Reclaim the Flag

The designer Alexis Bittar, along with producer Bruce Cohen, recently debuted a thirty-minute documentary titled “Reclaim the Flag.” Bittar claims that he had been thinking about the American flag and who it represents.

Bittar commented, “When Trump got reelected, or up to the reelection, I just became more and more aware of how the American flag was used as a symbol of aggression.” Being a gay man with three children and a husband, to me, the messaging was, ‘we’re coming for you.’ It wasn’t used as a symbol of unity.”

Reflected in our current exhibition, "Stars, Stripes, and Reckoning: Threads of a Nation," many artists are asking the same question. Who does the flag belong to? Bittar chose to create the documentary through the LGBTQIA+ lens; however, there is a range of communities that are impacted by the complicated history of this American symbol.

The documentary, which is streaming on YouTube, features more than 50 LGBTQIA+ thought leaders, including Lena Waithe, Jim Parsons, Marc Jacobs, Bill T. Jones, Darren Walker, King Princess, Brandon Flynn, Gottmik, George Takei, Isaac Mizrahi, Gus Kenworthy, Jenna Lyons, and more.

Bruce Cohen points out that “ Every American has an answer to those personal questions for themselves: ‘How do you feel about the flag? How do you feel about being American? And it’s a question that they may not have thought of yesterday or in a long time. But early indications are, watching the film is gonna make you think about that, no matter who you are.”

We encourage you to check it out and share your thoughts with us.

-trw