This collection of essays focuses on queer, lesbian and gay documentary, arguing that documentary films and videos articulate an essential political and social urgency, acting as testaments to the importance of reclaiming history and reasserting the importance of these points of view.
The first book to focus on the connections between sexuality, activism, and documentary film.
From film festivals to university campuses, from private homes to first-run theaters, people everywhere are viewing and discussing gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, and transgender films and videos. Between the Sheets, In the Streets considers these videos and films, testifying to the unavoidable connections between sexuality (the sheets) and activism (the streets) for all who identify as gay, lesbian, or queer in the 1990s.
Among the topics discussed are representations of young queers on such shows as MTV's The Real World; pre-Stonewall films; portrayals of lesbians and aging; video activism in Oregon and the South; and the works of Derek Jarman, Su Friedrich, Cheryl Dunye, and Sadie Benning. A range of films and videos is examined, including Strangers in Good Company, Paris Is Burning, Juggling Gender, Silverlake Life, and Without You I'm Nothing.
