“Rising Stills Wife and Baby”. © and courtesy of Love Has No Labels.

Since its launch in 2015, the Love Has No Labels campaign has continuously released videos meant to challenge old prejudices and call for greater inclusivity in culture and society at large. The most recent work in this campaign is a short film entitled Rising, created with high level talents such as director David Nutter of Game of Thrones and writer Lena Waithe of The Chi and Master of None. The film follows a community coming together across various barriers in order to help one another in the wake of a massive flood, asking the audience, “Why does it take a disaster to bring us together?”

“Rising Stills Ammi”. © and courtesy of Love Has No Labels.

In answering that question, the short film provides a very moving depiction of characters working together to overcome the petty differences that have divided them in the past. In the face of nature’s worst onslaught, it seems to matter very little what color your neighbor’s skin is, their sexual orientation, religion, and such. As homes flood and the protagonist’s mother almost drowns in front of his eyes, two boats of men and women from varied backgrounds join together to use the few belongings they have and the American flag to lift the body out of the water and to save her life. The diversity of the film’s cast is a clear repudiation of the straight white heterosexual male as “normal” or what it means to be “an American.” Nutter’s directing and Waithe’s writing came together to create a moving story about the best of humanity emerging in the worst of conditions with effective writing, talented performances, and powerful visual imagery.

“Rising Stills Earl’s Wife”. © and courtesy of Love Has No Labels.

However, as much as the film successfully deals with its thesis of “Why does it take a disaster to bring us together?”, that same question leaves an uncomfortable aftertaste in my mouth as the credits roll. Disasters do tend to bring people together in the wake of destruction, but what about the days before the disaster? What about the days that come after? Of course, after the same boy of color whose life he threatened saves his life, the southern man is going to have some of his ideas challenged, but that experience alone won’t undo an entire lifetime of bigotry and hatred; it will only make him say, “Immigrants are a cancer, except for my neighbors. They’re one of the good ones.” The ending of Rising reminds me of the 1997 episode of The Simpsons, where John Waters character tells the show’s suburban patriarch, “Well, Homer, I won your respect, and all I had to do is save your life. Now if every gay man could do the same, you’d be set.”

“Rising Stills Runner 2” © and courtesy of Love Has No Labels.

I do not believe in the slightest that the views of the creators of this short film are shallow or opportunistic in the lightest; even the page for the video on Love Has No Label’s website is filled with opportunities for visitors to contribute and learn more about these issues. The problem with Rising is not that its message is right or wrong, but that it is not enough.

Rising is available online now, and can be found here.