By Izzy Blansfield ’18
The new and upcoming miniseries “When We Rise” by Dustin Lance Black is a truly inspiring story which effectively highlights the struggles of the American LGBTQ community in the early 1700’s.
“When We Rise” tells the story of the gay rights movement in the United States from the perspective of several struggling members of the LGBTQ community from San Fracisco. San Francisco was known to be a city of sexual acceptance, however while there was a definite community, it was not fully accepted. Due to this, the series focuses on the main characters attempts of making a change in San Francisco and commencing acceptance.
One of these characters is Cleve Jones, who shortly after coming out to his parents and receiving a negative reaction, moved to San Francisco in hopes of love and acceptance. Jones’ arrival to San Francisco was much more different than he imagined, as he realized that the “accepting” community it was once known to be is really now most known for its heroin problem. Jones was left struggling with no money or job, resorting to prostitution.
However, along his journey the puzzle pieces came together once he met a lesbian, women’s rights activist, Roma Guy, and they then became determined to make a change in San Francisco.
Throughout the story the show emphasized the brutal treatment inflicted on those apart of the LGBTQ community through intense visuals, which was one of the main things that I liked. It was refreshing to get some more exposure and get to see the extent of the brutal treatment towards the LGBTQ community during this time. Throughout the show I was continually in awe, fully engaged and was left in astonishment.
However, even though “When We Rise” is a captivating series, I think that in order to remain fully engaged and receive the impact of the story, attention is required. Because there are sections in the show where things are a bit more mellow and it is easy to get distracted, I advise you to refrain from the temptations of multitasking since there are a lot of subtle messages you wouldn’t want to miss.
Overall due to the refreshing and riveting content, the first eight episodes of season one have left me extremely pleased, so all in all I completely recommend it.
