‘Studio One Forever’ — The enduring power (and ephemerality) of queer nightlife
A review of the new documentary, in theaters now and on digital October 8
I moved to Los Angeles in 2019, and though I no longer drink, for those first few months I spent a lot of time in West Hollywood. I still go there all the time — a weekly bar trivia game, a Drag Race watch party, a random night out with friends — even if I’m more likely to be home by midnight instead of 3AM. I love the sense of community there, the sense of safety, of freedom, and it’s because I’m surrounded by other people like me. I grew up in a very small town and that wasn’t always the case, so I love that I live in a place that has such a strong history of creating community with one another.
Still… it’s hard to learn the specifics of that history, because queer history is often ignored if not outright erased. There are major points available online, like the idea that the city first became a mecca for gay people in the 1950s and was first incorporated in the 80s. For the most part, though, aside from those sorts of macro events, we don’t often hear about what day-to-day life was like back then.
Or, as erstwhile West Hollywood Mayor John Duran says in Marc Saltarelli’s new documentary Studio One Forever, “A lot of young, gay…