I'm really interested in learning about LGBT history now and was wondering if you had any good documentary recs?
oh my god i am obsessed with lgbt history too! here’s a list of some i myself have seen and enjoyed - i bolded my absolute favourites, in case you wanted maybe a recommendation of where to start! :D
- the celluloid closet (1995) - incredible doc about lgbt representation in the media starting all the way from 1900 to 1995, including censorship and the bury your gays trope.
- paris is burning (1990) - critically lauded classic must-watch doc about drag balls and q*eer culture and the lgbt people of color who created it.
- the times of harvey milk (1984) - A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco’s first elected gay councilor. there is also the excellent Milk (2008), which is a drama film version directed by q-cinema veteran Gus van Sant.
- we were here (2011) - all about the arrival and impact of the AIDS epidemic and how the lgbt community dealt with it.
- before stonewall (1984) - a doc in which they use interviews and clips to surmise what lgbt culture was like before the iconic stonewall inn and how stonewall came into fruitation.
- the case against 8 - behind-the-scenes look at the case to overturn california’s ban against same-sex marriage.
- for the bible tells me so (2007) - exploring the how religion gives people the excuse to be homophobic/biphobic/transphobic
- gay sex in the 70s (2005) - exactly what it says on the tin
ok How to Survive a Plague (2012) is probably the most powerful AIDS documentary i’ve seen and, while both are good, it trumps We Were Here by a fucking longshot. i consider the latter a ‘softer’ retelling of AIDS compared to the former. every young LGBT person should watch this documentary at least once, it’s so important.
all of these sound really nice and interesting, but do you have recommendations for movies about lgbt history outside of the US?
Out and Bad: London’s LGBT Dancehall Scene (2015) is a documentary challenging the homophobic image of Jamaican dancehall music by following the lives of LGBT Jamaican immigrants in the UK.
Chris & Don: A Love Story (2008) is about Christopher Isherwood (whose novels and stories about Wiemar Germany formed the basis for the musical and film Cabaret) and his long-term partner Don Bachardy.
Dancing In Dulais is about LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) and their work with a mining community in Wales. Here, here and here are some more segments and panels about the cause.
Freeheld (2007) is an Oscar winning documentary - about a terminally ill gay woman fighting for her partner’s right to her pension - that was later used as the basis for the film of the same name starring Ellen Page and Julianne Moore - from what I’ve heard, the documentary deserves a lot more merit than the film.
Tongues Untied (1989) is a documentary consisting of a series of stories about the intersections of Black and gay identity, and the bonus DVD includes interviews with an HIV/AIDS activist and a spoken word artist.
Paris Was a Woman (1996) is about LBPQ women living in Paris in the 1920′s, seeking freedom and liberation between the two world wars.
To Be Takei (2014) tells the story of George Takei’s (of Star Trek fame) life, family, activism and career.
The Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria (2005) tells the story of an act of resistance by transgender women, drag queens and their allies in San Francisco, following harassment by the cafeteria staff and later the police.
Thank you, these all sound really interesting!
