By Monique
Whitewashing takes its toll again in the new trailer for Stonewall. Hollywood knows it can make people happy and angry at the same time; it’s a coup for the LGBT community and the public at large that a movie about Stonewall is even getting made. But the big aggravation is that the trailers has a white dude throwing the brick that started the movement.
For some quick history, the Stonewall riots started in New York City’s Stonewall Inn, and like many gay bars, was subjected to police raids. However, a raid in 1969 led to a riot. The leaders of the movement were people of color, such as Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major Griffin-Gracey and Marsha P. Johnson, who has been labeled the first person to fight back against the police in the riots.
Instead, this is what the trailer shows:
The person throwing the brick should have been Marsha P. Johnson.
You can read what folks involved with the film has said at the link directly above, but no matter what they say, the film, or at least, its trailer, just further shows how Hollywood, and society to a certain extent, only views “gay” as “white slender man.” Once again, Hollywood thinks that the only way a diverse audience can identify with a movement or a different point of view is through the eyes of a white man.
There’s more to the LGBT community than the “marketable” stereotype of a white man being oppressed. And, to be honest, not only does the film do a disservice to the community it’s supposed to be about, but it does a disservice to those us who aren’t gay, lesbian, transgender, asexual, etc., but want to learn more about the history. If those of us who identify as “straight” want to really learn about LGBT history, we’d be best to do it through our own discovery from literature and oral histories, not through films like Stonewall and other projects that only show a biased lie.
There is a movement to boycott the film once it’s released, so it’ll be interesting to see how this will affect the film and Hollywood’s mode of storytelling going forward.
What do you think about Stonewall? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
Julian 