Life Imitating Art: The Legacy of Marlon Riggs in Today's America

Brad Bailey

A perspective on the legacy of filmmaker Marlon Riggs in today's America.

This installation was a part of HEAR & NOW: An Interactive Oral History Exhibit, showcasing multimedia projects and stories recorded by the 2017 cohort of Columbia University’s Oral History MA program. 

Marlon Riggs was one of the most prolific documentary filmmakers of the late 20th century. His work, Tongues Untied, was a startling look into the peak of the AIDS Crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. His work was controversial, and became a lightning rod for the culture wars of that era. This exhibit shows the impact of his work on today’s America, and how many of the problems his work addresses still linger in 2018.

Brad Bailey, originally from Moultrie, Georgia, is a recent graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. He received his B.A. from Yale University in Political Science and his Masters of Public Affairs from Princeton. Brad is an avid fan of telling stories, especially those from underexposed communities. His latest film "Hale" won the Student Academy Award.