"The War on Disco" is an episode of "The American Experience", a PBS series that I have loved for many years. However, to me, this was a rather weak episode...mostly because it tended to interject racism and homophobia in a situation that for most had nothing to do with race or sexual orientation. The show's tending to blame the fall of Disco on these factors isn't super-surprising as often "The American Experience" emphasizes prejudices and bigotry in its narrative.
When it comes to race and sexual orientation, I do agree with the show's premise that Disco gave voice and legitimacy to these groups. Clearly, mainstream America embraced the music which was already popular with gays and black Americans. But the reason that Disco fell is not so easy to equate to race. Some folks, undoubtedly disliked Disco for these reasons...but trying to blame Disco's death ONLY on these reasons just seems lazy. The show does mention these other factors but considering how little they discussed them compared to race shows a bit of a bias on the show's part.
Now, I am NOT saying this is a terrible documentary. It is entertaining and informative. But the show did seem to boil down a complex issue mostly to bigotry seems to be a major overstatement. So I saw watch it...and realize that there were many reasons Disco music faded.