I heard about this movie from my good friend, Dale. It is a really interesting documentary that looks into how America's gays and lesbians lived and were treated prior to the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969. I have read about the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, what happened, and how it seemed to start a movement, but this documentary shows that the movement didn't start then.

Besides covering the obvious troubles faced by alternafolk thanks to the McCarthy "witch hunts," viewers get to see that life in the 1920s, 1930s, and during the war years seemed to provide lesbians and gays with an opportunity to have greater freedoms in society. Granted they were still not treated with equality, they did have a better opportunity live and let live. In fact during the war, there was an informal version of Don't Ask, Don't Tell going on. This all ended with the arrival of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who helped send droves of gays and lesbians out of government services, particularly the State Department, because they were considered evil and a danger to the country.

What I found particularly interesting was the documentary not only presented history with pieces from news reports and official interviews. There were also clips from wonderful interviews with everyday people who were there. Some of them were straight and some of them were famous, but they all seemed to share the experiences, providing a wonderful perspective on a history that few people get to know or hear about.

The show does nothing to hide the horrible things that happen, and it also includes a great bit of humor and exposure to some good times that many gays and lesbians lived in those early years.

This really gave me a better understanding of life for my good epal, Martin. He probably experienced a lot of what took place in the documentary, and it is a very different one from the one that I have inhabited in my life time.