June 12, 1992

Filmmaker Marlon Riggs.

Filmmaker Marlon Riggs. His film about gay black men,"Tongues Untied," was shown on PBS last year, and it unleashed a storm of outrage in powerful right-wing circles. Sen. Jesse Helms (R, NC) even put together and distributed a seven-minute tape of scenes from the film, which, taken out of context, completely distorted Marlon Riggs' intentions. The documentary is often used by Congresspeople as an example of what's wrong with public broadcasting, and why it shouldn't be federally funded. Riggs now has a new documentary airing on this year's public TV series "P.O.V." called "Color Adjustment," a critique of prime time TV's myths and messages on American race relations. ("Color Adjustment" airs on many PBS stations Monday June 15 at 10 p.m.; check local listings.)

22:36

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Guest

Marlon T. Riggs

Host

Terry Gross

Other segments from the episode on June 12, 1992

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 12, 1992: Interview with Marlon Riggs; Interview with Francisco Goldman; Commentary on the phrase "your'e fired."

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June 12, 1992

16:22

Writer Francisco Goldman.

Writer Francisco Goldman. He was born in Guatemala, and was raised outside of Boston. His family often returned to Guatemala for visits. After college, he returned to Guatemala to live and write, and was awakened to the brutal political reality there. He then began a career in political journalism, writing for Harper's, The New York Times Sunday Magazine and Playboy.

Interview

Francisco Goldman

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June 12, 1992

05:51

Euphemisms for "You're Fired."

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg thinks about the many different ways to say "you're fired." (Rerun)

Commentary

Transcript

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We pay tribute to Professor and filmmaker Marlon Riggs, who died Tuesday. His film about gay black sexuality, "Tongues Untied," unleashed a storm of controversy for its graphic content; it was used by Senator Jesse Helms (Republican, North Carolina), to argue against government grants to the arts. Another RIGGS film was "Color Adjustment," a critique of prime time TV's myths and messages on American race relations. RIGGS was on the faculty of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. (Rebroadcast of 7/11/1991)

Obituary

Marlon T. Riggs

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July 11, 1991