The early time period depicted is historically known as "The Lavender Scare." While scrutiny was greater at the U.S. federal government level, there was no safe place for queer persons to live and work in the U.S. at that time. Anyone could legally lose their employment and housing if outed.
I think up until 2020, almost half of US states (guess which ones) had no safeguard for employment by any employer for LGBTQ employees. You could freely be fired if your employer found out you were gay and they didn't want that in their company. There was a supreme court case in June 2020 which determined that would be discrimination. But to be honest, an employer can still make up reasons to terminate if they really wanted to (poor work performance, downsizing, reorganizing, getting rid of that job position, etc.).
Things are getting more real. I think what Mary did may seem horrible, but thinking of the timeline, maybe it was not. Caroline likely resigned because she didn't want coworkers and family questioned... and left on her own accord to go elsewhere. Later, Mary presents the letter and makes up the story about Tim warning her about his suspicion regarding Caroline. It was to clear herself and Tim, as Caroline was already gone before any investigation. Also, Hawk's big family house is not the one he's living in in the 1980s. That was the senator Smith's home, and Hawk is there because he married the senator's daughter Lucy.
That would make a lot of sense! We hope Caroline is able to start a new life and career somewhere else. Also thanks for pointing out they are not the same houses…they do look very similar though 😂
Guys 6 more episodes. You guys I’m afraid your not ready. It’s been 6 months of the last ep airing and still more of then half of us have not been able to move on so all the best in advance🥺
Hey guys 👋🏾. Just saw this notification. I’ve been looking forward to this video since you posted your reaction to Episode 1! . While I waited I watched all your reviews of Young Royals & absolutely loved those…. Can’t wait to watch your reaction to Episode 2 of Fellow Travelers. Love from London 😘💞
You're both starting to see how emotional this show is. It's so sad what happened during the Lavender Scare in the 50's. So many wonderful queer people lost their jobs, and many took their life due to this disgraceful policy. The scene of them having fun in Mary and Caroline's apartment is heartbreaking because it was literally the only place where they could truly be themselves. I'm so glad you're both liking this show. You get to see how "great" life was in America at that time. I know nothing about queer life in Germany post WWII. I guess it depended on if you were in West or East Germany. We all know how awful it was during the war, and I watched a documentary about queer life in Germany in the 1920's, and how progressive and open it was. I know I'm rambling, but do either of you have any knowledge of queer life in post- war Germany? Sorry, maybe this topic is a bit too much to get into over comments.
Interestingly enough, a lot of countries behind the Iron Curtain decriminalized homosexuality much sooner than some of the Western countries. Poland and USSR before the WWII even. In East Germany it was decriminalized in the mid-fifties, in Hungary in 1961, in Czechoslovakia in 1962. In West Germany it was only not prosecuted anymore from the end of sixties onward but officially decriminalized beginning of nineties! Of course the decriminalization was just one step and didn't automatically change the attitude of people. It was a topic that was mostly not spoken about. I can recommend a GDR film Coming Out from 1989 that shows some aspects of lives of gay men in East Germany right before the fall of the Berlin Wall (it premiered the exact same day).
Yeah we both had to cry during the scene where they were having fun in Mary and Caroline’s apartment! On one side it was nice to see them having fun, but extremely sad realising they could only do so because they were hiding and are not able to behave like this in public. Tbh, you ask a very good question! Unfortunately we never learned about German queer history in school. Of course we know that gay people were persecuted during WW2, but not sure how it was afterwards. As you already said, I would imagine that the West was a bit more progressive than the East. But definitely something to read up on!
Just finished watching... Thanks again... Yes, I agree, you definitely will need to have the tissues ready for the future episodes. Even though I've watched this series many times I still cry every time I re-watch 💞
You know a series is done well when you are either crying or nauseous throughout every episode. I’ve watched it a number of times but it still gets me. So sad.
Hey ✌️ Episode 3 will be uploaded next week. We are still with the family in Germany and didn't have the time to watch and record. And we want to give it the time and attention it deserves 👌
Hey Episode 3 will be uploaded next week. We are still with the family in Germany and didn't have the time to watch and record. And we want to give it the time and attention it deserves 👌
