1984. Film: Orientations: Lesbian and Gay Asians
The 1980s saw a significant increase in the production of queer-themed documentaries. This was aided, in part, by the introduction of videotape, which was not only cheaper than traditional 16mm film but also a lot more flexible. In consequence there was not only a greater quantity of films but also a greater diversity of subjects.
One important area to emerge at this time was the voice of Black and Asian queers, determined to raise their profile and challenge the perception that all queer people were white. Probably one of the first films to look at this was the 1983 film If She Grows Up Gay, a study of an African American lesbian mother. Then, in 1984 Richard Fung began to document the experience of lesbian and gay Asians in Canada with his first film Orientations.
Orientations was based around interviews with fourteen Asian lesbians and gay men from a diverse range of backgrounds. It explored a wide range of areas including first realisation of being queer, coming out, the experience of being ‘a minority within a minority’ and experiencing racism within the wider queer communities. But it wasn’t just a documentation of issues faced by queer Asians; it also looked at ways of addressing some of them. These included working within mainstream Asian communities, trade unions and ‘solidarity groups’ such as Gay Asians Toronto and Lesbians of Colour.
Whilst the film didn’t (and didn’t pretend to) resolve the problems faced by queer Asians, it’s very existence certainly helped raise awareness of both the community and the issues it faced.
Hi Colin:
I wrote you last year about LGSM and the movie Pride, and I just visited your blog to see if there are developments around the renewed interest that period. I was so surprised to see this post as I’m in the midst of making a follow-up, centred on interviews with six of the subjects from Orientations 30 years later—it was actually released in 1984 but even I’d forgotten the date.
Cheers,
Richard
Hi Richard,
Ha ha! I was expecting someone to come back and tell me the date was wrong! When I was preparing this post I found a whole range of release dates attributed to it – from 1982 to 1986. I decided to go for 85 since the info on your site says it includes material from Lesbian and Gay Pride Day 1984. But I also feel that the exact date is pretty much irrelevant – it’s the film and its topic that’s most important.
In relation to LGSM there’s still lot of things happening as a result of the movie (including the campaign to get Sony/CBS to reinstate the LGSM banner on the US DVD cover of ‘Pride’). But much of this has been about responding to requests coming in as a result of the movie. However, there’s a planning meeting on 21st March where it’s hoped a long-term strategy will be developed and an organisational structure to support that. An important part of the deliberations will include how to connect with those who share LGSM’s values. I will post something about the outcome of this meeting after 21st March (I realise I said something similar a while back but it really is coming together this time!)
Best Wishes
Colin
Richard
I’ve just emailed you an invite to the LGSM Pride 2014 Facebook page, which has just gone up in the last couple of weeks. The website is due for launch around May.
Regards
Colin