Stonewall poster

Stonewall Quotes

"The fight for the right to love"

R 1996 · 1h 39m
57
Audience
57
Audience
13 quotes
Mobilizing Awareness for Marginalized Voices
Dialogues: Mattie: If all the demonstrators had been wiped out by a bomb, at least the newspapers would have talked about it and the people would have mobilised: there must be more than thirty people who care; we have to find a way to get them out of their holes. Ethan: Many people don't even conceive of our existence, imagine if they would march.
The Illusion of Freedom in America
Dialogues: La Miranda: Ah, they're bastards. What need was there to confiscate my makeup case? This is real brutality.Mattie: How the hell can they do that? As if we didn't have a constitution and rights. La Miranda: We don't have them. Only they have them. Mattie: Who would they be? La Miranda: America, the free and great America, the other America. Mattie: Fuck free America. We are the real America. At least we still believe in freedom, right? How did I think it would be different in New York? La Miranda: The Statue of Liberty is a liar.
[...]
Conflicted Emotions in a Tense Moment
Dialogues: Policeman Dary: Poor fagot. He doesn't know what to do, whether to kill me or kiss me. Bostonia : I've made my decision.
[hits him with both fists]
Paradise and Provocation in Death
Dialogues: Ethan : We're dead and this is paradise. Nothing is really missing. And wait until you see the party! A disproportionate number of beautiful men all together. Cover yourself with the towel. Mattie: Why? Ethan: An ordinance from the Middle Ages: you cannot wear provocative costumes on the beach. Mattie: You're not serious! Ethan: Let's not give excuses to these bastards, okay? Mattie: «We are dead and this is paradise».
[on the beach; A policeman whistles.]
Sympathy versus Pity in Social Acceptance
Dialogues: Ethan: The reality is that the disease thesis is a concept that Americans can accept. And being seen with sympathy would already be a big step forward for us. Mattie: With pity, you mean! Ethan: The most important thing is that it's not hate, don't you think? Mattie: I can't accept it.
The Allure of Seeking Trouble
Dialogues: Ernestine: Oh, child... Miranda, no! Why are you always looking for trouble?La Miranda: Do you want to know why, Ernestine? Only for the subtle, irresistible charm that doing so has on me.
[In the original English version: ''- La Miranda, girl, why do you always put yourself though this?''<br>- ''Why , Princess Ernestine? It's for the sheer, irresistible goddamn glamor of it all.'']
Expressions of Identity and Self-Acceptance
Phrases: The girls of Stonewall siam: | I'll do the perm; | we don't wear underwear; | pubic hair shows! | The queens of the Siam village: | we always look at ourselves | let's do the perm, | because we are girls! (A row of ])
[Faced with the charge of the special forces, with the demonstrators routed; [Cross-dressing|transvestites]
Desire for Love and Freedom in Conflict
Dialogues: Enlistor: Hector, don't you want to fight for your country? La Miranda: Oh, yes I want to fight. I want to fight for love, freedom, and a current constitution. I want to fight the Viet Cong, the Russians, you, your mother, your father, and the damned Bureau of Un-American Activities: I want to screw the whole world, and you don't have to give me permission, or even her that forces me!
Personal Legends and the Transvestite Experience
Phrases: Everyone has their own legend about ], this is mine. Maybe I haven't told exactly everything in detail, but this is the story of my life, darling. Well, after all I'm a transvestite, and we don't always live in reality: we live in something even truer than reality; dreams are our world. We are more American than apple pie. (Narrator, conclusion)
[[Stonewall Riots|Stonewall]
The Challenge of Change and Connection
Phrases: Sorry, you can't change the world all at once. You see it? We don't look each other in the eye even in private. They are winning. Could we really love each other, Matt? I can't, I'm sorry: force of habit. (Ethan)
[Mattie tries to kiss him, but he turns to make sure no one is looking.]
Struggling with Identity and Normalcy
Dialogues: Vito: I don't need a lover, is that clear? I need a wife, I want to be able to feel like a normal person. What do you find wrong with it? Do you know what you have? You're afraid of becoming normal! Bostonia: I'm afraid of losing my little business down here, that's what I've got. Why do we keep talking about it? I'm a girl with a dick, and I'm not ready to lose it yet. No, of course, they would never leave us alone, and the operation wouldn't change anything. Come here. Vito: We can't! There are too many windows.
[...; ...; Try to hug him.]
Exploring Identity and Gender Expectations
Dialogues: Mattie: Is it my fault if you don't know how to be a man? La Miranda: What? Mattie: Is it my fault that I came into the world with a preponderance of female genes? Is it my fault if there are handsome men who don't need to wear tons of makeup? Is it my fault? No, it's not my fault! La Miranda: And whose fault is it if you're a piece of shit?
Seeking Comfort in Simple Pleasures
Dialogues: Bostonia : Life really sucks. I no longer followed politics because I couldn't bear any more pain. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Luther King... And what did I do? I took refuge in the safety of superficiality. Only to find even more sadness than before!Vito: What could cheer you up? Bostonia: An ice cream. Among people, together with the man I love. I'm not asking for much.Vito: Okay. I'm just changing, I'm becoming brave.
[after Judy Garland's death; ...]