On June 28, 1969, when the police carried out the latest in a regular series of raids at the mob-run Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, young men accustomed to being shuffled into paddy wagons decided to fight back, gathering forces for a three-night war against the police. From spark to embers to flames, a movement that didn’t previously exist suddenly and organically coalesced at street level, and the rest was (and continues to be) an evolving history. The documentary starts with how pre-stonewall the gay life was almost grim, even in cities like New York. Gays were considered the lowest of the low. We had no rights – none; zilch. You could be arrested, beaten, or fired just for the suspicion of being gay. After raids of gay establishments, names and addresses of those arrested were published in major newspapers, ruining careers and lives. The village in New York was the only safe heave, where gays could feel themselves. The Stonewall Inn itself was controlled and run by mobs with overpriced drinks and mostly rundown alcohol. The story eventually shifts to there aid on the fateful night on 1969 and story is told through some pictures mostly. One myth that the documentary busts is the legend that it was drag queens who single-handedly fought back.
Visibility has become so normal since 1969 that many straight supporters have no idea how badly gay people had it. This documentary is an essential viewing in that sense but sadly doesn’t have much footage from the event itself—only some photographs and film clips of the chaotic street scene. The directors score a coup in getting testimony from the police officer who led the raid, a now-elderly gentleman who freely confesses the fear that rippled through his unit, and his regrets in having been on the wrong side of history. The title might be misleading since we get to know about the actual riots only in last 30% of the show, but it is extremely important to understand the history and why did the things lead to where it ended up being. Using archival footage and expert writing, the story is compelling as both a human story of struggle as well as a historical representation of a period of intense social change in 1960's New York City. Forty years and several generations later, Stonewall remains the formidable beachhead of a persistent struggle. (6/10)
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