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The companion film to Before Stonewall, After Stonewall, narrated by Melissa Etheridge, explores gay history in the U.S. from the 1970s through the 1990s. Like its predecessor, After Stonewall attempts to cover much ground in a short amount of time; however, with only three decades to span, the assignment is more manageable.

The film covers the predictable highs and lows of the last 30 years of the 20th century. On the side of triumph, it explores the declassification of homosexuality as a disease; the growth of gay presses and writers; gay wins in political office (notably Harvey Milk and Elaine Noble); and the formation of a national gay lobbying presence in the Human Rights Fund. On the flip side, we witness the antigay hysteria evoked by Anita Bryant; the rise of AIDS, the blind eye of the federal government; and the growth of the Christian Coalition. Perhaps the most significant contribution of this film is its mapping of a gay presence within popular media. Through TV shows such as South Park and covers of Newsweek and Time, as well as "out" popular performers like k.d. lang and Ellen DeGeneres, the case is made that gay culture has "arrived" in America--a huge leap from the days before Stonewall when the common idea of a gay person was someone to snicker at or otherwise dismiss as a lunatic. --Katy Ankenman

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 5 reviews)

This is WHY we celebrate G*A*Y PRIDE!!!

Along with Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community and Paris Is Burning, AFTER STONEWALL is another documentary that is indispensable in learning about LGBT history.

AFTER STONEWALL picks up where Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community left off--right at the flash point of the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, 1969. It's narrated by Melissa Etheridge and shows incredible footage of police raids on gay bars, pride marches, and protests. And it includes footage from hate mongers Anita Bryant, Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell.

There are also still pictures and news paper clippings that help exemplify what was happening at the time. Interviews with LGBT activists like Dorothy Allison, Barbara Gittings, Harry Hay, Larry Kramer, Jewelle Gomez and others, who could not or would not hide in the shadows, only punctuate the story.

And the story goes right into the AIDS epidemic and the many that died as a result of government inaction. The film takes the viewer up to 1999 and shows how far the LGBT community has come...and how much farther we still must go.

When you see the struggle that these LGBT people took upon their shoulders, I defy anyone NOT to understand why we celebrate gay pride day. It is because of these brave souls that have made my generation and each successive generation of LGBT people lives a little easier.

I recommend this documentary to anyone who's gay or lesbian or who has a family member that is. The film runs about 88-minutes and has extra features that include: interview with director John Scagliotti; Dorothy Allison and Jewelle Gomez remember Vito Russo(The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies); Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City (Tales of the City Series, V. 1)) talks about the Christian Right and the pressure on PBS to halt production of More Tales of the City mini-series; Barney Frank talks about travel with ex-boyfriend; Jewelle Gomez discusses the power of poetry; and Dorothy Allison discusses her alternative family that includes her lover, and their best friend who is a gay man who fathered their son.

Although trans-gendered issues are lacking in this documentary, I cannot sing the praises of this film enough!
June 21, 2008

Great summary of the start of the Gay Movement

This documentary includes interviews, film clips and key news items of the progression of the gay movement since Stonewall. As a member of the GLBT community and a PFLAG chapter president, I found the documentary very informative. I recommend this documentary as a follow-up to "Before Stonewall".
February 07, 2007

if you buy before then you need after too...

the perfect follow-up to 'The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community: Before Stonewall' I've seen both along with another called 'Dangerous Living' - describing the situation in the developing world. These three DVD's are essential and entertaining tools for anyone wanting to help others understand the GBLT community around the world.
July 05, 2006

The Struggle Continues...

One night in June 1969, a group of people, tired of intolerance from the New York City police department, decided for once they weren't going to take it anymore, and give birth to the modern gay rights movement in the United States. Thirty five years later, it's amazing to see both how far we've come and how far we have yet to go.

After Stonewall depicts the struggle evolving from those empowering nights in New York City, and how it blossomed into a national movement. Long a mecca for the Bohemians of society, New york City is a natural birthplace for such a movement. Now, we see how that movement grew, through the times of trial of the AIDS epidemic, to the growth of the Religious Right and their ultimate intolerance.

This video does try to capture too much in too short of time, but the effect is quick and yet inspirational. It was amazing to listen to those people who were at ground zero of the AIDS epidemic, and the response of the community to it. The section of the AIDS quilt will immediately bring tears; it's poignant and heartbreaking. This documentary stops short of the millenium, but it manages to cover a wide-range of issues.

It's critical as a community that we embrace where we've come from. It seems as we traverse times of trial and tribulation, it's important to understand our roots. It's those roots, based in the stories that are in this movie, that ground us and help instill a sense a pride in where we've come from, and where we'll be going. With that pride comes strength, strength of will, strength of character. The people who so bravely walked before us, are our sources of self-empowerment.

Watch this move, learn, and live.
February 15, 2005

An amazing review of contemporary, gay history.

Seeing where gays and lesbians have come from; the elated triumphs and horrible tragedies they endured, gives me an incredible appreciation for the rights I am beginning to enjoy. The sexual revolution of the 1970's through the horror of the eighties and the hope of the nineties, "After Stonewall," gives an incredibly inspirational portrayal of the gay and lesbian struggle for acceptance and normalcy.
July 11, 1999

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