A House Is Not a Disco

This is a documentary about Fire Island Pines, the homo-normative community on the barrier island east of New York City / Long Island. It shows one year in the life of the community, bookended by a couple who live there year-round, and sub-bookended by the liquor store's opening and closing for the season.

Characters of all ages appear in the film, but there is a bias towards older folks, who can reminisce about the 70s freedom followed by the losses due to AIDS. This allows various archival material to be introduced. The community has gotten more diverse, with Black and trans members, led by a Black trans activist. There are still questions of social class, as to who can afford to own or rent there. However, the most visible are still the younger partying crowd.

Today, what threatens Fire Island most are the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels are less of a concern than storms. Sandy is mentioned as washing away most of the beaches. Just before the annual big beach party, a piece of beach disappeared overnight, requiring a reconfiguration of the dance floor, and an abrupt stop to ticket sales. However, there is mention of government support in rebuilding the beaches, knowing that if Fire Island is allowed to wash away, Long Island will be exposed to the full force of the Atlantic.

The is one brief scene with a guy wearing a tank top with the movie title on it. I don't know if the title was taken from the shirt, or that was a planted scene.