Look at the official website, there are plenty of interesting things that will certainly help you grasp the scope of this film and consequently will give you some interesting spark and food for thought for you project area.
http://www.focusfeatures.com/milk
Speak out, come out, be yourself and fight against prejudice and hypocrisy not just for your own sake, but for the sake of equality, justice. Living a life of self-denial, living a life of lies is not living.
My wish as a heterosexual teacher is to be surrounded by people like Milk who have the guts to fight for their own inelianable rights, to fight for a better world, to give hope to those who are segregated and discriminated against for hypocritical myths that are drilled into the minds of lots of people.
Let’s try to know more about this heroic figure. This is a documentary that I found on youtube and I think you should watch it to get to appreciate the courage, the determination and most of all the humanity of Harvey Milk.
Harvey Milk Lives
Where Are They Now?
Now I would like you to write a message to remember Harvey Milk. Lots of people are indebted to this man, because his life prompted a change in their lives. You can read some of their stories, they are all so meaningful. Add yours, write in what way the film “Milk” touched you (if it did, and if it didn’t why it didn’t), how the documentary and videos you watched in this post made you appreciate the activist and the man Harvey.
Harvey Milk’s life touched and inspired thousands of people; here are just a few of them.
ESSEY: How has the film “Milk” touched my life.
This film is a faithful reproduction of what Harvey Milk did during his life, of what happened to him and of which revolution s he brought with his political decisions. I think Sean Penn played the role of the protagonist in a perfect and proper way, he was really good at acting the part of a homosexual man, it is difficult moving and gesticulating like a gay person without being too exaggerated, mocking at homosexuals’ behavior. He was moderate and respectful towards gay people and therefore I liked him as an actor in this film. Thanks to Sean Penn I perceived the willing Milk had to incite all gay people to “come out of the closet”, so that society could learn to accept people who where not “ straight”, that is, heterosexual. Harvey Milk was an activist for gay rights and his “job” was not so easy as we think: every day he received so many death threats that it became dangerous for him speaking in public and these difficulties are perfectly rendered in the film. However Milk never gave up and believed in his activism ‘till his death, he fought for his ideas and thanks to his strong willpower, he earned the unofficial title of “ Mayor of Castro Street” and he tried to solve the problems of his area even if he was homosexual, that is, discriminated, marginalized and labeled as an inferior person. Harvey Milk is the symbol of will, of strength and he teaches us to face our problems, even if it seems impossible to solve them; we must believe in whatever we do and if we are satisfied with ourselves, we have to take a glance at the reality around us which is not always fair to evetybody.
Essay on how Harvey Milk’s story touched my life
Before watching this movie I was a little bit sceptical about what gay people could really do in order to make a difference to the point of influencing politics.
My first impression of the film was that I felt really interested in the facts: the film was in fact gripping, so that I wanted to watch the film to the end in order to know what brought about all the hard work of the political party of Harvey Milk. Another impression I had, was that, although I am a person who is always quite interested in politics, which can refer to the situation in Italy but also in other countries, I had never heard of this activist present in the United States in the 70s. for this reason, I think it is a film socially useful even in Italy it makes us know the story of this important American political activist, who, before the movie, probably very few knew of in our country, just like me.
Another aspect that involved me was the fact that the film opens with various footage images witnessing the persecution of the police of homosexuals, with raids on gay bars and detention between 1950s and 1960s, followed by the announcement of Dianne Feinstein that informs the press of the assassination of Councillor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.
Moreover, Milk himself becomes the narrator of the film, because a few days before his tragic death his intent is to record on tape the stages of his life and his political history.
I think that only a few films make us feel this feeling of hope, and the desire to go out on the streets and undertake something serious, rejoice with all the people because no one is different.
A very clear and powerful message is also given about religion and above all religious people: the ones who always preach good, equality and acceptance.
Even if the sad and unfair end does not remedy all the work done by Milk’s group with a right reward, this movie can make people believe in what they trust, make them know they are not alone, but, if they come out they would become conscious that they are not different, they are not wrong: wrong are the ideas branded in the minds by those who do not want to open up to others and to those who they see as different from themselves.
I recommend this film to everyone, even those who hate gays must see it because it teaches is to look at people from different perspectives. If we do not want to learn, it informs us of something we should all know or be aware of.
Elisa Del Pup