Milk

"Milk" is a film that won Sean Penn another Academy Award, that introduced several young actors as entering the field of serious and solid professionals, and, most importantly, brought the always hot-buttoned topic of homosexuality into the forefront of viewers' minds.

The film is not about the story of Harvey Milk, how he dies or anything like that; Harvey's slaying is told about at the beginning of the film. No, "Milk" is about the issue of discrimination, equality, and ultimately, acceptance. In the film, Milk says that it's not the person who is running for candidate, it's the issue. It's what he is fighting for. That's why the story of the film isn't central; what's central is the treatment of fellow human beings, who are homosexuals.

This film made me repeatedly consider what it means to be homosexual, because the characters portrayed as gay were over the top and excessive. In one scene, the whole gang is hanging out in the basement and had ordered pizza. The pizza guy delivers it, and the group more or less pounces on him, putting the money in his pants and ogling him. If this were a group of heterosexual men hitting on a delivery woman, she could sue for sexual harassment and all his friends would consider him the tool/douchebag. Is homosexuality the center of a gay's existence? Are their lives propelled around sex so that every encounter is just peripheral if it doesn't involve a possibility of sleeping together? In this film, homosexuality is rooted in the deep desire to have sexual encounters whenever and with whomever. Yes, people do become couples, but only so long as each person is happy with the other. As I write this, I realize this description of sexuality goes also for heterosexuals. One is only content while he/she is satisfied and/or happy; if not, it's on the next person who is beautiful, athletic, intelligent etc. What is sexuality then?

Is sexuality the deepest means of fulfillment for a hungry and lost world? Do we identify ourselves as homosexual or heterosexual because, for most of us, that's the most definite thing we know about ourselves and our purpose? We, for some reason, know that sleeping with x type of person is what we were made to do, what is right for us, and everything else in our live can be disorganized or chaotic, but at least we know that for sure. Sexuality is certainty. At least, for most of us.

People were telling Harvey Milk and other homosexuals that they were wrong in their certainty, that the way they behaved was not normal or natural or right. So what does one do when people challenge what they believe? For Milk, it was to fight back. He didn't just protest in the streets and let people stay safe in their communities; no, Milk went the one place where he would force others to acknowledge him--the government. Milk ran (repeatedly) for offices and finally won one. "A homosexual with power," Milk muses, "that's something to be scared of." With that power, Milk fought the bill that would have taken jobs away from every teaching homosexual and anyone who defended a homosexual. When standing back and looking at that bill, how could anyone call that just and right? A person is this way, so we'll take away their means of income and leave them stranded without any government support. How could anyone call that good, let alone Christian?

I digress. The film attempts to show the humanity of gays, as most other homosexual artwork does. They are humans, but more importantly, they are brothers, they are coworkers, they are best friends, they are librarians and coaches and teachers and business people. This is an issue that is close to home for everyone.

And with that, the film wants to give hope to those who have faced tremendous discrimination and hate, and feel lost. The filmmakers want gays to know that there are others out there, fighting for freedom against a seemingly unbeatable opponent. Director Gus Van Sant wants all those hiding to know that there is victory, there is a chance, there is hope.