Millersville’s Reel Courage Film Series

Millersville University’s Dr. Jill Craven, professor of English and Film Studies, will present a series of films entitled “Reel Courage” throughout the semester starting on Feb. 11.  

This film series features a variety of documentaries that explore LGBTQ+ history as well as current events that are affecting this community. All of the films presented will be accompanied by a panel discussion with community members relevant to the film. These viewings will take place on Tuesday evenings throughout the semester at 6 p.m. in the Myers Auditorium in McComsey Hall Room 260 and are free and open to the public. 

The first film presented on Feb. 11 will be the Oscar-winning “The Times of Harvey Milk” which depicts the career of Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s first elected gay city representative. Following the film screening, a panel of LGBTQ+ individuals will discuss their experiences with gay rights. When asked about the importance of presenting this film series, Craven said, “Lancaster County has recently experienced more than its share of LGBTQ+ youth suicides—a stark reminder of the profound consequences of intolerance. Our community’s actions matter,” she says.  

On Feb. 25, the film “Banned Together” will be presented, which discusses book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools. This film will be paired with a panel of librarians including Sarah DeMaria, president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Advocacy Committee; Coreena Byrnes, Director of Library Services at the Lancaster Public Library; Matthew Good, the 2024 recipient of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award from the American Library Association; and members of the Panther Anti-Racist Union from York PA, who successfully challenged book bans in York. 

On March 25, the community is invited to watch, “1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted a Culture,” a film following the story of researchers tracing the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians leading to a mistranslation of the Bible in 1946. The panel presenters for this film will be Dr. Greg Carey from the Lancaster Theological Seminary; Rev. Kathryn Kuhn, the senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles; as well as students who have been impacted by conservative biblical teachings. 

On April 8, a screening of the film “Bad Faith” that examines the rise of Christian Nationalism will be available to view. Joining the panel discussion following the movie are Dr. Greg Carey from the Lancaster Theological Seminary and Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, the Associate Director of the Center for Sustainable Environment at Franklin & Marshall College.  

“Amidst the social and political backlash against LGBTQ+ communities, the Reel Courage Film Series aims to promote justice by fostering awareness and empathy,” says Dr. Craven. “Through learning the history of the gay rights movement (“The Times of Harvey Milk”), exploring the importance of affirming literature (“Banned Together”), understanding how a mistranslation of the Bible fuels bigotry (“1946”) and revealing the dangerous forces at work to merge Church and State (“Bad Faith”), the series aspires to inspire meaningful dialogue and change.”  

This film series is sponsored largely by Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the College of Education and Human Services, the Department of English and World Languages, the Department of Communication and Theatre, the Department of Criminology, Sociology and Anthropology, the President’s Commission on Gender and Sexuality as well as the Lancaster Public Library.