Out Takes

22 Sep 2017

Fear, Persecution and The Lavender Scare

Arts, TV & Film

This week on Out Takes, we celebrated the theatrical screening of Josh Howard’s THE LAVENDER SCARE by turning our attention to queer-leaning films that explore the themes of fear and persecution against the backdrop of the mid twentieth century.

THE LAVENDER SCARE is the first documentary film to tell the story of the US government’s decades-long effort to purge its ranks of gay and lesbian employees. It screens as part of the Queer Screen Film Fest in Sydney this month. Our guest was Josh Howard, the director of THE LAVENDER SCARE. We spoke with Howard about his new documentary and the lessons that we can draw from it.

We also placed THE LAVENDER SCARE alongside a series of films that are set in the mid-twentieth century, which deal with the fear and persecution of queer people: think Tom Ford’s A SINGLE MAN, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, and the now canonical VICTIM. These are films that explore what it means to be isolated and marginalised as part of a minority group; films that draw on the era in which they’re set to make a statement about the disenfranchisement of LGBT people.

Essential viewing: THE LAVENDER SCARE (Dir Josh Howard, 2016)

Hungry for more: X MEN: FIRST CLASS (Dir Mathew Vaughn, 2011)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:53 — 22.4MB)

Subscribe or Follow Us: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Email | Deezer | RSS

2 Dec 2025

JOY’s 32nd anniversary and World AIDS Day 2025

TV & Film

For this special Out Takes episode, we headed back in time then back to the future in honour of JOY ...

26 Nov 2025

Wicked: For Good, Coming Back Out Ball Movie, Coming Out for Christmas and Lurker

TV & Film

As is our way at Out Takes, we literally had something for everyone this week! The highly anticipated second film ...

18 Nov 2025

MQFF 2025, He Had It Coming and Eclipse Cinema

TV & Film

For this Out Takes, we welcomed the return of Melbourne’s very own queer film festival with a selection of reviews, ...