Canadian Stonewall première disrupted by trans protesters

[stephaniec]

Canadian Stonewall première disrupted by trans protesters

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/09/29/canadian-stonewall-premiere-disrupted-by-trans-protesters/

Pink News/By Nick Duffy   09/29/2015

"The Canadian première of rights film Stonewall has been disrupted by angry protesters, upset at the supposed lack of inclusiveness in the film.

The Roland Emmerich film is based on the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York – but  came under fire amid claims of whitewashing and trans-erasure, after the first trailer suggested it would be centred on a white middle-class gay hero. "

[Jessica Merriman]

Not the way to do it. It is bombing by itself at the box office here in the States. Check the stats yourself online. No one has to raise a finger. They will only reassure people we are what they fear.

[Peep]

But then people won't know why it's bombing and this kind of rubbish will happen again? or its failure will be used as a reason not to back LGBTQA movies, i.e. they don't make money so don't make them

[Nema]

I think it's a shame that people feel the need act in this manner. If they didn't agree with aspects of the movie, they were more than welcome to not purchase a movie ticket. The fact that people were upset that the movie was not cast or written the way they thought it should have been didn't mean that protesting the movie premiere was the right thing to do. I've seen a lot of negative comments on FaceB from my gay friends complaining about how wrong Emmerich was and how he didn't make the movie historically accurate. I wasn't there when the producers were discussing making the movie, but I would imagine the process was similar to every other movie that gets made that's based on historical events. Sometimes changes are made to broaden the audience appeal. Obviously doing so isn't ideal, but if it has to happen to get the movie made, then so be it. Everyone that's complaining so much about the movie is absolutely welcome to, rather than protest, go spend their own time and money and produce a film that's historically accurate as they see fit.

One thing is for sure: No film studio in their right mind will be producing a big  budget LGBT-centric film anytime soon.

[suzifrommd]

If they didn't agree with aspects of the movie, they were more than welcome to not purchase a movie ticket.

Sorry, can't agree. I think people have a duty to call out media that libels their culture. I think anger is more than justified when media writes a group out of history.

[Peep]

Sorry, can't agree. I think people have a duty to call out media that libels their culture. I think anger is more than justified when media writes a group out of history.

Yep, and media is extra important when it's a history not taught in schools. Complacently ignoring this kind of thing isn't good for anyone but the people who want to keep the movie industry non-inclusive. The problem with Hollywood in terms of representation is that the story is rarely in the hands of the people that it's actually about. Saying that we can have control when it's our time and money is pretty exclusionary and elitist, especially if you filter that view out into the wider world. You don't get rights by waiting for them to be given to you. The only way to have truthful and accurate representation of minorities is to consistently ask for it.

[IdontEven]

"Everyone that's complaining so much about the movie is absolutely welcome to, rather than protest, go spend their own time and money and produce a film that's historically accurate as they see fit."

With hookers! And blackjack!

Futurama references aside, this argument is a tough one for me to get behind. Don't buy a ticket, sure, although that doesn't tell anyone -why- you're not buying a ticket. Protesting allows a much more nuanced message (and more likely to be heard) than an individual boycott does.

But to suggest that people go out and make their own movie is...well come on. Are we expected to make our own chicken sandwich place, our own big box store, our own airlines, our own police force, our own nation, when these entities do things that aren't to our liking?