I'm actually kind of shocked - I knew Morgan Spurlock, I went to Jr. High & high schoold with him in Beckley, WV. I was a year behind him, I remember him as student body president, dating Lisa, who was a friend of mine. His dad worked with my dad at the phone company. A lot of intersections in life 20 years ago, and he's really grown up - I remember him as a pompous ass, student body president, and really unkind. I think a lot of the concepts for his projects still are about shock value rather than smart satire or commentary, but that may be colored by history. If I'm honest, I think he did a nice job with this, which could have been tasteless, campy or rude, and instead turned out thoughtful, considerate, and real. I'm truly shocked. He's let go of his old self and grown more than I'd ever have thought possible to have created this...

Because it actually leaves you with something valuable. I remember in this episode it was interesting to see how "the subject" managed to break the stereotypes and how he let go of his fears (he went in with a lot of both) once he put a face to the idea of been gay. And he really let go by the way.

Another ones to look for: when Morgan And Lisa themselfs become minimum wage worker for a month and especially 30 days as a muslum. A devout christian goes in for 30 days into the religion, an gives an eye opening episode about the religion and how some americans have taken it to the wrong place after 9/11.

What is interesting about this show is how at the end, the people who went in perhaps did not agree but they understood the principal issue of each episode. As always there truth to the wisdom of "putting yourself in another persons shoes" and youll get it.

 

I felt SICK by the end of this episode.  Ryan, the straight guy, learned nothing and most of the gay people didn't even challenge his beliefs.

Throughout the entire episode Ryan would agitate gay people from telling Ed's friends on the second day that marriage is only for opposite-sex couples at dinner to purposely going into Daddy's to see if anyone would confront him again.  I know guys like Ryan.  They do everything their community wants them to do; think like them, act like them, look like them, enforce their beliefs, and impose their beliefs.  He's a good ol' boy; protector of straight male supremacy.

I have to thank Penny even though he didn't listen to her.  She presented very intelligent answers to his questions and did not roll over. The two gay men that confronted Ryan at the bar and American Legion are worthy of praise too.  They had the balls to confront bigotry.

The show was going downhill from the very beginning but it took a nose dive after his final talk with Penny.  Ryan comes back to Ed's place to play some football with him and then proceeds to tell Ed that he still believes gay people are sinful like it was nothing.  Ed like usual rolls over and accepts his bigoted beliefs because he's straight and attracted to Ryan. 

Ryan then goes to a PFLAG meeting.  He swaggers in all smiles.  Let's turn this around.  What if you were sent to live with conservative evangelicals, would you be as confident to swagger into a meeting after being with them for 20+ days?  No, you wouldn't.  It shows that the gay people in the Castro did not challenge his beliefs enough.  He probably was thinking how he beat the f*gs in the heart of gay America. 

If I was Ed's friend I doubt I would be after seeing this.  He is very weak.  I would hate to see Ed the victim of an attack, he would offer little defense. 

Jake, Ryan's friend, I think is gay.