The Stonewall riots that began in June 28, 1969, were defining moments in American history. This riot would soon lead to the gay liberation movement and the fight that still occurs today for LGBT rights in the United States. Needless to say, this is a moment that was revolutionary, and recently a film was created about the Stonewall Riots. However, the film does not seem to uplift many LGBT voices in the United States.
The Stonewall riots were names after the Stonewall Inn, which was located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The Stonewall Inn was said to be run by the mafia and was known throughout New York as the “gay bar in the city.” It was a place in which many individuals that identified as LGBT could go to dance and have drinks without being harassed throughout the night.
On the morning of the riots, police raided the Stonewall Inn without notifying the employees. Police turned off the lights, confusing the 205 people in the room. It was a frightful moment to many of the individuals there that night. Many of the people who had never been in a raid before fled in different directions only to find that policemen had barred the exits. The police tried identifying the individuals, but many were not being cooperative. People were very uncomfortable, fearing that their faces could pop up in any news media the following day. It was also said that the police were assaulting many of the lesbians when “frisking” them.
After this, the police began to take individuals out of the Stonewall Inn. Things did not continue in a gentle and passive manner. The riot officially began when someone threw a brick at one of the policemen. This action took courage and an immense amount of anger. The Stonewall Riot was the spark of liberation for the LGBT community — they were no longer going to stand by and allow themselves to be cuffed by the police. It was time for them to state that they mattered and they would not allow themselves to be treated as less than human.
The film, which was directed by Roland Emmerich, has received a multitude of criticism because of its inaccuracy and the whitewashed content it contains. The film’s follows Danny Winters, a fictional white male. He throws the first brick, an honor which actually belongs to Marsha P. Johnson.
Marsha P. Johnson
Allowing a white character to take the pivotal action of throwing the first brick instead of a person of color is simply eradicating their work. Many of the pivotal moments that caused this riot to occur was done by LGBT individuals of color and the film completely erases these faces.
The director argued, “You have to understand one thing: I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people. I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [Danny] is a very easy in. Danny’s very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him.”
It sounds more like Emmerich made this film not only for straight people, but also for whom he believes is the audience, which is white individuals.
He also stated more to his reasoning: “As a director you put yourself in your movies, and I’m white and gay.” This statement does make sense. However, the Stonewall riots were historic events. It was an act of courage that could have taken the lives of many LGBT individuals. It is not right to fabricate a historic moment to your liking due to the fact that it would be easier for you to identify with, which is exactly what this director did.
Stonewall may be named after the Stonewall Inn and the riots that began that day, but it shares very little resemblance to the actual events and story of that day. Hopefully in the future, characters of color can exist and not be erased or stripped away from pivotal actions in order to please or connect with “the audience” or the directors themselves.
Photos from:
http://indianatransgendernetwork.com/resources/trans-101/trans-pioneer-marsha-p-johnson/
http://www.gravitasventures.com/stonewall-uprising/