I understand and sympathize with your point here, and I didn't know that about the source material. But if the disclaimer is an admission of guilt, guilt over what, exactly? I think that gay stories almost always deal with homophobia on some level. Perhaps I'm selfishly worried that at some future point, the cultural gatekeepers of the gay community may come after me if I decide I want to write about homophobia ironically.

I guess I have to go back to my reaction to the film itself. I found it to be interesting and provocative. Certainly there have been serial killers who have targeted gay men--there can be no arguing that. And when I remember Boys in the Band I remember Harold's line, that the sad part about Michael is that he is gay and he doesn't want to be. Harold confronts Michael's perverse internalized homophobia. "You will be [gay] until the day you die..." I think that film is about acceptance of oneself. Just as I think Cruising is about the liebestod that may be the crux of sadomasochism.

Perhaps Friedkin was truly innocent of what he had a hand in--and that's why he issued the disclaimer. That he didn't want to cause harm to fellow human beings, and that he tried his best to ameliorate the situation.

However, I don't fault anyone for trashing something they believe to be vile.