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Stonewall Uprising  This engaging and mildly insightful documentary charts the 3-day riot at The Stonewall Inn when the cops raided the gay bar on June 28th, 1969. That uprising served as a catalyst for the Gay Rights Movement much like Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus had sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Homosexual activity had always been labeled as sexually deviant activity and as a mental illness. Public service announcements warned the youth of America about staying away from homosexuals. The propaganda worked well because parents looked down upon their homosexual children and had then admitted to mental hospitals. One gay man nearly breaks down in tears as he recalls how lobotomies and electro shocks were used as therapies as an attempt to “cure” homosexual feelings, leaving some patients with brain damage. Many ostracized homosexuals from small towns flocked to New York City where they met other fellow gay individuals who became like their new family. They had sex in public areas, even in smelly meat truck where they were all gathered like sardines for one big orgy. Co-directors Kate Davis and David Heilbroner do a fair job of providing you with information about what led up to the important Stonewall Inn uprising and then allowing gay men and women who participated in the riot to recall with vivid details the events of those 3 days. They also include reenactments of key moments from the uprising. A candid interview with police officer Seymour Pine who led the Stonewall Inn raid helps to further enrich the details while looking at those events from a different perspective rather than just focusing on the rioters’ accounts. Many of the interviews surely tug at your heartstrings, but it would have been much more powerful and insightful had there been more provocative questions asked rather than just having the interviewees reminisce about their memories from the uprising and their struggles growing up as a gay or lesbian. At a running time of only 1 hour and 20 minutes, Stonewall Uprising manages to be heartfelt and engagingly filmed, but not nearly as insightful as it could have been with sharper, more provocative questions asked.  Main Page Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu ______________________________________________________ |
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