SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

dove_504 One of the common themes in this movie is the question of remorse. Of the men being interviewed, very few showed any type of remorse for taking the life of another human being(s). Most of these murderers made what seemed to be excuses for their crimes. Alcohol, being abused as a child, and self-defense seemed to be the common answers for why they chose to shoot, stab, and kill these individuals. While these excuses did exist there seemed to be a much deeper driven force that led to such crimes. This was the hate, judgment and prejudice that most of these men admitted they possessed. These men possessed homonegativity, and most explained by the values that they held against gay men. Sheriff Dallas, a man who claims he targeted gay men only because they were easy targets and not because of homonegativity, still showed little remorse. When referring to the incident where he shot the man he explained how his intent was not to kill, rather that the bullet was responsible for his crime. Kenneth Train was the only exception of all the men interviewed. However, he was remorseful for killing four people at a restaurant who were most likely not gay. If his victims were gay men, there might not have been any remorse on his behalf. From my perspective as a viewer even though Train showed remorse for his victims he held the strongest Value Expression of homonegativity. He undermined gay men as humans; he believed that they weakened America as a nation. Such evidence proved that Train showed the strongest homonegativity of all the men interviewed. 11080553

shawdakota 11118084In Licensed to Kill there is a reoccurring theme that suggests that gay man need to be punished for being gay "because it says so in the bible". Jeffery Swinford tells Arthur Dong that what is written in the bible is morally right and has been drilled into their heads from a young age so they carry these beliefs with them through their lives. Jeffery Swinford refers to a specific quote from the bible, taken from Leviticus, to justify his actions. The quote states that a man whom has sexual relations with another man, as he would with a woman, should be put to death, which, in Jeffery Swinford's eyes, tells him that he did the right thing by killing a gay man. Jeffery Swinford was using extreme homonegativity to express his personal values. However, through out the whole movie, the many quotes about love in the bible are never mentioned. Never do any of the people in the movie quote any verses from the bible that focus on acceptance of others and fair treatment. The focus is instead on the quotes that put people who are different to death, thus Jeffery Swinford is being a "buffet Christian" in the sense that he is picking and choosing what he wants to believe in the bible and what parts he would rather disregard so that scripture acts in his favor. According to the bible, idolatry, adultery, murder, slander are all things gravely contrary to the love we owe God and, because of Him, our neighbor. By killing a man, Jeffery Swinford has committed a moral sin and, according to the bible, "suffered spiritual death". If Jeffery Swinford were actually "living by the bible" he would never put himself at risk of spiritual death and separating himself from god by committing murder.

dap315 11107951 Arthur Dong's documentary License to Kill offers the interested viewer an excellent opportunity to be informed about both the nature and motivations behind hate crimes which target sexual minorities -specifically gay men. Throughout the film, Dong introduces us to several convicted perpetrators of hate crime. The criminals presented are all male, and have been convicted with murder. The victims of all but one individual interviewed were gay males. The motivations behind these vicious hate crimes are varied, but a significant proportion of the criminals involved attempted to mitigate their actions by claiming some religious significance. This religious attribution is evident of "Old school homonegativity". Old school homonegativity states that negative actions taken against gay men and lesbian women are the result of religious beliefs, myths, or a strict adherence to perceived normality. Thus, these may be seen as chief motivations in the perpetuation of these anti-gay hate crimes. Many of the men Dong spoke with indicated that they saw gay men as weak and therefore, easy targets. According to theories concerned with hegemonic masculinity, the masculinity of gay men is seen as being on par with femininity and a destabilizing force against which dominant masculinity aggresses. The perception of gay men as weak and easy targets is likely an external expression of this aggressive attitude taken on by those who wish to reinforce -consciously or unconsciously- the socially dominant idea of masculinity while subverting those viewpoints which seek to challenge it. Dong's film highlights the negative effects of ignorance and the devastating outcomes which can result. I would recommend this film to anyone wishing to gain knowledge related to gay hate crime as well as those wishing to understand the social ramifications of hate crime in general.

cmouse1234 11037421 Licensed to Kill is a raw look at American homonegativity in the 90's. After being assaulted, Arthur Dong showed incredible bravery, having the courage to look these aggressors in the eyes and ask why; and the courage to listen to the responding lack of remorse, and in some cases pride, these individuals took from their crimes. Dong must be very strong to have been able to sit back and listen to these men spew disgust for gay men and excuses for their crimes when in reality there is no excuse for killing someone over their sexual orientation. The word "kill" written in a murder victim's blood is a potent image that epitomizes the hatred inherent in these acts. Reflecting on this image days later one still feels the blood-lust emanating from that wall. This appalling violence is seen in a more clandestine version through the story of William Kiley; after being brutally beaten by a teenager his neighbors did not phone the police but instead scorned Kiley for spraying his attacker with water. It is not hard for the viewer to connect the dots and consider how one lesser offense against a gay man can escalate into full blown murder. Comprehending how and why person would commit such offenses is beyond difficult but the film endeavors to show just that. Some of the men utilize vengeful Bible verses and myths of pedophilia to justify their crimes. Very few express remorse, other than being frustrated with the inconvenience of going to prison. Jeffrey Swinfold exemplifies this notion stating that his "taking care of" a gay man "is one less problem the world needs to deal with". The shocking yet fascinating overt homonegativity shown in this film leaves the viewer pondering what has changed in the 16 years since the films release. 11037421