Avaliações de usuários

The documentary Cured (2020) was co-written and co-directed by Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer. The title is a clever one. In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. So, overnight all those sick people weren't sick--they were cured.

This event is old business in 2020, almost 50 years after it happened. However, this was an immense forward step for LGBTQ liberation. The movie captures the agonizing opposition to the APA's decision. The drama of the moment and the immense work it took to achieve that victory are well documented.

We saw this movie as part of Rochester's great ImageOut LGBTQ Film Festival. (Virtually shown this year.) The film doesn't have a meaningful number of raters yet. I was glad I watched it, and rated it 9.

This documentary covers a piece of history that I was aware of, but did fully grasp the machinations about. The pressure on the American Psychological Association to re-categorize homosexuality from "illness" and "disorder" status was crucial for all the later gay rights progress that was made. And gay activists recognized this and shrewdly targeted the APA and made slow but steady progress towards "curing" the APA of this problem. The details were remarkable to have and compelling to watch.

It was really a terrific look at how it played out, and how effective dedicated activism can be.

It's also a cautionary tale about where we'll be if we lose progress. And here's a tip: just because you force gay people to marry doesn't make them straight, it seems. You cannot pray the gay away. And going back there would be awful.