HEART OF THE BEHOLDER
For a number of years secularists and humanists have been aware of the struggle the would-be producers of Heart of the Beholder were having in their bid to make the film. Based on the true story of the Howard family, owners of a video rental store in St. Louis, USA, in the early 1980s, the film tells the story of a struggle. The struggle was with the Citizens for Decency – what more do we need to say! They were an ordinary family placed in an extraordinary situation.
Mike and Diane Howard were a typical young couple with dreams of raising a family and starting a business of their own. They opened the first videocassette rental store in St. Louis in 1981. It was a tremendous risk trying to balance a new baby and a new business, but they believed in the American Dream. With hard work, their company grew into a multi-million-dollar chain of stores.
During the growth of the company, the Howards were visited many times by a group of religious people called the Citizens For Decency. The CFD insisted the Howards remove movies from their stores that they felt were “... obscene or a detriment to the community and its children”. Films such as Taxi Driver, Agnes of God, Blazing Saddles, Animal House, Mr Mom, and many more were targeted. The CFD also asked for the removal of the movie Splash, claiming the movie promoted sex with animals because Tom Hanks makes love to a mermaid.
When Martin Scorsese’s controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ was released on video, the Howards were the only video stores in St. Louis unafraid to offer the film for rent. The CFD declared war with pickets and boycotts. They harassed the Howards and their employees, vandalising stores and cars. The situation worsened when the couple received death threats to their little daughter saying she would be “... sent back to God to be reborn to parents who worship the Lord”.
When the Howards refused to buckle, the CFD blackmailed the prosecuting attorney with information about the prosecutor’s secret sex life. The prosecutor had no choice but to ruin the Howards any way he could. He filed obscenity charges against the Howards and, misusing the RICO racketeering laws, he confiscated every movie from every store. The prosecutor fed the media vague details about investigations alleging that the Howards had ties to organised crime. The Howards’ friends distanced themselves and they were shunned as social outcasts. But their determination came through – they won their court case, but the negative publicity and legal fees bankrupted their business and harmed their family.
