For They Know Not What They Do (Documentary)

When the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality across the nation in 2015, many assumed that the fight for LGBTQ rights was won. But politicians and religious conservatives launched a state-by-state campaign to retract the human rights of America's LGBTQ citizens under the guise of religious freedom. Introducing four American families caught in the crosshairs of scripture, sexuality, and identity, this documentary weaves together clips from the national news and the church pulpit, alongside family photos and intimate testimonies to show the undeniable connection between the personal and the political. 

These individual experiences of rejection and validation, tragedy and triumph include Ryan Robertson, who was encouraged by his Christian family to attend conversion therapy; Sarah McBride, the transgender student body president who went on to work at the White House; Vico Báez Febo, whose Catholic grandmother locked him out of the house when a neighbor outed him; and Elliot Porcher, a young trans man who endured self-harm before his parents’ acceptance enabled him to come to terms with his gender.

I wanted to like this documentary a lot but either it was the interviewees or the way the film was edited, it became very boring to watch despite it talking about a very important subject. It tries to outline the current state of the LGBT struggle, explaining how, in the wake of marriage equality, trans folks became the new scapegoat for the religious right. There is some deeply emotional testimony from all of the participants, but still I failed to connect with those? Maybe, my mental state of mind was not very good. The film tries to end hopeful, showing the reconciliation that comes from the abandonment of outdated, hateful rhetoric that the church has attempted to enforce. (3/10)