June marks the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall. We're commemorating the occasion by talking about representations of LGBT life and politics on film as part of our Projections series. Film critic Nathan Lee, professor of Cinema Studies at CUNY David Gerstner, and by filmmaker Cheryl Dunye join us to discuss the following films:
"The Boys in the Band" (1970) "Parting Glances" (1986) "The Watermelon Woman" (1996) "Milk" (2008)
The discussion is fascinating for several reasons. At one point one of the guests suggests that representation on film is crucially important for gays in a way it isn't for many other oppressed groups because they pass in everyday life. In that way, I think a lot of it is also relevant for Jews. In particular, there's a discussion of how gays are more welcome on the screen when they die at the end of the film. It was progress when they only wound up severely emotionally damaged rather than dead. Let me recommend for comparison, The Pawnbroker and Sophie's Choice.
(Video might show up around here at some point. Since they watch film clips during the show, video might be helpful, but I think most of what's important comes through in the audio.)
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