I am grateful for the platform which Watermark has provided me as a writer and social commentator. I feel even more fortunate that I have always been afforded the latitude to write on any topic that struck my fancy and I’ve had a ball doing it. But there was this one time…
In September 2015, when the movie “Stonewall” was released, our community went a bit off the rails over, well over everything. Many were incensed by the film’s historical inaccuracies overall. There were those who were outraged by the invention of a fictional, white, all-American male through whose eyes the story unfolded and who (in the film) threw the first brick that had been credited with starting the modern gay rights movement in America. This bit of filmdom fiction was taken as a complete and total affront to the trans community and to people of color, as it had long been accepted that it was Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans person, who threw that first brick back in 1969. People were literally at verbal war with one another to an extent I had never before seen over any issue and disagreement over the acceptability of the film was actually tearing friendships and organizations apart. Angry activists were calling for a boycott of the film and even to have it revoked from distribution. Queers were losing their shit over this movie and things were turning ugly.
Watermark’s publisher and editor at the time called to ask that I write an opinion piece on the fallout over the film. This was not typical. The topics for my various columns had always been left up to me to determine but the ugliness of the public battle that was playing out over this film led Watermark to request I write specifically on this topic. And so I did.
As I recall, I first pointed out that the film was not a documentary, and as with all theatrical releases — even those based on actual events — it has never been the least bit uncommon for filmmakers to exercise artistic license. I mean, after all, the Family Von Trapp did not escape the Nazis by marching the entire family over the Alps into Switzerland as was depicted in “The Sound of the Music.” They quite simply rode across the border on a train! But that would not have been nearly as dramatic as the Alps-traversing conceit was, and let’s face it, “Ride Every Railroad” would not have struck the same chord as “Climb Every Mountain,” but I digress. My point was that theater and Hollywood pull this crap all the time and that this bit of revisionist history — which, for the record, I personally found to be abhorrent — was not some purposefully disrespectful sight to Black, trans people, or queers as a whole.
I further pointed out that there was no Jack Dawson on the actual Titanic but that it was through this entirely fictional character that the majority of the world became familiar with the very real facts surrounding the greatest maritime disaster of all time. I asked everyone with an opinion on “Stonewall” to take a breath and to take a step back and look at what was happening in the world outside of the LGBTQ+ community, which was that non-queer people from all walks of life were not only seeing “Stonewall” but were actually moved by it. Not only emotionally but they were being moved to recognize our struggles, to empathize with our plight and to appreciate our history, regardless of how flawed it was being depicted in the film. Influential persons on network and cable news and talk shows were openly voicing their support for our continued goals as a result. People who previously had no idea what the Stonewall riots were or why they occurred were suddenly very much aware, and their reactions were, for the most part, supportive. I suggested that we as a community put aside our criticism of the film and to please not promote a boycott of “Stonewall” since it was having a very positive effect on how those outside our fractured community, and whose support we needed, were now viewing us.
To some extent my little Watermark column had accomplished more than I ever imagined it might. I received more positive feedback from readers of this column than any other I had written. Many expressed gratitude for being made aware of the changing attitudes that were happening in the mainstream community as a result of this terribly flawed but highly effective film. I even received an email from a couple thanking me for providing a perspective that put an end to an ongoing argument that was being waged over this film and which had been threatening to end their relationship.
While I would rather not admit that the column of mine that got the most reader response ever was the only one where the topic had been assigned to me, I sure am glad that they assigned it. I remain grateful to all who read my words in this publication, and especially to all those who have taken the time over the years to share your thoughts with me regarding my musings and observations.
