User:Winterandsnow/Happy Birthday, Marsha!

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== Synopsis ==

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The movie begins with Johnson inviting her friends to her birthday party. Most say yes, leading Johnson to begin preparations for a celebration at her apartment. Nonetheless, after futile attempts at convincing her friends to attend the celebration, one friend convinces Johnson to enjoy her night at The Stonewall Inn. As she envisions herself reading poetry to the Stonewall audience, Marsha eventually agrees and makes her way to the Inn in good spirits.

Once at the Inn, Johnson faces pushback from event security who claim she is not allowed to be in front of an audience in drag. Pushback from transphobic enforcement is a common theme in the film, from the event security to police officers who harass and physically abuse Johnson on multiple occasions. However, after a joyous performance to a supportive audience, Johnson is having a drink at the bar when the two police officers from earlier in the film approach her. Having seen her from outside the establishment, the police officers are intent on removing Johnson from the Inn. An enraged Johnson throws her drink at the officers, immediately inciting chaos in the Inn. Despite Johnson’s birthday not actually lining up with the initial Stonewall riots, the final scene represents the beginning of the 1969 riots in support of LGBT rights.

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== Cast ==

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Eve Lindley as Sylvia Rivera

Grace Dunham as Junior

Ken King as Officer Staggert

Rios O'Leary-Tagiuri as Bambi

Silas Howard as Stonewall Manager

Mya Taylor as Marsha P. Johnson

Kristen Parker Lovell as Afro Girl

Historical Context
The Stonewall riots were a series of uprisings led by members of the gay community against the police that took place at the Stonewall Inn, a bar popular among members of the gay community, in New York City’s Greenwich Village during the summer of 1969. The first riot began in response to a police raid of the bar in the early hours of June 28. Nine policemen arrived to arrest employees for operating the bar without a liquor license, and the police proceeded to rough-up and arrest patrons and clear the bar. Police had recently raided two other gay bars in Greenwich Village, but the uprising at the Stonewall Inn marked the first time gay patrons had fought back against the police.

Marsha P. Johnson was a prominent Black transgender woman, drag queen, and prominent LGBTQ+ civil rights activist in the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. Johnson fought on the frontlines of the Stonewall riots against police, though she arrived at the Stonewall Inn on June 28 after the riot had already begun. There are conflicting accounts of Johnson’s specific actions at the Stonewall riots, but it is clear that she was a prominent figure and fighter.

Sylvia Rivera, a transgender woman drag queen of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent, was another prominent gay rights activist in New York City who was active at the same time as Johnson. Rivera’s activism began around the time of the Stonewall riots. That being said, her presence at the riots themselves has been disputed. While Rivera has spoken openly about her experiences at the riots, Stonewall historian David Carter has disputed her claims based on contradictory descriptions Rivera has given and witness accounts that deny her presence.

Controversy
In an Instagram post, Tourmaline claims David France took inspiration from her grant application video and used her archival research to make The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. In a following Teen Vogue op-ed, she connects this alleged plagiarism to the systematic challenges she faced while making the film and the continued marginalization of transgender voices. France responded on social media and in investigative journalism articles by acknowledging his privileged position, but denying all allegations.

In regards to the grant video, investigative articles written with input from France refuted Tourmaline, claiming that France had not seen the video, only been told about the project due to its similarity to his allegedly pre-existing idea.

The archival research refers, in part, to archival footage of Johnson and Rivera that Tourmaline had posted without licensing to Vimeo in 2012. When it was taken down due to copyright claims by a third party, Lesbians Organized for Video Experience (L.O.V.E.) Collective, Tourmaline accused France of being behind the removal. France had used the footage with licensing in his documentary, and Tourmaline claimed in a tweet, “your film only exists because I put that video online.” France denied the accusation, providing documents in interviews with Jezebel and Advocate that allegedly prove that he had seen those “famous,” i.e. easily found, clips in previous documentaries. However, France also admitted that he used a different, previously unseen clip included in Tourmaline’s film after attending her 2015 Cooper Union exhibit, though he claims he was aware that such footage existed prior. Despite the overlap in used footage, France cites the work he and his team did to find the footage themselves and the sparse use of that footage in his documentary as reasons for his belief that crediting Tourmaline is unnecessary.