2008 was an insane year, but if you were still a child during that time, you never fully grasped the implications. Sure, your parents might’ve sat you down and explained, “We’re going to have to make certain cutbacks,” or you could’ve overheard your folks arguing about the future and the state of the economy. For better or worse, it was a year that undoubtedly shaped how the post-9/11 generation views the world and current affairs.
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Filmmaker Maya Weldon Lagrima explores this heady time in her film 2008. Growing up as a Gen Z kid with two lesbian parents in San Francisco, the Prop 8 decision was monumental for the young artist.
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For those who are unaware, Proposition 8 was the ballot proposal for California during the 2008 election that decided whether California should ban same-sex marriage. Though receiving a majority vote in favor, it was fortunately overruled as unconstitutional in 2010.
Many lawmakers supported the bill at the time, claiming they were doing so to preserve family values “for the children”—sound familiar? 2008 offers a perspective that contradicts that notion: the story follows the real life impact of the bill as it threatens to tear apart a loving family.
The film premiered on April 4th at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) and was awarded the Best Experience Points Audience Choice Award.
As someone who grew up around this time, it really does perfectly explain that eyeroll some of us do when we hear conservative politicians claim to be “doing it for the future generation”.
2008 was also the year the housing market crashed, and since the response from politicians showed a lack of concern for the lives of common citizens, a majority of Gen Z will never be able to afford housing as a direct result.
We’re still reeling from the effects of that time now, and we’re even in a position of repeating the process. With the majority of the nation’s wealth being siphoned to billionaires during the pandemic, along with the Trump administration’s bid to worsen the economic disparity through a series of idiotic financial decisions, we’re looking at yet another period of crisis that will have long term effects on Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and beyond. Weldon Lagrima’s film shows us exactly what we’ve always known: when conservative politicians claim they’re doing something “for the children,” they’re absolutely lying.
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