume ends before the introduction of Bathsheba, one of the most memorable women of the Bible. Her story and the rest of King David’s reign are included in Volume Two. However the book is a wonderful introduction to the Bible and a great source for those looking for an unorthodox approach to the book.

Review by Janice Formichella