The Freedom to Marry Summary + Review

The Freedom to Marry follows the four decade long journey to win the right of gay marriage. The movement was not an easy feat and had many ups and downs, the victory was not won overnight. This movement was carefully planned out to win the approval of each individual state. The campaign focused on love and family. The documentary follows the lives of Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto who spearheaded the movement and dedicated their lives work to bring this case to the Supreme Court. The movie also followed the plaintiffs who were partners but could not legally get married, putting their children in jeopardy if anything happened to the other.
I thought this movie was okay. I thought it focused too much on the life of Evan Wolfson rather than the movement itself. The movie seemed to be an appraisal specifically for him. I think it would have been better if it discussed important moments and wins in LGBT history. One aspect of the film I enjoyed was seeing the plaintiff's story about their family, I think it would have been interesting to see more families and couples in the film and show how they have been affected by the law. I found it surprising and upsetting that so many people went out of their way and traveled to DC just to protest love. A lot of times I found the film boring and unengaging, like when Wolfson was working in the office or Bonauto was preparing to present to the Supreme Court. However, I found the ending very emotional and moving.

Resources:
https://www.montclair.edu/holocaust-genocide-and-human-rights-education-project/wp-content/uploads/sites/176/2018/10/Catherine-Troisi_Lesson-Plan.pdf

https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/UV%20Lessons.pdf

http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201

https://www.glsen.org/article/lgbtq-history-1

https://www.gsafewi.org/wp-content/uploads/US-LGBT-Timeline-UPDATED.pdf

https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/When%20Did%20it%20Happen%20Lesson%20Plan_0.pdf

https://www.adl.org/media/6790/download

https://www.adl.org/media/6779/download

https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots