State of Pride

It's 30 years since Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman won [deservedly] the Oscar for Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt...over the years, they have produced and directed many a fine film.

In this, their latest offering, marking the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots...it seems, on the face of it, they have 'lent' their names [obviously for altruistic reasons] to this production...there's not much in the way of direction.

This [really] is Raymond Braun's film...after 3 minutes of fleeting LGBT history...it all becomes rather personal...with Raymond's own story, followed by many others'...all of which are linked back to the importance of [continuing] Pride.

Give Mr Braun his due, he does ask some prickly questions...why is there a Black Pride, why is there a Trans Pride, why do women have their own march? Surely, we are one big community and should march [and party] as one...under the all-encompassing LGBT umbrella!

This film really does show how fractured our so-called community actually is...quite possibly, not the intention! Gay [white] men really do seem to be getting a rough deal of it lately...one question Mr Braun did not ask: Can [all] gay men have their own march too? Don't they deserve it? After all...they were hung, mutilated, castrated, imprisoned, denigrated and faced near-annihilation from the savage whiplash of HIV/AIDS propped up by the intolerable and criminal ignorance of governments and religions! And...still....they kept on fighting. That's the history. That's the reality...that [fight] is what brought us to where we are today! Stronger together! [End of rant]

It would be interesting to hear the various responses!

Pride was political...now, Pride is corporate. It's a business. It's an annual safe space...with advertising...long may it [communally] continue!

Watch...