Don’t Watch More LGBTQ+ Films During Pride Month. Watch More All Year Round.

Every June, rainbow flags fly up across cities around the world. Marginalized communities that fought for decades for visibility and acceptance suddenly see their most recognizable symbols adorning nearly everything you can imagine…and anything you can purchase.

But how much of it is just “rainbow washing”, a strategy used by brands to project allyship for the LGBTQ+ community for their own benefit, rather than actually standing in solidarity with the community? Does any of it really move the needle in the fight for equality?

The same goes for cinemas; check pretty much any movie theater’s June calendar in a relatively diverse city and you’ll find a plethora of programming catering (pandering?) to the LGBTQ+ community. But what’s the cinema’s goal here? Are they just checking a box to ensure they don’t get “cancelled” (cancelling isn’t real, btw, but that’s a topic for another blog post)? Do people actually show up for these films? Is programming like this actually the best way for cinemas to support marginalized populations?

Unfortunately, ReSee doesn’t have answers to these questions (yet), but as a brand committed to ensuring that cinema programming always reflects its local community, we’re heavily invested in doing the work and finding out more. We’re curious about whether all cultural observance programming, whether it’s Pride, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, etc., has both the desired turnout and a lasting impact. And we’re intent on proving that our commitment to diversity and inclusion doesn’t end when the rainbows fade.

On a personal level, I’m not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but I do know for sure that Intersectionality is the key to true coexistence.  Plus, as Black man, I know a thing or two about performative allyship. Every February I brace myself for the onslaught of misappropriated MLK and Nelson Mandela quotes, the whitewashed history lessons that feel more like appeals for obedience than acknowledgements of wrongdoing, and the cringey “we get it” moments from tone-deaf public and political figures (that image of Nancy Pelosi taking a knee while rocking Kente cloth is forever singed into my brain…*shudders*).

And as for the movies? I personally feel some type of way when February rolls around and every cinema in the US starts programming the same tried and tested Black films over and over again. Seriously, no disrespect to Steve McQueen but who the f*** wants to watch 12 Years a Slave again in 2024?? 12 years of watching this damn movie. (It is good tho, watch it if you haven’t seen it)

Cynically, I envision film programmers counting down the days left in February, chomping at the bit for permission to press pause on Black cinema for another 11 months. Revisiting theater websites on March 1st to see nothing but super-white films on the schedule is probably the worst part. But hey, at least there’ll be a bunch of films from white women in cinemas the next 31 days!! Enjoy the longer month, ladies.

But at the same time, I can’t really get mad, because if I’m being completely honest, I don’t watch more Black films during Black History Month. I don’t watch more LGBTQ+ films during Pride. Shit, I barely watch more Christmas movies around Christmas. I don’t wait for an observance period to brandish my support for filmmakers from marginalized communities.

I watch whatever I want whenever I want, because for me, supporting diverse filmmakers is a moral responsibility all year round, and that’s the energy I’m bringing to ReSee Movies, too.

Someone once described my letterboxd as “beautifully chaotic” because of my tendency to watch a dark psychological thriller one day and a family-friendly stop motion animation film the very next. And I take that as a compliment. But what they see as chaos is actually very much order; it’s my cinematic vestibular system seeking a balanced slate of films that includes a very intentional attempt to support filmmakers from all backgrounds.

Listen, I know I’m weird, especially when it comes to how I consume movies. I have some very spicy film takes that I’ll share with you all once I’m sure you won’t rage-unfollow me in disgust 🙂 so by all means, if Pride Month compels you to start supporting LGBTQ+ creatives the way you should all year, then go for it. If your baseline is not watching queer films until June, then throw on something queer every damn day this month. And if you’re just the kind of person that enjoys getting swept up in the social aspect of cultural observance periods, then do it! After all, who doesn’t love a pride parade?

But when the calendar rolls over to July, keep that energy going. Just like brands, we as consumers have a responsibility to support the LGBTQ+ community all year round. We as people are just as capable of rainbow washing. And if these cultural observance periods create an alibi for us that prevents us from having to do the work the rest of the year, we’re no worse than corporations who flash rainbows for profits.

So to all of our LGBTQ+ friends, and to all our diverse community members who don’t feel represented by the brands they support, please hold ReSee (and me personally) accountable. If you feel like we aren’t advocating for diverse stories, or you don’t feel represented by the events that we put on any time of year, please get in touch and let me know. I’m posting this so that there’s something very visible you can refer to if we fail you in this regard. That’s the very least we can do as a company to support you all in the struggles you deal with on a daily basis.

Happy Pride, 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

–Ty