The Age Of Information disembarked at the heels of a
sex revolution in America, in stark contrast to the excruciating social
repression which remains a dirty little secret in the military.
Winding up the 90’s, the Oscar nomination went to Patrick Swayze for playing a
transvestite. Drag Queen Ru Paul made the music video “Don’t Go Breakin’ My
Heart” with Elton John. “Queer Punk” emerged in popular music aimed at the heart
of rock and roll. The MTV generation “rocked the vote” in 1992 -- current cinema
directors note MTV’s impact on movie writing (shorter scenes). THE FLOOD GATES
WERE UNLOCKED. PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY EXCEPT INSIDE THE
MILITARY WALL.
Military Secret intends to enlighten the whole gamut from queer punks and
acidheads to straight-A high school grads and especially anyone 17-34
contemplating enlisting, as well as veterans confused by the internal conflict
bleeding from the arm of the Armed Forces: the war between personal liberty and
justice for all. Robert Graham exposes many fronts in this battle.
TELEVISED ENTERTAINMENT
Recent Standards & Practices
Nineties policy, widely distributed in censor memos* by the Standards &
Practices divisions of popular shows (like “Soap”) show strong condemnation of
negative stereo-typing in television:
“...great caution will have to be exercised to carefully balance controversial
issues; provide positive characterizations to balance ethnic stereo-typing;
delicate matters of taste will need to be handled with sensitivity and
discretion; and the gratuitous, sensational or exploitative will need to be
avoided.”
Included in this widely shared memo are directions for a specific episode:
Page 32: in order to treat Jodie as a gay character, his portrayal must at all
times be handled without “limp-wristed” actions or other stereotyping.”
Inclusion of sexual orientation in entertainment has made engaging in discussion
of sexuality less intimidating AND REMOVED A GIANT SALES BARRIER.
Close Emmy For Streisand
Glenn Close won an Emmy award in 1995 by portraying a lesbian Army Colonel
Margaretha Cammermeyer in the Barbra Streisand production. This documents a
mainstream desire for information about sexual harassment and discrimination
inside the military. It also demonstrates growing acceptance, in an arena where
media conservatives apply their toughest censorship.
High Profile Paperbacks
The proliferation of news on gays in the military during the ‘90s suggests a
large and growing number of bisexuals may be armed forces volunteers. High
profile trade paperbacks include My Country, My Right To Serve (HarperCollins)
and Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military (Fawcett). See the
section on Competition.
Keith Meinhold & The Fate Of All Discoverers
Petty Officer Keith Meinhold became a media darling after being discharged for
merely mentioning his sexual orientation, on ABC. A federal court ordered him
reinstated in 1994, deciding sexual orientation alone was unlawful grounds for
discharge. Graham’s discharge fell under the same judgment -- should he pursue
his case against the US Government. The Pentagon fought the Meinhold decision
vehemently. They attempted to discredit judges, challenging “civilian authority
on military matters.”
Military Secret takes a profoundly different slant: still inside the pressure
cooker. Graham’s set-up: romantic, unrequited bisexual love during the Gulf War,
has an edgy premise geared to go beyond military gay niche sales into the
mainstream.
As for bi- and homosexual identity, in ‘94 Americans
were notoriously reluctant to admit sexual orientation, even in anonymous
surveys. People fear discrimination. However, in 1994, the University of
Chicago’s study of 3,432 Americans, 18 to 59, found 10.1% of men and 8.6% of
women reported at least one homosexual experience/desire. Yet reflecting how
they continued to shun social persecution, only 2.8% of men and 1.4% of women
identified themselves as homosexual/bisexual. If it’s on the right shelf they’ll
pick it up.
Merely ten percent of the hundred million Americans between age 18 and 44 means
-- TEN MILLION AMERICANS STRONGLY AGREE WITH A MAJOR THEME OF GRAHAM’S BOOK (not
counting family & friends).
Gay/lesbian subscriptions prove this iceberg has a thawing tip:
GIRLFRIENDS 45,000
THE GUIDE 30,000
LAMBDA BOOK REPORT 11,000
THE NATION 95,000
OUT 120,000
TEN PERCENT 75,000
THE WASHINGTON BLADE 43,000
Singles 16,700,000
Secret the operative word, relative statistics characterize the flood gates:
Divorced per married, 1993 all races, 154 per 1,000
Percent wise, age 15 and over never married as of 1993:
men 30.3%, women 23.0%
In numbers, single, never married 18 and over as of 1993:
men 23,618, women 18,640
16.7 million were divorced as of ‘93 -- 8.4% of the adult population
Men’s Magazines
Esquire 720,000
Gentlemen’s Quarterly 650,000
Penthouse 2,250,000
Playboy 3,900,000
Women’s Magazines
American Woman 200,000
Cosmopolitan 2,700,000
Essence 1,000,000
Glamour 2,300,000
Redbook Magazine 3,200,000
Vogue 1,200,000
Woman’s Day 6,000,000
Ads, articles, or book excerpts describing trials & tribulations of a war hero
with a private vulnerability, should have a neutral appeal to male and female
singles.
Military Secret promises ongoing sales in military
“Exchange” stores’ book departments. Articles and advertising should prove
successful in reaching magazine subscribers interested in all things military:
ARMY MAGAZINE 130,000
NAVY TIMES 90,000
OFF DUTY 570,000
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 175,000
NOTE: Graham was interviewed on hazing in the Navy by RTL Europe and Inside
Edition. He was interviewed by ABC PrimeTime Live but they refused to air the
piece. He's been seen by over 20,000,000 viewers in 12 countries.
1994 statistics pinpoint three million military consumers to target:
Active Duty 1,705,103
Selected Reserves 1,013,769
Individ. Ready Reserve/Inactive Nat’l Guard 796,620
Total Ready Reserve 1,810,389
Standby Reservists 27,863
The 1/2 million who served in Operation Desert Storm gained a vested interest in
Gulf War books:
Army 246,682
Navy 98,652
Marines 71,254
Air Force 50,751
Their stories intersect the heart and soul of this book about serving in a Navy
fighter squadron. It’s impossible to imagine fading desires of these volunteers
to read of themselves for years to come. (Consider the resurgence of books and
movies 20 years after Vietnam.)
Strait-laced 10,000,000
A tally of mainstream subscriptions shows, advertising Military Secret as “a
must read” for concerned parents, church goers and conservatives promises brisk
sales to the curious and worried:
BOY’S LIFE 1,439,494
CATHOLIC DIGEST 575,000
CHRISTIAN PARENTING TODAY 250,000
FAMILY LIFE 400,000
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 5,141,693
LUTHERAN 960,000
PARENTS 1,825,000
The Puritanical grip on all media that publishers can’t ignore, invited the
great visibility and success of in your face authors such as Howard Stern, the
next great movie star, confirming A GREAT OPENING OF FLOOD GATES AT THE END OF
THE MILLENNIUM!
After the gay and lesbian, biography,
politics/government and military/war markets (veteran and enlistee, high school
graduates, and recruiters), another big market to tap is the ever-growing
ANTI-SMOKING SOCIETY. Smoking is a WORLD HEALTH PROBLEM. The number of good
people exasperated with smoker abuse continues to grow, with global anti-smoking
campaigns. By 2040, the World Health Organization predicts cigarette smoke will
kill 12.5 million annually. Measures taken against smoking in the West already
resulted in a 10-30% decline -- reflecting the GROWING MARKET FOR STORIES WITH
AN ANTI-SMOKER FOR A HERO. One key to marketing this is a palpable anecdote of a
non-smoker whose rights got trampled by a chain-smoking chain of command. Graham
is very passionate and ready to debate anyone, including members of the United
States Congress, about passive smoke he endured in the Navy, and the treachery
he endured at the hands of his superiors.
Health-conscious magazine subscribers focus the non-smoker market:
AMERICAN HEALTH 800,000
FIT 125,000
HEALTH 900,000
LET’S LIVE 850,000
LONGEVITY 375,000
One market not to overlook for Military Secret as a
source of information is alternative but influential and virtually guarantees
steady backlist sales. The COUNTER-CULTURE should love to recommend this
behind-the-scenes look at hippies in uniform to ridicule authoritarians.
Naturalists, peaceniks, bisexuals, and students all relate well to hippies.
Great promise exists in marketing to Deadhead types. Hippie magazine
circulations indicate a deep pocket of alternative buying power:
HIGH TIMES 250,000
MAD MAGAZINE 1,000,000
MOTHER EARTH NEWS 700,000
MOTHER JONES 120,000
NEW AGE JOURNAL 180,000
PLAYBOY 3,901,324
PLAYGIRL 200,000
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY 700,000
ROLLING STONE 1,175,000
TEACHING TOLERANCE 225,000
TRUE STORY 800,000
The sales potential here exists in marketing to not only this group, but their
children and grandchildren. Military Secret is a potential counter-culture
darling with GONZO STYLE JOURNALISM and motor-psycho nightmare tales of LSD
trips, Fear and Loathing in the real Top Gun.