Planning events for Pride Month in June?
Consider setting up campus, community, or virtual screenings of these two powerful films!
“Beyond the Straight and Narrow makes clear that we cannot assume that mainstream representation of LGBTQ people simply improves over time or that we can take any gains seen for granted.”
— Adrienne Shaw | Associate Professor of Media Studies & Production, Temple University
Filmmaker and media scholar Katherine Sender’s acclaimed new documentary Beyond the Straight and Narrow, the third installment in her groundbreaking series, untangles the cultural, economic, and technological forces that have helped pave the way for the unprecedented range of queer and transgender representations we see on American television today. Featuring leading media scholars, journalists, actors, and activists, Beyond the Straight and Narrow also considers the political implications of these welcome gains within the context of an accelerating right-wing backlash against LGBTQ visibility in our politics, schools, athletics, and public spaces. The result is an indispensable tool for opening up discussion about the relationship between media representations, corporate power, and long-fought battles over who gets to exist in our national imagination. Beyond the Straight and Narrow is now available to purchase in a variety of formats. If you’d like to book a public screening of the film, please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you soon.
Pride Denied: Homonationalism & the Future of Queer Politics
“Commercial interests of corporate companies — especially when it comes to advocating gay rights — should always be questioned, which is why Chisholm’s documentary is an important one. By highlighting the ways in which social issues are often obfuscated by the mainstream media and its appropriation of gay culture, ‘Pride Denied’ opens up space for valuable discussion. “
Filmmaker Kami Chisolm’s fearless 2016 documentary Pride Denied explores how corporate sponsors have coopted LGBTQ pride and transformed it into a de-politicized, feel-good brand. Moving from Pride’s deeply political roots in the Stonewall uprising of 1969 to the depoliticized big business of corporate PRIDE™ spectacles today, the film makes a compelling case for returning to the radical forms of resistance that propelled the early LGBTQ rights movement. Pride Denied also offers a stunning – and timely – case study in the politics of “pinkwashing,” detailing how the state of Israel has used its purported tolerance of gay rights to deflect attention away from its brutal, decades-long repression of Palestinian human rights. Drawing on the insights of activists, artists, and educators, Pride Denied reminds us of the central role LGBTQ people have played in standing up to authoritarianism, corporate power, and liberal complicity in both. Pride Denied is now available to purchase in a variety of formats. If you’d like to book a public screening of the film, please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you soon.
