Whether patterns

My experimental film essay, Whether Patterns explores how the language of weather is used to describe political actions, and, in so doing, naturalize them. I show how the Pride Parade has become a well-established and regular seasonal occurrence, in contrast to its disruptive origin in the Stonewall Riots. When we talk about a political “climate,” as we often do, we imply that the political situation is out of our control, that it is something we must endure or wait out or “weather.” In my film, I juxtapose the sonic and visual effects of weather with footage I have taken at Pride parades throughout the country, and with found footage that documents the history of the gay rights movement. In so doing, I complicate the image of the parade space, and show how it has become untethered from its original radical context.