The past decade has seen such tremendous growth in the popularity of documentaries. I have a dear friend who sees almost every documentary that makes it into the theatres and most of the ones that only appear on DVD, but I don't get to see as many of them as I would like. However, this summer I did manage to catch three great ones.
8: The Mormon Proposition is about the ways that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints helped to place the anti-gay Proposition 8 on the ballot in California and then supported it financially to ensure its passage. I doubt many people are unfamiliar with Prop. 8 at this point, given how much it's been in the news the past few weeks with the federal ruling that banning gay couples from marrying is a violation of the Constitution, but even if you think you've heard all there is to say about Prop. 8, you'll still find this film enlightening. Of course, it is one-sided, but it's a political documentary, not a film made for middle-school children. If you weren't angry at the church (the Mormon church or any other one, for that matter), watching this film just might remedy that problem. If nothing else, you should at least begin to question why churches with such vast amounts of wealth are not taxed and are allowed to insinuate themselves into political issues.
Stonewall Uprising attempts to piece together the story of the riots that erupted in New York City in 1969 when the police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. The riots are often credited with starting the gay rights movement, a gross oversimplification of the truth, to be honest. However, the importance of the Stonewall riots is undeniable as a flashpoint for gay identity. Once gay people realized that they didn't have to remain oppressed, that they could indeed fight back against their oppressors, everything seems to have changed. I admired that the film's makers managed to find so many people who were involved in the riots and their aftermath, including one of the police officers who has since changed his mind about gay people and is supportive of gay rights. It's pretty intriguing historical information that's imparted by the various participants, and I think the movie does an excellent job of placing the riots within the historical context of what it meant to be gay during the time period. The Stonewall riots have been the subject of many books and articles and even a few films over the years, but there's obviously still a great deal to learn. If there's a problem with the film overall, it's the re-enactments of the riots that the film makers shot (because there's apparently no actual footage from the 1969 riots), but I suppose those moments are handled in such a way that you know you're not seeing true archival footage, so it's a minor complaint.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work traces one tumultuous year in the life of the comedy legend, with occasional flashbacks to earlier points in her career. There are lots of moments of Rivers on stage, of course, both new and old moments, highlighting just how funny and daring she was when she first became prominent and how funny and daring she remains. However, if you're going to see this documentary, you're probably already familiar with Joan Rivers and her brand of comedy. You already know what a trailblazer she was, what an icon she has become particularly to female comics. What you'll instead take away from this movie is more interesting in terms of her psychology. She's a workaholic who seems to fear that if she stops working, she'll die. She hates to see an empty page in her datebook; she wants to stay busy. I suspect that might have something to do with the somewhat pervasive sense of loneliness she exhibits throughout the film. She also talks candidly about her plastic surgery, particularly when she admits that no man has ever called her pretty. I found that moment devastating. To think how much she has altered her appearance all because she just wants to be found attractive--it's staggering to contemplate that. It's a stunning film, one worthy of analysis by film scholars and feminist theorists for years. I've always loved Rivers; I owned her album What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? and have always wanted to see her perform live. Watching this film was the next best thing to a live performance. It's more like having a private audience with Rivers herself.
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