WATCH: Was the “war on disco” fueled by homophobia? New doc unpacks the explosive culture clash
The War On Disco delves into the forces, implicit and explicit, that led to that (literally) explosive night in Chicago, and explores its connection to the ideological battles our society is fighting today.At the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Village People gave phone sex a big endorsement with 1985’s “Sex Over the Phone.” “It was one of those events that was an early skirmish in the now-familiar ‘culture wars,’ even if we weren’t calling it that at the time,” says the documentary’s executive producer Cameo George. “What seemed like a simple grudge between those who loved disco and those who loved rock was in many ways a larger, more pointed response to the rapid shift in cultural, demographic and economic patterns that were coming to a head in the 1970s and are still causing friction in America today.” The latest chapter of the “American Experience” history series, The War On Disco premieres Monday, October 30 on PBS, and will be available via Amazon Prime Video the following day.You can preview the first 10 minutes of the documentary below:For nearly five decades, we’ve been rushing to the dance floor the moment we hear the opening synths of an ABBA hit..
