My Top 10 Queer History Films

Attention class.  Before we begin our yearly pilgrimages to various cities, states and countries to celebrate pride season, I think its important to remember how we got here.  What better way to do that than in front of the TV or computer screen!  Grab your lover, friends and that baby gay from the coffee shop, and kick off the season right with a little dose of history.  I promise it will only hurt a little bit.  Here are my top queer historical  type films. For future references, I only recommend films I have seen.  

1995

          The Celluloid Closet is the most prolific body of work that documents GLBT representation in film I have ever seen.  From the introduction of the “fairy boy” in 1912, to the loud and proud drag queen in 1994, this doc is one of my favorites of all time.  The Celluloid Closet is literally “Queer Film 101.” 

1984

1999

     Before Stonewall follows the LGBT movement from the early whispers of the Homophile meetings and the coveted dime store magazine, to the Stonewall riots in 1969. Narrated by Rita Mae Brown, this documentary is full of images, interviews and information about the queer community before it came        out to the world. 

               

Narrated by Melissa Etheridge, After Stonewall documents the 30 year equality fight since the Stonewall riots.  The film shows the emergence of queer positive portrayal in the media, the struggles of the AIDS crisis, and the formation of a people persistent on equal rights.

1990

   Before RuPaul there was Paris DuPree.   One of the first portrayals of the Black and Latino drag culture on film.  Paris is Burning is raw and passionate, exploring issues of race, class, gender and the ball scene in New York City.                       

2001

        

Trembling Before G-D is one of the few documentaries about the lives of queer Orthodox Jews, who try various methods to reconcile their faith and sexuality. 

    The Times of Harvey Milk is a great film that highlights the career and assassination of Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor.  Its power lies in its depiction of the Anti-Gay movement, the birth of traditional values coalitions and the politicization of the queer citizen.  

1984

2008

     Milk is an auto-biography of the personal and political life of Harvey Milk. I put this on the list because it is such a compliment to the documentary and Sean Penn’s performance is excellent.

     The Laramie Project is based on the play about the killing of Matthew Shepard and its effects on the small town of Laramie Wyoming.  A haunting exploration into the complexities of being gay in the heartland.  

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2002

Narrated by Rupert Everett, Paragraph 175 chronicles the lives of gay men and women under the oppression of Nazi Germany.  The imagery is wonderful and ghoulish.  The storytelling is fantastic.

2002

2007

Call Me Troy is an honest piece that I first saw at a film festival in Austin.  It follows the life of Reverend Troy Perry, the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church.  This church was the first of its kind, built by and for the GLBT community. 

This pride season celebrate with a purpose.  XOXO.