These stylistically audacious works from Marlon Riggs blend music, poetry, and history into bold statements of black gay love and desire.
Decades before cancel culture and trigger warnings, the battle over who can say what in public exploded in the media during the late 80s and 90s. As the AIDS crisis raged, American conservatives targeted provocative artists and stoked moral outrage in an effort to end federal arts funding and erode public trust in liberal institutions. This backlash against civil rights and free speech became known as the Culture Wars. But some artists and filmmakers fought back against this censorship with work centering identity, exploring taboo subjects, and deploying graphic imagery. In this diverse series, we’re exploring the early battles of the Culture Wars via fearless creations by Gregg Araki, Harmony Korine, Todd Haynes, and even Martin Scorsese, alongside lesser-known features, documentaries, and shorts.
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for BAM Access Programs provided by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Film provided by
The Thompson Family Foundation
Major support for programs in
the Lepercq Cinema is provided by
The Lepercq Charitable Foundation
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Film
Tongues Untied + Anthem
Nov 15—Nov 18, 2024
Tongues Untied + Anthem
Nov 15—Nov 18, 2024 -
Film
Gummo
Nov 15—Nov 17, 2024
Gummo
Nov 15—Nov 17, 2024A boy in bunny ears drowns a cat, a man pimps out his disabled sister, and two skinheads box each other in Harmony Korine’s haunting, divisive film depicting life in small-town Ohio.
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Film
Madonna: Truth or Dare
Nov 16—Nov 19, 2024
Madonna: Truth or Dare
Nov 16—Nov 19, 2024This touchstone documentary captures the Queen of Pop onstage and behind the scenes for a provocative dissection of modern-day celebrity that’s as fearless, fascinating, and unfiltered as the icon herself.
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Film
Nitrate Kisses + No No Nooky TV
Nov 16—Nov 20, 2024
Nitrate Kisses + No No Nooky TV
Nov 16—Nov 20, 2024Pioneer of lesbian cinema Barbara Hammer examines queer life and sexuality in the post-industrial age.
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Film
Poison + Sodom
Nov 16—Nov 18, 2024
Poison + Sodom
Nov 16—Nov 18, 2024Todd Haynes’s highly controversial queer triptych screens alongside a viscerally graphic short cinematic collage by legendary filmmaker Luther Price.
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Film
Crumb
Nov 16—Nov 20, 2024
Crumb
Nov 16—Nov 20, 2024This widely acclaimed doc looks at the life and work of eccentric underground cartoonist Robert Crumb.
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Film
The Last Temptation of Christ
Nov 17—Nov 21, 2024
The Last Temptation of Christ
Nov 17—Nov 21, 2024Willem Dafoe plays Jesus in the highly controversial film that triggered a deadly terror attack in Paris as well as protests, boycotts, and outright bans around the globe.
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Film
On the Campaign Trail with Joan Jett Blakk + Fast Trip, Long Drop
Sun, Nov 17, 2024
On the Campaign Trail with Joan Jett Blakk + Fast Trip, Long Drop
Sun, Nov 17, 2024Examine the depths of queer identity in this one-night-only program featuring an episode of The Brenda and Glennda Show and Gregg Bordowitz’s deeply personal documentary.
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Film
A Litany For Survival: the Life and Work of Audre Lorde
Nov 17—Nov 19, 2024
A Litany For Survival: the Life and Work of Audre Lorde
Nov 17—Nov 19, 2024Writer and philosopher Audre Lorde speaks about her extraordinary life and career in this exhaustive documentary.
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Film
Totally Fucked Up + They are lost to vision altogether
Nov 18—Nov 20, 2024
Totally Fucked Up + They are lost to vision altogether
Nov 18—Nov 20, 2024Provocateur Gregg Araki excavates the troubled world of gay teenagers in his cornerstone contribution to the Queer New Wave.
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Film
Basic Instinct
Tue, Nov 19, 2024
Basic Instinct
Tue, Nov 19, 2024Verhoeven’s notoriously kinky thriller—about an investigator (Michael Douglas) who develops an obsession with a murder case’s prime suspect (Sharon Stone)—puts a postmodern spin on Hitchcock’s pet themes.
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Film
Dottie Gets Spanked + Special screening
Thu, Nov 21, 2024
Dottie Gets Spanked + Special screening
Thu, Nov 21, 2024A young, artistically-inclined boy is obsessed with a wacky sitcom star in this dazzling suburban phantasm from Todd Haynes.