Introspective with Dan Choi
Dan Choi is a former American infantry officer in the United States Army who served in combat in the Iraq war during 2006-2007. He became an LGBT rights activist when he came out on The Rachel Maddow Show in March 2009 and publicly challenged Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy of the US military, which forbade lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) service members from serving openly. He was the single most important activist in the challenge to DADT policy, and following the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by Congress, Choi was present at the U.S. Interior Department to attend President Obama’s signing of the bill on December 22, 2010.
In this film Dan reflects on his journey as an activist as well as a gay man seeking acceptance from his mother and father who are conservative Christians. His father is a Southern Baptist minister in California. Dan talks openly about the challenges of being a full time activist, the emotional and mental toll which has resulted in him being hospitalized for mental health treatment, and the Christian values that enabled him to get through the difficult times even as he felt abandoned and ostracized by the Christian community in which he grew up.
Introspective with Dan Choi is a documentary by the Korean American filmmaker Pearl Park.