The Question of Equality

This 4-part documentary was produced for public broadcasting by Testing the Limits for the Independent Television Service with funds provided by the CPB, Channel 4 in the U.K., and other funders. Aired by KQED, San Francisco. Each segment is about 55 min. long. 1. Out Rage '69 - Looks at key historical moments in the 1960s that sparked the formation of the gay and lesbian rights movement, including the Stonewall riots of 1969. 2. Culture Wars - Explores three key instances of anti-gay backlash - the murder of Julio Rivera; the release of Marlon Riggs' film Tongues Untied; and Oregon's Ballot Measure 9 - in the midst of the AIDS crisis and the gay community's response to these. 3. Hollow Liberty - Focuses on the federal laws and policies that effectively restrict the rights of gay and lesbian Americans and relegate them to second-class citizens, specifically the military's discriminatory history and the Supreme Court's 1986 Bowers vs. Hardwick decision. 4. Generation Q - Seeks to give an answer to the question of whether all that has gone before has made it any easier for the youth of 1995 to be openly gay or lesbian.

"The Question of Equality" series is stylishly and professionally presented, and each of the four parts is a self-contained view of the evolution and modern history of queer identity. In a highly entertaining format we follow the ongoing struggle for equitable (or at least reasonable) treatment by the law - and the struggle for equality in acceptance by family, friends, workmates etc.

So much care, energy and informed expertise has gone into making this series that they demand repeat viewings. Tons of valuable archival footage is combined with living treasures speaking from personal experience.

Men and women are equally represented - and for a change people of colour are given a strong voice. Queer youth are seldom adequately represented in media, but "Generation Q" deals with their real life & death issues and needs and calls for older queer activists to have the guts to fight in support of queer youth rights (rather than cowering in paranoid fear of paedophilic accusations).

The Question Of Equality provides the best quality entertainment while informing and empowering viewers to be proactive in improving their own lives and those of future generations.

Just as relevant now (2011) as it was in 1995, and equally relevant to viewers, like myself, who live outside of the USA. This series aired on ABC TV here under the title "Over The Rainbow".