PREJUDICES ARE OVERCOME IN PRIDE
During London’s gay pride parade of June 30, 1984, miners were on strike throughout Britain, harassed by the police and given the cold shoulder by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mark Ashton (played by Ben Schnetzer) provokes his fellow gays to support the miners financially, as both gays and miners suffer in similar ways. Under the acronym LGSM (lesbians and gays support the miners) the most activist among the gays and lesbians agree, collect funds, and go to South Wales to provide their financial and moral support. But will the miners accept their help? Although the strike fails in early 1985, the bulk of the film is about the reception of gays and lesbians by the miners, most of whom are initially ambivalent or hostile. Accordingly, there are many subplots. The main subplot shows how initial acceptance by a few miners mushrooms into toleration by many with a later backlash when the support is reported by the press. Another subplot is about how the presence of gays and lesbians provokes some of the miners to realize that they have been in the closet, while those who are most avidly anti-gay appear to be latent gays. Yet another subplot deals with a 20-year-old gay activist who tries to stay in the closet while living with his parents, who find out about him. Problems about AIDS emerge as another subplot during the year. The fast-paced, upbeat film ends with a couple of delightful surprises on gay pride day during June 1985, followed by titles identifying the future lives of the activists portrayed in the film as well as Ashton’s death. Directed by Matthew Warchus, the Political Film Society has nominated Pride as best film exposé of 2014 for bringing the LGSM movement to the attention of filmviewers, and the film has also been nominated as best film on human rights of 2014. MH