Cured

In this age of pride parades, gay icons, and pop culture’s warm embrace of the LGBTQ, it can sometimes be hard to remember what life was like for gay people in the 1970s. Not only was homosexuality seen as a mortal sin, it was also categorized as a mental illness. People who “suffered” from the “affliction” of homosexuality were often institutionalized and forced to endure “treatments” such as medication, electroconvulsive therapy, and even castration. Faced with the dire consequences of coming out, many stayed in the closet. But a handful of brave activists, unapolgetically themselves, challenged society and the science of being gay, coming head-to-head with the American Psychatric Assocation to fight for their rights to be seen as healthy, sane, and homosexual. By telling this inspiring story through archival footage and interviews with the very people who propelled the movement, CURED is a documentary that brings the audience right into the center of a historical battle between the medical establishment and everyday people. — G.S.