Stu Maddux is a very determined gay activist and filmmaker whose passionate obsession with LGBT history has resulted in three excellent documentaries that deal with different aspects of gay communities in the past. This latest one ‘Reel in the Closet’ is a feature length movie that is comprised of a wealth of unseen footage of old gay and lesbian home movies that date back to the 1930’s and are backed up with some recorded news stories of the times.What is surprising about all the content is the fact that it existed at all as so much of it was shot when it was socially unacceptable to be gay and totally illegal too. So much of the LGBT community led lives hidden in the margins of society in fear of being exposed which we had assumed would have made them all deeply miserable, but what Maddox uncovers is a whole gay sub-culture which was was both vibrant and very happy. Whilst we accept that these lucky ones may have been in a minority, it’s refreshing to know that it was actually possible to be able to enjoy some sort of freedom, albeit limited and closeted.
The documentary, three years in the making, raises the whole issue about the treasure trove of footage that archivists are now slowly sifting through, but also the possibility of an abundance of more material that is hidden away undiscovered in people’s attics, or worse still, being totally discarded as trash.
Our community needs to know it’s own history both now and later and this fascinating new film is another part of the journey of discovery.
P.S. On his website http://closetreel.com/ Maddux regularly posts new discoveries of more old clips so it is well worth bookmarking it.
Labels: 2015, documentary, gay history
