Whitewashing of the Stonewall Riots

Title

Whitewashing of the Stonewall Riots

Author

Sam Stageman

Faculty Sponsor

CM Hall

Gavin Keulks

Date

6/1/2017

Abstract

Roland Emmerich’s film Stonewall was met with criticism for supposedly “whitewashing” the Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ+ community’s history. These critics stated that the riots had been begun by transgender women of color and Emmerich’s film made it appear that a white cisgender man started the riots. This papers determines if these criticisms were justified by reviewing historical accounts of the Stonewall Inn and riots, studying notable people associated with the riots, and analyzing the film itself. These findings are then analyzed through a queer theory lens to determine the message of Stonewall. It was ultimately determined that while Stonewall did have a number of inaccuracies, it did not necessarily warrant all the criticism it received.

Type

Text

Honors Thesis

Department

Honors Program

Language

eng

Rights

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Identifier

honors_theses/137