[The 90’s raw: San Francisco gay pride parade]

Raw footage for the award-winning series The 90's. Footage from the 1990 San Francisco gay pride parade--crowds, costumes, floats, vendors, and the occasional protester.

00:00Copy video clip URL The camera goes up an escalator to street level, and looks at the parade from afar. The camera cuts to walking down a street behind two scantily clad people (men in women’s outfits, presumably) in heels, who dance to the music and stop to chat. There is band music playing in the background. The two people pose on a street corner, and then walk away.

04:45Copy video clip URL The camera pans to cover the crowd and passersby. Someone in a red costume with huge hands wanders among the people. There is a man holding a large sign that says, “No Unlawful Sex,” opposing sex outside of marriage because of the spread of AIDS. The camera records the reactions of people to this sign. Most people read it in silence and walk away.

07:21Copy video clip URL The camera cuts to show a street trolley, and someone in pink with a pink wig, and continues to watch the crowd. The camera then watches the parade, which shows people dancing on floats wearing lots of feathers.

08:41Copy video clip URL A man is selling the t-shirt advertising “Freedom Week ’90.” Two people are balancing on a street lamp in order to better see the parade. People in punk costumes walk by, and one woman is exposing her breasts. Two people display their t-shirts, and men walk arm in arm. The camera shows people watching the parade on top of a planter, and on top of a large fountain. There is a lot of footage of people mingling, and people in revealing costumes.

16:30Copy video clip URL Footage of people in the parade, walking with banners in support of various gay groups, many of them also promoting interracial relationships. Then, there is footage of a woman’s drumming group. They all wear brightly colored shirts that say “Sistah Boom.” Many people are dancing, including someone on stilts.

19:32Copy video clip URL There is a group (presumably anti-gay) handing out flyers, and two people come and turn over their table and kick things around. The camera zooms in on one of the pamphlets, which is about AIDS. People from the crowd yell at the people handing out pamphlets: “You destroy our lives!” “Start preaching the truth, that’s what Jesus did! Start preaching the truth!” They get in arguments about tolerance. A comedian’s act is audible in a distant loudspeaker. The men gradually clean up all the papers and work to restore their set-up.

26:23Copy video clip URL Camera cuts to a booth giving out information about AIDS, and then pans along a street with food and various informational, organizational and religious booths. The camera looks at the signs and merchandise on display. A man describes a program that delivers food to terminally ill AIDS patients.

31:17Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to an almost naked man dressed slightly in leather, and then there is more footage of the various people at the parade. One woman has a sombrero with tampons hanging from it, and a bike that says, “Menstrual Cycle.” One large banner proclaims, “Silence = Death.”

35:28Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to the interior of a large tent, where many people dance to loud music. Two young girls dance especially emphatically, and videomaker Starr Sutherland zooms in to watch them as the crowd cheers them on.

37:17Copy video clip URL Returning to the outside, more shots of the general crowd and booths. There is some sort of state building in the background. One group of people has a large snake (python?), which they drape over their shoulders. Returning to the main street, a lot of people are dressed in elaborate costumes, and watch the comedy act over the loudspeaker. The stage is barely visible, but the sound is good.

44:16Copy video clip URL The comedy act has ended, and the camera records people milling about. A musical act begins in the background, called Watch Out. The camera zooms in on the stage. The camera cuts to more upbeat music, and two of Sutherland’s friends dance. Sutherland jokes (?) to the camera: “A couple of major lesbians here.”

51:17Copy video clip URL The camera cuts to more shots of the general crowd. The camera focuses on a dalmation dressed in leather, and on a bodybuilder.

57:05Copy video clip URL Back to the dance tent, where even more people dance enthusiastically.

01:00:19Copy video clip URL Sutherland and his friends leave the parade and take the subway. His friend says that her favorite thing at the parade was the “Menstrual Cycle,” and some t-shirts that said “Do the Rubber Thing.” The other friend talks about people sitting on statues, and list other cool things in the parade. “All these organizations from all over the place that I had no idea existed came out.”

01:03:36Copy video clip URL End of tape.