The special also accuses pop art of
distorting society with camp and the fashion industry of defeminizing
women.


And then comes Gore Vidal.


Suddenly the entire
special turns into a little mouse about to be devoured by a king cobra
that barely has time to regard its prey. Vidal is interviewed by Wallace
for only a few moments on camera, but Vidal’s confident, intelligent,
calm approach douses the entire freaked-out fire with cool logic and a
sense of rightness that almost validates the 30-plus minutes of cruelty
it follows.


Because at that moment reason was given a national
platform, in an era when there were only three televised venues for any
sort of platform (and one of them, NBC’s Tuesday Night at the
Movies, was airing Marlon Brando’s 1963 film The Ugly
American opposite). And when Vidal assertively declares
homosexuality to be as normal as heterosexuality, and Wallace says, “Who
says so?”


Vidal volleys back with an unmistakably superior
tone, “I say so.”


It’s a piece of historic television that
deserves to be seen, especially if you’re too young to remember how
quickly the world has changed in 43 short years, changed to the point
where Brian Posehn and Steve Agee’s costar Sarah Silverman can go on The View, like she did last week, and respond to
questions about her recent breakup and thoughts on marriage with this
comment:


“If you’re for equal rights, why would you get married
right now? It’s like joining a country club that doesn’t allow blacks or
Jews. There’s no difference.”


Smattering of applause from the
audience.

Now here’s that link. Go watch!