Upstairs at 8:30 PM
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Ballot Measure 9
(1995, 72 min)
Country: US
Director: Heather MacDonald
Studio: Sovereign Distribution
SYNOPSIS:
A very lively documentary about the struggle in 1992 to defeat an anti-gay ballot initiative that places this stuggle in the context of the movement at large.REVIEW:
In contrast to its dry, didactic sounding title, this documentary about the events leading up to the vote on the 1992 Colorado and Oregon anti-gay ballot initiatives is in fact both thought-provoking and exhilarating. Written and directed by MacDonald, the film examines the hysteria and hatred generated by those against "special rights for gays and lesbians" especially by members of the Christian Right. While the film strives for balance, the greater emphasis is on those who galvanized themselves into organizations to defeat the proposals -- laws that would have denied homosexuals legal recourse against discrimination in housing and employment and have prevented cities from enacting their own gay/lesbian civil rights legislation.MacDonald uses a low-key approach to the contentious issue, and because of it, gained access to interviews with many of the measure's more virulent proponents. Engrossing and a significant document in the history of the lesbian and gay civil rights movement.
-- Raymond Murray