"Milk"

This movie is inspiring, the way a movie should be. They say comedy shows human beings as much worse than they are, dramas show us much better—more valiant, more honest, more brilliant, more. I like to think that the drama shows us how we could be. Heroes do exist, certainly in more than two dimensions, and I feel that this film so acutely provided me with the inspiration to be heroic, and showed me that doing so is indeed possible, if not imperative.

The cinematography was simply gorgeous, but it never pulled focus from the plot. The costumes were perfect, but I hardly took note of them. The direction, the beautifully edited historic footage and newly created scenes were positively seamless; but I didn’t appreciate these elements independently. There was a line in the film where Harvey says something like “I’m not the candidate, the issues are the candidate, I’m just their representative.” Gus Van Sant did the same thing with his film; the issues took center stage and everything else supported them. Sean Penn, James Franco, and the rest of the cast did an INCREDIBLE job (seriously, there is not one bad performance in this film); they directed my attention to the story and the actual people whom they were portraying.

As a former drama student and an acting nerd, I like nothing better than dissecting performances—I found that impossible yesterday. I completely forgot I was watching Sean Penn because his portrayal was something akin to possession. He did what every actor aspires to, he removed himself from the role and allowed the character to inhabit his body. “Milk” and everyone who helped to create it, deserve all of the accolades in the world and (even more so) all of the gratitude we can muster. Thank you for telling this story.

I left the theater saying to myself: I need to be doing more with my life. In only eight years, Harvey Milk accomplished more than most politicians do in a lifetime. He moved more people than most artists do over the course of their entire career. He brought people together more effectively than most preachers. He told individuals that they were not perverse, they were not wrong, they were not sick. He told them that they were entitled to human treatment and equal protection under the law. These are words that still need to be heard.

Once upon a time, America was a refuge for freaks. We were the weird table in the back of the high school lunchroom. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Lady Liberty was basically begging for the dregs of society, the losers--send them on over! They’re more than welcome here! But something happened, somewhere along the way, because we were so welcoming and hospitable, we became the popular table. Ironically, our taste for popularity grew and changed us from outcasts to ass-holes. Instead of keeping that same sense of compassion and hospitality we once had, we started acting like the jerks who made us sit back here in the first place. Now we shut out the new freaks and forbid them to get in the lunch line like everyone else. We bully them in the bathrooms and give them swirlies.

As Harvey said in the movie: All we need to do is look to the declaration of Independence “ALL men are created equal” and that we, as Americans, are entitled to “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It’s all right there. No one is denying that we are American citizens. So why do we have a different set of rights?

It seems so funny to see the footage of Anita Bryant espousing this arcane, homophobic rhetoric; but the same type of people are saying those same types of things today. When people use God (and Jesus especially) as a weapon to hurt or oppress others, I find myself personally offended and infinitely frustrated. Jesus, much like Lady Liberty, was all about the huddled masses. He hung out with hookers, drank with the diseased, kicked it on the periphery of Biblical society, and spoke about acceptance, forgiveness, and love. Right? I’ve read the Good Book. It’s all in there. Here again, a group who used to be ostracized (followers of Christ) have turned into the popular kids, the mean bullies (the Christian Right).

I’ve been in a big fight with Jesus for a while—partially because I don’t like anyone who plays the martyr better than me—but partially because I’m so pissed that people have taken his name and used it to make others feel bad. How can he let that happen? Couldn’t he have his dad smite these folks, or at least have a little chat with them burning-bush style? Because short of someone being struck down on the road to Damascus, converted to a more enlightened way of thinking, and then convinced to preach it up hard-core, I’m not sure what else would reach these people.

"Milk" was more than a movie. And Harvey himself was more than a politician. He was a true American. He didn’t go into politics, politics came into him. He was moved by his own needs and those of the people around him. He gave a voice to a group that lay silent. This is what the structure of American politics was founded on—and it’s still the best possible means for protecting and serving a group as vast and diverse as us. His story gave me hope. I hope everyone goes to see “Milk,” and hope it inspires and enlightens you as it has me.