When We Rise

[Emelee]

When we rise is a new docu-drama on ABC. It sets in the 1960s, and tells the stories of real life events of homosexuals, blacks and oppressed women that are trying to change society.

Seems like a decent show, based on that information. Nothing strange, at least.

But what is strange is the enormous hatred that is directed at the series. People bashing the series, having not even seen it. They base their feelings and opinions only on the trailer.

Now, I may be to the left politically, a feminist and a humanitarian. I am trying to overlook that, and be somewhat neutral. And I cannot for my life realize what all this hatred is about. Normally when a show doesn't interest you, you simply just ignore it. It doesn't make you hateful.

ABC had to remove the first trailer because the YouTube comments were filled with negativity. They posted the same clip again, starting fresh - and it's the same story. The comments are filled with hatred. "Gay shit".

It's as if you are pro gay rights, women's right and black people rights - then you are a nasty liberal who is living in la la land.


Here are 3 clips - click to the youtube page to read comments if you dare.

 

[Ome]

I've just finished part two of this, I want to watch more but I need to sleep. It's incredibly shocking to watch it all unfold, especially for myself who had no knowledge of any of this until now. Either the UK was ignorant, or I grew up in a sheltered environment.

 

[Ome]

Normally when a show doesn't interest you, you simply just ignore it.

I wish life was like this.

I struggle to comprehend all the hatred towards anything, which is kinda weird because it fills me with rage when I see it and I have to remove myself from it all.

 

[Jason73]

I've watched all four nights and really enjoyed the way they wove together the personal stories with the broader historical events. I also appreciate learning about how some of the other movements, such as the women's movement fit in. I found the whole thing extremely moving, sad and at times up-lifting. I'm looking forward to watching it all again in the near future.

I also just finished reading the book that it was partially based on.

 

[Emelee]

As someone who was born in the 80s, I can't say I have much REAL knowledge of the struggles that homosexuals, women and blacks have gone through. An ignorant person in my age could easily think that life has never been difficult for these groups. Especially if you are at least white and straight. It's like "what's all the b*tching about? It's not difficult to be gay, female or black".

Well, not that much today - in the western part of the world. But it wasn't all that long ago when being gay was shameful and pretty much unacceptable. It wasn't that long ago when women were mostly housewives because working women were weird. In many western countries, all women didn't get to vote until around year 1920. And black people didn't really get to have good education, good jobs etc until very late. Remember Martin Luther King's speech? It was only 53 years ago. My mom was 8 years old.

And if people think everything is great now, then maybe they need to open their eyes? How easy is it to come out as a teenager? We have no country in the world where women earn the same as a man in the exact same position, all jobs. We still need to demonstrate that "black lives matter".

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Frankly, the promos looked dire.

I watched the first episode and while, in context, those moments I'd seen in the promos weren't quite as bad, it's still sanitized, revisionistic "gay shit", yes.

It's the tone I have problems with. Probably unavoidable today.

 

[Ome]

It's the tone I have problems with. Probably unavoidable today.

That's a shame.



From my perspective I found it incredibly emotional and thought provoking. It gave me an insight in to something that I had little knowledge on. Call me naive, dumb, but this was a world I have never been exposed to and to have to live through those times must have been horrific for so many.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

That's a shame.



From my perspective I found it incredibly emotional and thought provoking. It gave me an insight in to something that I had little knowledge on. Call me naive, dumb, but this was a world I have never been exposed to and to have to live through those times must have been horrific for so many.

It seems to be pretty difficult for Hollywood to do period pieces because so much of the contemporary zeitgeist is projected onto the past they're attempting to portray. If the story took place 300 years ago, it's understandable that no one would know or remember how things "felt" back then, but when the events take place in recent decades and they still can't get the flavor right at all (which is usually the case) the subtext is also changed as a result and it becomes a kind of bogus portrait of a real-life, bygone era.

But, again, Hollywood usually has a problem not making that mistake.

That doesn't invalidate the material. But the context is different, so the fictionalization becomes a little too fictionalized.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I watched parts of the first part and re-joined it for part of part two to see if it had improved. I agree that too often, H'wood tries to inject modern sensibilities into period pieces, and it really showed in part one. The dialogue got kind of preachy, but I could overlook that if the story works (like when KL's Karen would get preachy in the later years). Certain characters were being written as two-dimensional exposition tools, and I dislike it when writers have to tell their story that way rather than having the viewer see/experience it. Pieces like this, which try to tell stories over many years, often fall into that trap in an effort to save time, but it just doesn't translate to a visual medium like TV. I would guess such a story would be more enjoyable as a book/novel.

 

[Angela Channing]

I finished watching this series over the weekend and overall I thought it was interesting, informative and well worth watching. It does however have flaws.

When We Rise covers some of the same ground as films such as And The Band Played On, Milk and Stonewall and fills in some of the gaps with events that occurred between those films. However, although it is a good series, it isn't as good as any of those films, including the much maligned Stonewall.

The series could have been better had is been less issues focused and more people focused, particularly in the first 4 episodes. This is why I found the second half of the series was much better than the first as they concentrated more on the how the issues associated with gay discrimination impacted directly on the lives of some of the individuals portray. There are some genuinely moving moments in the show such as when Cleve was attempting to foster a baby that he had become responsible for and the authorities snatched the child away from him because he was HIV positive, even though medication meant his viral load was virtually undetectable.

I think part of the problem with the series is that it was made for a mainstream US TV network which probably meant there was restrictions on what they could show and on how they told the story so it could appeal to a broader audience. Had it been a cable or cinema production it would have had more freedom and not have a feel that in places it was a sanitised version of some of the events that it covered. That said, it's important to recognise how far society has come in the years that the series spanned that a show such as this can be broadcast on major US network.

Overall, I recommend watching this series which now has new relevance at a time when there is a US President that is stirring up hatred against minority groups in American and a British Government that is pandering to xenophobia in the UK. The series ends with these words:

"Today, the rights of LGBT people, women and racial, religious and ethnic minorities are under attack across the United States. One struggle. One fight."

Absolutely right.