Kids is a 1995 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Larry Clark in his directorial debut and written by Harmony Korine in his screenwriting debut. It stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson, all in their film debuts. Set in 1995, Fitzpatrick, Pierce, Sevigny, Dawson, and other newcomers portray a group of teenagers in New York City. They are characterized as hedonists, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, over the course of a single day.
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. He is a regular contributor to The Observer, for whom he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023. He is the author of several books on film and music, including It's Only A Movie, Hatchet Job, How Does It Feel? and The Movie Doctors. He has also written three volumes for the BFI's Modern Classics series, on The Exorcist, The Shawshank Redemption and Silent Running. Since the late 1980's he has contributed to the BFI's film magazine Sight & Sound and its predecessor The Monthly Film Bulletin, and since January 2016 he has presented a monthly live show, MK3D, at the BFI South Bank. It is the BFI's longest running live show.
Born Rich is a 2003 documentary film about the experience of growing up in wealthy families. It was created by Jamie Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, and filmed primarily between 1999 and 2001. The film consists primarily of Johnson interviewing 10 other young heirs. These interviews are offset by Johnson's exploration of his own experience and family as he comes into a large inheritance on his 21st birthday. He seeks out how to be a productive person, avoiding the dysfunction that he sees affecting many of the very rich. The film explores the taboo the ultra rich have against talking about their wealth. Johnson believes this secrecy about wealth causes the wealthy to be dysfunctional, and exists because the discussion of their wealth challenges the notion that America is a meritocracy and their right to have their wealth.
Matt Walsh is an American right-wing political activist, author, podcaster, and columnist. He is the host of The Matt Walsh Show podcast and is a columnist for the American conservative website The Daily Wire. He has authored four books and starred in The Daily Wire online documentary film What Is a Woman?.
Fudge is a 1995 American children's television series based on a series of Judy Blume books about a young boy nicknamed Fudge. The series ran for two seasons, with 24 episodes following a telefilm adaptation of Blume's novel Fudge-a-Mania, which aired on January 7, 1995, in primetime, as part of the ABC Family Movies.
Jennie Livingston is an American director best known for the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning.
Gasland is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Josh Fox. It focuses on communities in the United States where natural gas drilling activity was a concern and, specifically, on hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), a method of stimulating production in otherwise impermeable rock. The film was a key mobilizer for the anti-fracking movement, and "brought the term 'hydraulic fracturing' into the nation's living rooms" according to The New York Times.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Florida have federal protections, but many face legal difficulties on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55 percent of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in the Miami metropolitan area, but has been struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2023, Lake Worth Beach, Florida became an official "LGBT sanctuary city" to protect and defend LGBT rights.
Sheila Nevins is an American television producer and former head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Entertainment Studios. Previously, Nevins was the President of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 documentary films for HBO and is one of the most influential people in documentary filmmaking. She has worked on productions that have been recognized with 35 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, 42 Peabody Awards, and 26 Academy Awards. Nevins has won 31 individual Primetime Emmy Awards, more than any other person. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Peabody Awards.
Planeat is a 2010 British documentary film by Or Shlomi and Shelley Lee Davies. The film discusses the possible nutritional and environmental benefits of adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet based on the research of T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn and Gidon Eshel. The film also features the views of Peter Singer.
Jazz Jennings is an American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television personality, and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview with Barbara Walters aired on 20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances. Christine Connelly, a member of the board of directors for the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, stated, "She was the first young person who picked up the national spotlight, went on TV and was able to articulate her perspective and point of view with such innocence." Her parents noted that Jennings was clear on being female as soon as she could speak.
Anti-LGBT curriculum laws are laws approved by various U.S. states that limit the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in public schools. In theory, these laws mainly apply to sex ed courses, but they can also be applied to other parts of the school curriculum as well as to extracurricular activities such as sports and organizations such as gay–straight alliances. In July 2022, a wave of anti-LGBT curriculum resurgence saw ten such laws beginning to take effect in six different states. Some states enacting these new laws appear to have mirrored similar laws from other states.
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), Drag Queen Storytime, Drag Story Time, and Drag Story Hour are children's events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals of promoting reading and diversity. The events, usually geared for children aged 3–11, are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books, and engage in other learning activities in public libraries.
Square One: Michael Jackson is a 2019 investigative documentary directed by Danny Wu. It focuses on the 1993 case in which Michael Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy. Through interviews with people closest to the case, the film makes a case for Jackson's innocence. The interviews showcase statements from trial witnesses, Jackson's nephew, and legal assistant to the prosecutor in 1993.
BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes and Sadomasochism is a 1995 American documentary film directed by Michelle Handelman. The film documents the lesbian BDSM and leather subculture scene in San Francisco in the mid-1990s. BloodSisters is noted as the subject of protests by the American Family Association in the context of their efforts to defund the National Endowment for the Arts, from which the film's distributor Women Make Movies received funding.
Starting in 2021, there have been a considerable number of books banned or challenged in parts of the United States. Most of the targeted books have to do with race, gender, and sexuality. Unlike most book challenges in the past, whereby parents or other stakeholders in the community would engage teachers and school administrators in a debate over a title, local groups have received support from conservative advocacy organizations working to nationalize the efforts focused on certain subjects. They have also been more likely to involve legal and legislative measures rather than just conversations in local communities. Journalists, academics, librarians, and others commonly link the coordinated, often well-funded book challenges to other reactionary efforts to restrict what students should learn about systemic bias and the history of the United States. Hundreds of books have been challenged, including high-profile examples like Maus by Art Spiegelman and New Kid by Jerry Craft.
Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has nearly 3 million followers as of February 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.
The 2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States is an ongoing political backlash from social conservatives against LGBT people. It has included legislative proposals of bathroom use restrictions, bans on gender-affirming care, anti-LGBT curriculum laws, laws against drag performances, book bans, boycotts, and conspiracy theories around grooming. Between 2018 and 2023, hundreds of anti-LGBT laws were considered, with more than one hundred passed into law.
Scala!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, or simply Scala!!!, is a 2023 British documentary film directed by Ali Catterall and Jane Giles.
Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Mathieu Fournier and released in 2022. The film explores the concept of the digital shadow, or the traces of a person's past internet activity that can be recovered to follow them around for years or even decades later, through revisiting the story of Ghyslain Raza, a Canadian man who unwittingly became one of the first-ever viral videos as the "Star Wars Kid".
