The Fruit Machine (Documentary) (Canada)

The fruit machine was created as an ostensibly scientific way to detect homosexuals, so they could be fired from their government jobs or pre-screened before being offered employment in the first place. This was during the Cold War, and the prevailing fear was that homosexuals would be at a greater risk of blackmail by Russian spies. They needed to be identified and removed, the thinking went, so they wouldn't reveal the nation's secrets. This documentary throws some light on the homosexual witch-hunt of public servants and military personnel in Canada from the 1950s through the early 1990s and its effects on the people whose lives and careers were disrupted or destroyed by it.

The first half of the documentary focuses primarily on the historical context of the LGBT Purge, including the Cold War. Intertwined with this historical section are the stories of a number of men Civil Service Purge survivors who were investigated and lost their jobs. The producers anchor the film in the late 1940s to the 1970s, a time when governments demagogued that homosexuality was one of the western world’s greatest enemies. The second half of the documentary focuses predominantly on the stories of women military Purge survivors. The makers excel in capturing the emotionally powerful testimonies of sexual violence, intimidation, and torturous interrogations. They skilfully illustrate the depth of the harm perpetrated and the young lives left in ruins. The fact that the documentary is dominated by the testimonies of military Purge survivors is not explained in the film, but it is not surprising. This film is a reminder of a horrible moment in Canada's past which created a discussion period with our Wing to reflect on our duty to serve our country, and to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

The term, “the fruit machine” derogatorily refers to a clinical device developed & designed to identify gay men or “fruits”, as they liked to label. The subjects were strapped into a chair, one that resembled something you would find in a dental office, and forced to watch pornographic images ranging from the mundane to overtly sexually explicit photos of men and women. The device was constructed with the idea that it could measure someone’s erotic response and gayness through the pupils’ reaction (pupillary response test), perspiration, and pulse, signaling who were homosexuals and who was not. The documentary intelligently focuses on the despair and pain brought on by those hours in those interrogation rooms and for the years of being investigated as if they were criminals and spies. It’s about the systematic dismissal of members of the LGBTQ+ community from participating in the country’s public service circles and military during the 1950s through the 1980s. The tales are tragic and utterly traumatizing for those affected. Many suffered psychological trauma, which led to alcoholism, drug addiction, and sometimes suicide. The trauma is infuriating to listen to, and hard to believe that this, one of the largest bullying campaigns in the history of Canada, was allowed to happen and that it lasted as long as it did. It’s also a cautionary tale, reminding us what racism, homophobia, and ignorance can orchestrate, and what we need to be constantly on the look-out for. (5/10)