U IS FOR UNITED STATES
We wanted something to round up the sweet pride weekend of 2018, so we watched the pair of films “Before Stonewall/After Stonewall”. Both are great primers for those who know little about the struggle for lesbian and gay rights in the US. We know most of the stuff but it was still a good refresher of why and for whom we march. “Before Stonewall” awas both less familiar (less documented stories) and less impactful (as anything prior to AIDS crisis) but amazingly informative. The shots of vintage drag queens and queer couples are priceless, and so worth watching for, along with the sweet old SAGE survivors. “After Stonewall” was more familiar and devastatingaa. It could have used more emphasis on trans issues, theory in addition to trailblazers feautured. But for such a short one it was pretty diverse: first nations lesbians, people with disabilities, Asian drag queen, leather!
There are interviews with Audre Lorde and Dorotgy Allison, both of whom I adore, but also so much more, and so many admirable people to learn from.
Before Stonewall, 1984 and After Stonewall, 1999
Directors: Before Stonewall – Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg;
After Stonewall – John Scagliotti
