Celluloid Closet is in fact a political documentary. That's the saddest part about this movie, because what it uncovers is a systematic history of scapegoating in early Hollywood film-making. Americans, overall a generous and tolerant people, have been taught for over a century to despise and fear queers and queer relationships. This movie is about the part of that campaign that was conducted in American film.
But CC isn't just a sad movie. As we see toward the end of the film, the attitude of Hollywood has shifted in recent years. People are slowly seeing past the hatred they've been carefully taught, seeing that queers are ... just people, people who love each other. People who love each other so much that they courageously hold onto that love despite generations of oppression from nearly all quarters of American society, official and unofficial.
Ultimately, despite the contemporary knee-jerk backlash, the wishes of GLBTQ people to enjoy rights taken for granted by all other American citizens will be granted. Americans will come to regret, as with Indians and Blacks, their record of hatred directed against people they have refused to understand. Understanding comes with knowledge, and Celluloid Closet is a key picture, treating its subject with great heart and courage.
But CC isn't just a sad movie. As we see toward the end of the film, the attitude of Hollywood has shifted in recent years. People are slowly seeing past the hatred they've been carefully taught, seeing that queers are ... just people, people who love each other. People who love each other so much that they courageously hold onto that love despite generations of oppression from nearly all quarters of American society, official and unofficial.
Ultimately, despite the contemporary knee-jerk backlash, the wishes of GLBTQ people to enjoy rights taken for granted by all other American citizens will be granted. Americans will come to regret, as with Indians and Blacks, their record of hatred directed against people they have refused to understand. Understanding comes with knowledge, and Celluloid Closet is a key picture, treating its subject with great heart and courage.