sdyer@bbnccv.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (06/27/85)
Strangely, "Before Stonewall" has been playing alongside the films of
the NE L&G FF at the Orson Welles in Cambridge. Typical of me to be
so focused on the main event that I nearly missed this wonderful
documentary.
The Stonewall riots of June 27, 1969 (happy 16th anniversary!)
commonly mark the beginning of the modern gay liberation
movement. "Before Stonewall" provides an oral history of the life
of lesbians and gay men from the early 20's up to the time of the riots.
More than just a "feel-good" movie, it provides a clear sociological
context for the gay movement, analysing the effects of the Depression
and the pre- and post- WWII years, the fifties and the beat generation,
and the burgeoning civil rights movements of the sixties. I found it
both engaging and enlightening.
Actually, because it necessarily relies on interviews with people from
each era, we are given several portraits of older gay men and lesbians.
It was a far more successful, to my mind, as a tribute to our older brothers
and sisters than the recent PBS documentary "Silent Pioneers", which was
far too short (30 min) and devoid of any kind of analysis.
--
/Steve Dyer
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