June is Pride Month. Declaring these 30 days for the "girls, gays, and theys" since 1999 has increasingly reached and educated those out there in ignorance and/or apathy of the LGBTQ+ community. Although, those who hold the most pride, aka members of the community, are not only proud from June 1st to June 30th, but year-round and forevermore. Hence, my excuse why this post is still okay to be posted 10 days into July.
This entry's subject: Harvey Bernard Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the state of California on the Board of Supervisors. In order of my own exposure, I will be covering the portrayals of Milk in media, spanning from Randy Shilt's novel "The Mayor of Castro Street," Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, and Sean Penn's performance in Milk.
This PRIDE feature is a means of education. Not only do I feel enlightened from this experience of learning about this man, his legacy, and his fearless nature of aspiring hope in others, I too am smothered in hope myself. For those who still live in moot hatred, those nuanced with internalized insecurities of their own sexuality, and those who fear that their house is no longer a home. Harvey was home to his people, and the movements he inscribed into the history of the LGBTQ+ community is never lost. This isn't a statement to rattle those who are undoubtedly uncomfortable with this post. Nobody's making you read this, nobody's telling you to be queer, and I'm here to simply appreciate, and perhaps even educate. Enjoy.
A queer pioneer: Harvey Milk.
Milk (2008)
Ryan Evans, Kim Pine, and Cassian Andor?! PACKED, I say, PACKED! Aside from the obvious straight-playing-gay controversies that still plague queer representation, WHAT A FILM! The purest history lesson you get straight from the beginning is so raw, and especially heartbreaking. Seeing how people viewed homosexuality just in the 70's, their lives being thrown into a category with delinquents and perverts, when they are just PEOPLE. The real footage they incorporated into this was so smooth, I couldn't even tell when it was transitioning. The "Twinkie Defense" sickens me. The man that Harvey Milk was is simply unforgettable. Milk could speak, and speak well. He made people believe in themselves in such devastating times. This film absolutely tore me apart, and the perils the LGBTQ+ community faces in this film are just as relevant today.
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My review from April of 2021, my life's relentless continuity of "long time coming" spectacles. This one made it into my Top 4 on my Letterboxd profile for quite some time. If you've watched it, I hope you can imagine why. Reading books and watching documentaries after this viewing was a lot more intentional in fact and fauna of Milk's career, but eight Oscar nominations and two wins within them prove great traction for the performances of lifetimes surrounding this man's story. The base-level media consumers would receive this recommendation from me for entertainment and attention-span sakes. For those who wish to dig deeper, this was my gateway into a deep-seeded admiration. A further fiending for more Milk.
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Truly disappointed I didn't take to this doc immediately after watching Milk. Less about the inside world and personal life of the man, this was a more outside story of Harvey Milk's career successes and failures, and the lessons learned from both. I continue to be moved by the impact of pioneers for marginalized communities, and I simply will never get sick of pining and researching all that I can to educate myself on them and their causes.
Harvey Milk's presence was like the safety of home, and the growth he strived for from his humble life of being a small businessman was a voice of hope. Hope for us. The us-es that needed it.
I love Harvey Milk.
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My review from May of 2023, what inspired me to start this package entry. A lot more educational obviously. No Hollywood drama, just the theatrics of Milk's character on his own. Always loved a good show, the man did.
The Mayor of Castro Street
Randy Shilts, 1982
When I read Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" earlier this year, the protagonist Charlie is recommended this book from his influential English teacher. Sidebar: God bless English teachers. Truly the reason I'm here with my words and the endless love I hold for them. That was the first sign to read it, then my ambitions of this post kicked in. I had to go through the triad of Milk media.
I don't even have an actual review for this. There's just SO much to unpack from this nothing short of phenomenal breadth of knowledge gained from this book, so here's a ridiculous amount of powerful quotes and passages that made me think about a lot of things. Pick one to ponder over.
If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.
There are times, rare times, when the forces of social change collide with a series of dramatic event to produce moments which are later called historic.
In death, Harvey Milk's dream started casting a shadow far larger than anything he could have fashioned in life; such is the nature of mortal and martyrs, dreams and their shadows.
What is left is the dream and its lengthening shadow.
No longer was the gay movement the realm of offbeat liberation fairies...but a necessary response to a clear and present danger.
"Everyone can be reached. Everyone can be educated and helped. You think some people are hopeless--not me."
"He never complained that there was too much work--it was always that there wasn't enough time." -Don Amador.
A similar, almost uncanny Oskar Schindler take of the mentality of "I could've done more."
All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come. -Victor Hugo
As a young man torched a last police car, he shouted to a reporter, "Make sure you put in the paper that I ate too many Twinkies."
Because he so dumbly believed he could change the world, Harvey Milk did.
This has been one of the more extensive posts to make. Not only just copy and pasting reviews from previous watches, but wanting to be as thorough as I can to show just how moved I was from this work I've done for myself. I have learned about parts of me this world continues to squash down, suppressing them to fake complacency and denial. I don't want this post to be about me, though. I hope I've made that clear in all my consumption of one man.
I implore those reading this to think on what you feel is missing right now. There's no regulation as to what it might be, or how connected it is to the content of this post. Go out and find what's missing. Learn all about it. Read some books, watch some movies, and reach a understanding of the world around and within you. Get educated, y'all. There's so much out there to learn and shape our minds with. An impact waiting to be imbued, an admiration waiting to be nurtured, and hope ready to be found.
Cheers,
Mo.
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