Staccato signals of constant information
I am probably the worst person to give a movie review. I just am not the type to watch a movie on the big screen and be able to analyze it or give it much thought. I can appreciate it at the moment but I need to kick the tires. Much like a book I need to review certain parts that catch my attention and sit with it and find out what actually hits me as depth and complexity and what comes across as nothing more than a story telling gimmick.
Milk brings a lot to the table. The tragic dance the movie shows us is one I have seen a dozen times at least watching or reading The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. I am still amazed at how seamlessly Sean Penn performs the part without really drawing attention to his acting. He deserved every award he got for this role.
In the end though what really strikes me after sitting down with this movie is the ideas and words that are underlined throughout. Much like Ask not what your country can do for you – Ask what you can do for your country. or I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ we can now finally add If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.
I kept hearing things in this movie still echoing today. Harvey Milk sitting in his camera store in the Castro recording his will on tape realizing he was obviously a target for assassination and despite that fear saying You gotta give them hope. seems to reflect the election of President Obama. Harvey’s now famous speech where he talks about the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, and endowed with certain “inalienable rights” is now front in center again in the court battle over Prop 8.
People continue to speak of Harvey Milk’s death as a “murder”. He did not, he knew better. I think it just makes it easier to negate his importance and forget his legacy and ignore what he had to say. How dare those gay people use the term “assassination” when talking about a queer city supervisor placing him on the same level as JFK or MLK. How dare those drag queens riot in the streets the night of the Dan White verdict. Five years was good enough for a dead fag.
Makes you wonder why people are holding their breath over the whole Prop 8 decision or if Obama will rescind Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. What can those sinners do about it if we say NO?
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Tags: Movie
Alessia Brio wrote,
Watched it in bed last night. Fabulous movie!
Link | March 11th, 2009 at 2:48 am
AM Riley wrote,
The movie was very well produced and Sean Penn portrayed Milk so well at times I felt I was actually hearing him again. I had tears in my eyes from the first scene. The screen play fully deserved the award. It dealt with all of the issues in a mature and compelling way. The characters were three dimensional and real. Every single one of them. The sound, which you probably didn’t notice, was practically invisible because it was done so well.
I had to wonder, though, as a person who campaigned tirelessly against prop 6, why so few women were portrayed in the movie? I was there and the proportion of women to men portrayed in the movie was not realistic AT ALL and underscores my fear that lesbians are second class even while fighting for gay rights.
Link | March 11th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
Well the movie gave a clue on that.
I remember when I was first going up to Castro I thought it was strange but boys went to boy bars and girls went to girl bars. They only ever really met at the grocery store or the disco or if one of the local bars had a girls night.
Harveys crew obviously was made up of the old school queens so girls were icky back then. I only saw that attitude about not mixing really change during the AIDS crisis.
But even now I have to admit I am careful about barging into a lesbian bar some of those places are hard core anti-men. I used to visit the Savoy when I first started coming out and they were like that. If you were a guy you had better know the bartender or some of those dykes were not happy you were there.
Link | March 12th, 2009 at 4:45 am
AM Riley wrote,
You’re right, teddy. I saw a lot of that, here in L.A. and there. It really is shameful when a minority is stupid enough to indulge in sexism. Men vs. women. Women vs men. Just stupid. But the anti prop 6 campaign benefitted in a big way from the already militant lesbian community. Partly because they were already so organized. (remember we’d been pathetically trying to get the ill-fated ERA passed). Milk himself used that network to help himself get elected, if I remember correctly. And you are right, they did touch on that in the movie, if briefly (which was all the mention it needed.)
When it came down to marching in the streets and putting oneself at risk, though, the women were definitely present, and I would have appreciated seeing a FEW more lesbians in those crowd scenes.
And now I’m done whining about such piffling details. It was a well produced movie that did justice to its subject matter and I was really happy to see it acknowledged by the Academy.
Link | March 12th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Teddypig wrote,
I guess we can consider the one good thing is the sexism is pretty much gone due to the AIDS crisis.
The gay community in San Francisco itself has changed so much between the time I first started going up there right after Harvey died till now that I feel ANCIENT. Castro Camera is gone. Welcome Home is gone. The Patio Cafe is gone. Hibernia Beach is gone. They got a Gap and a Starbucks and a Walgreens.
Hell SOMA is even on it’s last legs for the most part being turned into condos.
It’s part of the reason I got out of there and moved my ass back across country. I handled the small changes but it was just getting too much and the community there is suffering. I think there might be What?… all of one lesbian bar left in San Francisco.
Maybe it is normal, maybe it is for the better but I find it disturbing.
Link | March 12th, 2009 at 8:12 pm