The week after Thanksgiving Netflix introduced three original gay films. The first two are historical retrospectives and very dark. The third is a modern coming out story.

Operation Hyacinth filmOperation Hyacinth film

Operation Hyacinth is set in 1980’s Communist Poland where the secret police are portrayed as threatening, harassing, and/or killing gays in the thousands. In the process of working a case of a murdered gay, a member of the police falls in love with another young gay man. He cancels his long-delayed wedding, which infuriates his fiancée and family. He faces probable execution when he kills a fellow officer while allowing his lover to escape. It’s so brutal that you wonder why any gay would stay in the country, except they probably had few opportunities to escape the repressive regime. We’re left guessing that the head of the secret police is involved in a secret gay sex club known as the Villa.

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Cured (film)Cured (film)

On National Coming Out Day, PBS broadcast a special titled “Cured” that was an indictment of the entire profession of psychiatry on the issues regarding homosexuality. The documentary traced the long history of the classification of homosexuality as a mental illness and the acceptable methods of treatments at that time. Fortunately, in 1973 the American Psychological Association issued an apology.

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Remember: Stonewall Was a RiotRemember: Stonewall Was a Riot

The celebrations of 50 years after Stonewall in New York are permutating the posture of New York as the center of the universe. It is claimed that is where the LGBT movement began. Yes, it probably was the first large LGBT riot against the police, but it was not the first movement in the nation. There were a number of small organizations scattered around the country, some of which had more success than others. The Advocate, based in Los Angles, started national publication in 1969.

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