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Before Stonewall

4/5

It’s definitely disappointing not to feature any (out) trans people, but this is still a good history of being gay in America in the first half of the 20th century, with stories from the people who were there.

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#movies #before stonewall #greta schiller #robert rosenberg

Fictional and factual depictions of the history, culture, and politics of the United States in film.

Recommendations 16-20:

16. JAZZ ON A SUMMERS DAY (1959), dir. Aram Avakian, Bert Stern

“…LOVE ON A SUMMER’S NIGHT!

Set at the Newport jazz festival in 1958, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience. The film progresses from day to night and from improvisational music to Gospel. It’s a concert film that suggests peace and leisure, jazz at a particular time and place.”

Availability: Available with a subscription on The Criterion Channel and for rental via YouTube, Amazon, VUDU, and KinoNow. Also possibly available on Kanopy and there’s currently a free upload available on YouTube but the quality isn’t all that great.

17. BEFORE STONEWALL (1984), dir. Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg

“New York City’s Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots.”

Availability: Can be found on Philo with a subscription and Amazon with an add-on subscription, for rental on AppleTV, free on Hoopla and possibly Kanopy

18. POWWOW HIGHWAY (1989), dir. Jonathan Wacks

“Buddy Red Bow is struggling, in the face of persecution, by greedy developers and political in-fighting, to keep his nation on a Montana Cheyenne Reservation financially solvent and independent. Philbert, a simple-minded friend of Buddy’s, ardently pursues Native American/First Nation wisdom and lore wherever he can find it–even on Bonanza–in order to earn his warrior name. He’s even got his war pony, Protector: a beat-up old wreck of a car. Buddy’s sister has been arrested in Santa Fe, and together Buddy and Philbert set off on a road trip to look after her kids and go bail her out. However, Bonnie’s arrest has something strange about it as her friend Rabbit points out. As the miles roll by, Philbert’s faith challenges Buddy’s hard-edged view of the world (and occasional bout of reckless violence), and together they face the realities and dreams of being Cheyenne in the modern-day US as they fight to free Bonnie and her children and elude the Feds.”

Availability: Can be viewed on The Criterion Channel with a subscription and possibly available on Kanopy

19. INTEGRATION REPORT I (1960), dir. Madeline Anderson

“Integration Report 1, Madeline Anderson’s trailblazing debut, was the first known documentary by an African American female director. With tenacity, empathy and skill, Anderson assembles a vital record of desegregation efforts around the country in 1959 and 1960, featuring footage by documentary legends Albert Maysles and Richard Leacock and early Black cameraman Robert Puello, singing by Maya Angelou, and narration by playwright Loften Mitchell. Anderson fleetly moves from sit-ins in Montgomery, Alabama to a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C. to a protest of the unprosecuted death in police custody of an unarmed Black man in Brooklyn, capturing the incredible reach and scope of the civil rights movement, and working with this diverse of footage, as she would later say, “like an artist with a palette using different colors.””

Availability: Available for rental on Amazon

20. BURN MOTHERFUCKER, BURN! (2017), dir. Sacha Jenkins

“THE FIRE STARTED LONG BEFORE THE CITY BURNED

An in-depth and provocative look at the 1992 Los Angeles riots exploring the roots of civil unrest in California and the relationship between African Americans and LAPD.”

Availability: Available on Amazon and Hulu with a subscription and a Showtime add on

[The American Experience Film Recs]