Streaming services are rolling out the rainbow carpet in June with a must-watch lineup of movies and series as Hollywood makes undeniable progress toward LGBTQ+ representation. Spy agencies too are breaking away from outdated prejudices, embracing diversity, and tapping into a wealth of talent. This week, with pride, SPYSCAPE also celebrates the secret agents of change.
Must-watch movies
Brace yourself for an explosive June as streaming services deliver a non-stop adrenaline rush of LGBTQ+ movies and series. From spy thriller Atomic Blonde to under-the-radar gem D.E.B.S, there's no shortage of heart-pounding adventures and proof that love and intrigue know no limitations.
In the 1980s, Americans couldn’t hold top-secret clearance and be openly gay, so Tracey Ballard faced a dilemma when she applied to join the CIA. Tracey wanted to be honest during the months-long Agency investigation into her personal life but knew her career could be over before it started. She decided to take a huge risk and discovered she wasn’t alone.
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The Lavender Scare was a dark chapter in US history marked by intolerance and the violation of civil liberties during the mid-20th century. The government, under the leadership of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover (brilliantly portrayed in J. Edgar by Leonardo di Caprio), targeted those suspected of having LGBTQ+ ties but what about Hoover himself? Here are 10 things you likely don’t know about the FBI director’s secret life.
In the scorching June heat of 1960, NSA cryptologists William Martin, 29, and Bernon Mitchell, 31, departed on a three-week holiday together - a cover for their audacious defection to Moscow. A month later, the walls of the NSA trembled as the truth was revealed - a scandal so shocking US authorities tried to discredit the men by calling them ‘sexual deviants’. Intelligence declassified 50 years later reveals a compellingly different scandal as damaging as Edward Snowden’s revelations.
Amid the smoke and shadows of war-torn Europe, a luminous star rose to defy the darkness - Marlene Dietrich. Born in Berlin, she witnessed the erosion of liberty under Hitler and sought refuge in the American dream. But was there another side to the femme fatale, as notorious for her bisexual love affairs as her dedication to entertaining US troops? Whispers of Nazi entreaties attracted the FBI’s attention.
Queen Elizabeth's art historian Anthony Blunt was a revered knight and connoisseur of 17th-century painting. He was also a homosexual - which could lead to criminal charges in the early 1960s in Britain - but Blunt’s double life went much deeper. He was also a Moscow mole at the heart of the establishment, spying for decades until a tip-off from the FBI led investigators to the doors of Buckingham Palace.
