The secular political discord that currently plagues the country is playing itself out on a much smaller scale in many American families, including Markie Hancock's. Raised by devout, born again Christian parents, Hancock spent much of her childhood worshipping and learning about the God to whom she was supposed to dedicate her life.
As she grew older, Hancock struggled with her faith, praying often to God, asking him to show her the elusive path that he meant for her to follow.
Then she fell in love with her female best friend. While Hancock didn't act on those feelings, their very existence threatened to tear the fabric of her life asunder.
Hancock's first act of rebellion was attending Princeton Theological Seminary, an institution viewed as liberal by her family, after graduating from the more traditional Wheaton College—her mother's alma mater.
After a year at Princeton, Hancock, more disillusioned than ever, went to Berlin to continue her theological studies, partly in an attempt to distance herself from her family and its religion. In Europe, far from her accustomed religious or familial confines, Hancock experienced more freedom than ever before and felt as if she could become her true self.
It was in Berlin, in the '80s, that Hancock had her first lesbian experience. Torn between feelings of passion and remorse, Hancock began the slow, excructiating process of extricating herself from her parents' religion and coming out as a homosexual.
The challenges Hancock faced (and still faces) as she strove to maintain loving relationships with her family while staying true to herself and her partner are detailed in the documentary Born Again. Hancock uses journal entries, home movies, interviews and her student films to tell the story of her spiritual and personal journey.
Some parts of the film are emotionally engaging, as when Hancock reads some of her journal entries from her time in school and in Berlin when she was grappling with the heady issue of her sexuality. Yet other parts are abrasive, as when Hancock is on camera interviewing one of her younger brothers who is still an evangelical Christian. Although her brother expresses acute concern for Hancock's eternal salvation and seems unaccepting of Hancock's sexual orientation—he refuses to let Hancock and her partner stay in the same room when they're visiting him—it's Hancock who comes across as rigid and uncompromising. She seems unable to shelve her bitterness long enough to entertain her brother's reasons for not explaining Hancock's sexuality to his children, who seem too young to understand sexual orientation. She repeatedly badgers her brother for answers, interrupting him often. Far from endearing herself to viewers, Hancock does a fair job at alienating them. Born Again does indeed tug heart strings, just perhaps not the ones the filmmaker intended."
Pothole Pictures, located at 51 Bridge St. in Shelburne Falls, is presenting two screenings of Born Again on May 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. Carrie Ferguson and the Cherry Street Band perform for a half an hour before each screening. Hancock will be on hand on Saturday to lead a discussion about the film. Call (413) 625-2896 for more information.
