Arts & Entertainment
‘Before Stonewall’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ added to National Film Registry

The Library of Congress has announced the annual addition of 25 important American movies to its National Film Registry, and two important LGBTQ titles are among them.
The National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation. This year’s inductees are heavily weighted toward diverse content, with several films directed by women and people of color, in addition to the two LGBTQ-themed titles, “Before Stonewall” and “Boys Don’t Cry.”
“Before Stonewall,” Greta Schiller’s 1984 documentary looking back at the LGBTQ community of the 20th century before the 1969 protests at the Stonewall Inn and other key instances of LGBTQ resistance sparked the rise of the modern equality movement.

“Boys Don’t Cry,” released in 1999, is the fictionalized docudrama about the rape and murder of real-life trans teen Brandon Teena, played by in an Oscar-winning performance by Hilary Swank. The film’s director, Kimberly Pierce, commented in the Registry’s official release, “Twenty years later, it still feels like a miracle that ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ got made. I fell in love with Brandon Teena and his desire to live and love as himself in a time and place where that was impossible. I felt a powerful conviction to bring Brandon to life on screen, so audiences would love him as I did and share my horror at his rape and murder. To our amazement, the world embraced Brandon. It is meaningful to me as a filmmaker, a genderqueer and as a person that the Library of Congress has recognized ‘Boys Don’t Cry.’ This moment is a culmination, unimaginable and wonderful.”
Previous LGBTQ-themed inductees have included “Brokeback Mountain,” “Paris is Burning,” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Nevertheless, the Registry has acknowledged the lack of representation for queer titles on its list.
Speaking with Time, Professor Jacqueline Stewart, who heads the registry board’s inclusion task force, told the magazine, “One of the things we uncovered when we looked at the registry is that we have a long way to go in terms of reflecting LGBTQ+ experiences.”
Other films included among this year’s additions are “Amadeus,” “Clerks,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Gaslight,” “The Last Waltz,” “Platoon,” “Purple Rain,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” and “Zoot Suit.”
You can see the full list here.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)









Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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