"I'm Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!" is the line that gay activist and icon Harvey Milk would use to open his stump speeches. Milk, his advocacy, election to San Francisco City Supervisor- making him the first openly gay elected official- and subsequent assassination are the subject of Gus van Sant's biopic Milk, opening nationwide November 26th. After a sneak peak this week, the timeliness of this movie cannot be overstated. The same day that we moved against prejudice on one front by electing the nations' first black president, we fell back on another front as bans on gay marriage such as California's Proposition 8 were passed.
Sean Penn is all the center of attention in Van Sant's well-paced film, bringing to life Milk's charisma and drive, as well as his own balancing act between ego and sense of alientation. Milk also includes standout performances from James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna, and Van Sant effectively uses archive footage of news reports and Christian morals crusader Anita Bryant to dramatize the struggle against Proposition 6, an initiative that would have outlawed homosexuals and those who supported them from being teachers. Instead of hiding behind vague human rights language to fight the Proposition, Milk advocated a campaign of coming out and acknowledgment, arguing that it is more openness would fight demonization. Go for the history, stay for the story, leave feeling challenged, refreshed and hopeful.
Take to the streets this Saturday. For more info, head to www.jointheimpact.com.
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1 comment:
Great article, Carl. And thanks for posting info on the Prop 8 protest.
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