This documentary (streaming on Hulu) was focused very much on facts, figures and statistics. For that reason I don’t feel as though I learned much about the experiences of transgender people, but I definitely learned more about their community as a whole. Transgender is one aspect of the LGBT community that I know very little about, because until I came to college I wasn’t around it at all. Now that I’ve been in college for three years and been around people that are different from myself (especially and most importantly members of the LGBT community), I find that my mind is more open and I judge people a lot less than I used to. What I previously considered strange or odd, I now regard as normal, beautiful and courageous. The transgender community deserves much more credit and respect than our world gives them, and this documentary really educated me about their history, their desires as a group, and their culture. (by Maddie Fleckenstein)

This documentary (streaming on Hulu) surprised and shocked me in many ways. As I am not gay, I can only speculate about the challenges and fears the gay community deals with. This film really opened my eyes as to how deep those fears run and how serious those obstacles can be. I never realized how common these fears are, or the lengths to which some people will go to disguise themselves–so as to avoid their fear. “Do I Sound Gay?” had a huge learning curve and character arc, and I truly appreciate the acceptance that the subject of the film comes to. He comes to understand that he is who he is and that he should be (and is) proud of himself. (by Maddie Fleckenstein)

“Moonlight” is a film centered around a black man named Chiron; it follows his life from childhood through to adulthood, focusing on his sexuality. After watching it for the first time, I found “Moonlight” to be slightly confusing–but a very raw and honest interpretation of life as a gay black man. The timeline from childhood, to teen, to adult added a sense of relatability to the film; I felt like I was living Chiron’s life right there alongside him. I didn’t realize that Andre Holland was in the movie; he is one of my favorite actors and he did an incredible job. In some ways, I think his character’s story is even more complex than Chiron’s; while he was Chiron’s only friend, there were many obstacles he had to overcome that Chiron didn’t. (by Maddie Fleckenstein)

Love, Simon centers around a 17-year-old boy named Simon, who is finding it difficult to come out as gay to his friends and family. In addition to figuring out how to come out to his loved ones, Simon also spends the duration of the film trying to identify the anonymous classmate that he has fallen in love with online.

This film is one of the few great coming-of-age films that exists and its probably due to the fact that the material is authentic and relatable, rather than fabricated or glamorized for the sake of meeting Hollywood standards.

The way that the film portrays Simon’s situation in high school is accurate for the most part, which only adds to the perceived struggles of his journey to coming out. Finding and accepting yourself during high school is not an easy task and this film depicts that perfectly.

By: Lily Benedetti

The Birdcage (1996) centers around the world of Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) a gay man who owns a nightclub with his partner, Albert Goldman (Nathan Lane). Their son, Val, becomes engaged to a young woman whose parents are about as uptight as they come. Afraid of judgement from his fiancee’s parents, Val asks his dads to “act straight” for an evening when the two sets of parents meet.

While watching this movie in a modern world, there are many things that seem borderline offensive or at best are rude stereotypes of gay men. While both Lane and Williams are very talented and hilarious, it feels a little offensive. Despite this, The Birdcage was actually monumental for its era. This was one of the first time in movie history that a film portrayed a non-problematic (for the most part), healthy, family who happened to have same-sex parents. This was extremely important in portraying LGBT+ people in a positive light, especially after the incorrect stigmas that arose from the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s.

By: Michaela Clem Jacobs

The 2015 movie Carol follows the relationship of wealthy divorcee Carol, and a young photographer, Therese in 1952 in New York. Carol struggles with the possibility of losing custody of her young daughter due to the exposure of her homosexuality by her now ex-husband. It shows the struggles that members of the LGBT+ community faced during the 20th century and how it often damaged family relationships, and prevented loving relationships.

Carol is based off of the semi-autobiographical novel by Patricia Highsmith, published in 1952. It was based off a variety of experiences Highsmith had, some being with past lovers, and some with chance encounters. In the late 1990s, it was adapted into a script for the stage, and in 2015 it became a film.

Controversy occurred when the film, after receiving outstanding reviews from almost every prominent film-critic, was not nominated for best picture or best director categories. According to speculation, the film was not nominated due to the leads characters both being LGBT+ women. This caused criticism of the demographic of The Academy’s judges, most being older, white, men. The film being omitted from these award nominations simply supports the message of the movie: the struggles of being a woman and a member of the LGBT+ community in the world.

https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/frank-rich-carol-invisibility-of-lesbian-culture.html

By: Michaela Clem Jacobs

Boy Erased centers around Jared Eamons, the son of a pastor, whose parents suggest that he should attend gay conversion therapy after he is outed as gay to them. Based on a true story, the film depicts Jared’s experiences at this gay conversion program as well as his journey to accepting himself for who he really is.

This film does a great job of shedding light on this issue that isn’t talked about nearly as much as it should be, which is the issue of gay conversion programs in the United States. To say that they are unethical would be an understatement. These programs exist for the sole purpose of crushing the souls of LGBTQ members, and Boy Erased also does a great job of showing that.

This film also portrays Jared’s family dynamic quite well, especially since we are able to witness the internal struggle of his parents in addition to his own internal struggle. It is also interesting to see the significant negative impact that one man’s faith can have on his relationship with his son. Jared and his father might as well be best friends in the beginning of the film, but everything changes as soon as Jared is forced to come out to his parents.

By: Lily Benedetti

Moonlight centers around the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in a rough area of Miami. More specifically, we get a glimpse into three defining stages of his life and how they all intertwine and shape him into the man he is to become.

Each of these three stages in Chiron’s life depict the daily struggles of growing up in a rough area, and how this subsequently plays into his journey towards manhood. One thing that soon becomes clear is that Chiron has been questioning his sexual identity since childhood and this is something we see in his first stage of life. As the film progresses, we see him struggle to figure out who he is on top of all of the external challenges he faces.

Something that this film makes abundantly clear is that it’s important to have some form of a loving support system, especially when life keeps throwing obstacle after obstacle at you. In the beginning of the film we are introduced to a character named Juan, who despite living a questionable lifestyle himself, takes Chiron under his wing and teaches him a lot of important lessons in the first stage of his life. Throughout the rest of the film it is made clear that Juan played a significant role in not only shaping Chiron into the man he becomes, but also in reminding Chiron that it’s okay to be who he is.

By: Lily Benedetti

Call Me By Your Name centers around Elio and Oliver, who slowly fall in love with each other over the course of the summer while Oliver is interning for Elio’s father at their home in Italy. Oliver, who is at least 7 years older than Elio, helps Elio come to terms with his sexuality by becoming the first man that he has romantic feelings for.

The way that Elio’s internal struggle of coming to terms with his feelings for Oliver is portrayed on screen is both innocent and intimate, which makes the viewing experience quite mesmerizing. It’s almost as if the viewer is a fly on the wall watching it all unfold.

The portrayal of Oliver and Elio’s summer love affair is simple, sweet, and virtually untouched by the negative stigma that so often faces the LGBT community in society. This is what many fans of the film love the most about it; it doesn’t dwell much on the fact that this is a homosexual love story. It’s just a real, raw love story that anyone can experience whether they identify as gay or not. Love is love, after all. And that’s what this film is so clearly trying to get through to the audience.

By: Lily Benedetti