Pride Month is all about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. The month of June honors the activists and allies that have fought for fundamental human rights for the LGBTQ+ community, like nondiscrimination in the workplace and the ability to marry who they love. Specifically, June 28th is a historical day, where the NYC police raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village. After the incident at the Stonewall Inn, the protests organized by activists raised awareness for the need for expanded protections and respect from the government and community.
One of the ways that we can understand more about the history and the modern context of LGBTQ+ struggles is through film. The storylines created in movies tell us more about a person’s identity, including their sexual orientation and gender identity, and the challenges that come with that. Though many plots focus on the “coming out” or “coming of age” stories of young people, movies can also celebrate the artistic and cultural accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, Rocketman focuses on Elton John’s music and identity.
Many modern movies feature actors who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community in real life, but there are still many movies that fail in terms of representation. Using straight and cisgender actors can make the movie less authentic and creates distance between the storyline and the population it intends to represent. Actors with lived experience are able to put themselves in the shoes of the LGBTQ+ characters that they are playing. It’s important that audiences support movies with LGBTQ+ actors and push other movies to cast better.
Nonetheless, movies can teach us important lessons and share new perspectives. If you’re interested in learning more about LGBTQ+ stories, check out the movies below! Whether you’re into documentaries or dramas, I am sure that you will find something that interests you.
Milk
Milk is a biographical movie recounting Harvey Milk’s life. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, and he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. During his time in office, he fought for LGBTQ+ rights by sponsoring a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in the city of San Francisco. Though he was tragically murdered by a city supervisor, Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. If you’re interested in learning more about Milk’s life and work, this is the movie for you! It won two Oscars for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and for Best Original Screenplay.
Moonlight
Moonlight is a coming of age story broken into three parts. Three different actors play Chiron throughout his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. He is faced with a drug addict mother and a rough childhood, requiring him to find his own way in life. At the 89th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, out of a total of eight nominations. It was the first film with an all-black cast as well as the first LGBTQ-related film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A Secret Love
Secret Love is a biographical film based on the lives of director Chris Bolan’s great aunts. For decades, Terry and Pat managed to keep their relationship a secret from their families while running an interior design business together. It also features the theme of dealing with the challenges of old age. In a New York Times review, Natalia Winkelman wrote: “This tender film explores the partnership between two women who lived, in public and to kin, as dear friends for six decades.”
The Half of It
Originally released as an indie film, The Half of It made it to Netflix after excellent reviews from critics. Ellie, a shy girl at her school, gets paid for doing her classmates’ homework and uses the money to keep her family from falling further into poverty. Paul, the school’s inarticulate jock, asks Ellie to write love letters to his crush, Aster. Things don’t go exactly as planned, and Ellie finds herself falling for Aster. The Half of It received the highest award at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was a notable LGBTQ+ activist and a trans woman who was integral in the success of the Stonewall riots. In 1992, she was found dead in a river. In this documentary, Victoria Cruz investigates her death through interviews with her friends. The NYC police department ruled her death to be suicide after an unsatisfactory investigation, but this film challenges that, bringing up evidence that Marsha’s death may have been linked to murder.
Rocketman
Rocketman is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of British musician Elton John. Critics acclaim the movie for being an honest retelling of John’s life and for leaving the sad and disheartening moments intact. Being famous is not all rainbows and sunshine — he deals with an unsupportive family, attempts suicide, and enters rehab for drug use but overcomes these challenges to return to a successful music carer. The movie won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, two awards at the Golden Globes, and another award for Best Song at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
Pride
Based in 1984 in the U.K., Pride tells the story of miners and LGBTQ+ rights activists forming a coalition group together in the face of Margaret Thatcher’s politics. Though it may not seem like the two groups have much in common, the group eventually evolves to be “Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners,” and the LGBTQ+ activists go out of their way to raise money for miners who lost their jobs. It was first shown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Queer Palm Award.
Vocabulary list:
sexual orientation (n.) - a person’s preference or attraction to a certain gender
gender identity (n.) - a person’s presentation or feeling of gender, which can include feminine, masculine, a mixture, or neither
cisgender (n.) - somebody who retains the gender identity associated with their birth sex
adolescence (n.) - years between childhood and adulthood
interior design (n.) - profession with specialized knowledge applied to the planning and design of interior environments that promote health, safety, and welfare while supporting and enhancing the human experience
tender (adj.) - being gentle or showing sympathy
kin (n.) - close family members
indie (n.) - some type of art that is independently produced or separate from a label or company
unsatisfactory (adj.) - below standards and not acceptable
coalition (n.) - an alliance of people, especially for political reasons
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bridgette Lang is an undergraduate student studying International Relations at Boston University. On campus, she helps run a collegiate Model United Nations Conference and manages finances for BU College Democrats. In her free time, Bridgette enjoys traveling, trying to learn Spanish, and visiting with her friends and family back home in Pennsylvania.