Milk

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

The film Milk (2008) is a source of gay pride for those who participated in its making. Both the writer, Dustin Lance Black, and the director, Gus Van Sant, are gay, and so are actors Denis O’Hare and Victor Garber. They, along with the others who participated in this project, depict the life of gay activist and politician Harvey Milk, who, like others who fought on the front lines for justice, sacrificed themselves so that others could be free.

Over the opening credits there is Florida documentary footage about gays and police clashing as cops raided bars and arrested homosexuals. The use of film of actual events adds to the authenticity of this story which is most definitely based on facts. To show how there was the feeling that safety existed in being a closeted gay, one man at the bar who is being photographed throws a drink at the cameraman who filmed this old footage, as the man tried to hide his identity. Other men cover their faces, worried they will be persecuted.

The story moves to San Francisco, California. It’s November, 1978, and Harvey (Sean Penn, who received the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, which shows the full range of the man’s personality, including strength, vulnerability, humor, and intelligence), is making a tape to be played in the event of his assassination. Many crusading individuals who fought the establishment, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, felt they would be killed. In Harvey’s case he accurately predicts that his killer will be a “disturbed” person who is “insecure” in his own life and is afraid of someone like Harvey who would further upset attacker’s fragile hold on life.

Harvey’s narration is interspersed with dramatized scenes of what happened in the past. He points out that his signature opening remark in his speeches was, “I’m Harvey Milk, and I’m here to recruit you.” It is a plea not just to tolerate homosexuals, but to enlist others into taking action to fight for gay rights. He admits that he initially had to speak to hostile, straight audiences, so he would open with a joke, such as, “I know I’m not what you expected, but I left my high heels at home.” It’s a funny line, but it points to the stereotypical attitudes toward gays and the lack of understanding that each person has an individual personality with behaviors separate from sexual orientation.

He records that San Francisco is the place that attacked sexual prejudice first, and he, being a gay activist, is the soldier at the front of the line of change, and is thus an identifiable person to target. There is then a clip of the announcement that both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed. There is no mystery here, as there is none in the movies Malcolm X, Gandhi, and Apollo 13. We know the endings, but what precedes the conclusion of each story is what absorbs us. 

To that end, the film jumps back to New York City in 1970. Harvey is walking down subway steps and sees the hippie-looking Scott (James Franco). Harvey says boldly, but in a high-pitched, halting, insecure voice, that it is his birthday, but has no plans for the evening. He is in a suit and Scott says half-jokingly that his straight look means he works for a large corporation. Harvey says yes, one that is part of “that corporate establishment” that Scott probably thinks is the “cause of all evil in the world, from Vietnam to diaper rash.” Scott adds Harvey, “left out bad breath.” This exchange shows how the two comment on how everyone has their prejudices, and may rush to judgment. But, it also shows the instant chemistry between these two, as they share a sense of humor. Harvey asks not to let him spend his birthday alone, but Scott says, even though he admits that Harvey is very “cute,” that he only dates guys under forty. Harvey says he just gets in under the wire because he won’t be forty for another forty-five minutes. They kiss, and Scott goes with him.

Back at Harvey’s place, after they have sex, and Harvey finds out that Scott is from Mississippi, he warns him that he can’t just go with anybody right away because it’s not safe in a large city like New York. Harvey says that the police are everywhere, stressing the anti-gay atmosphere of the times. He tells Scott he has to be careful, because Harvey knows a lot of people and he has to be discreet or else he can lose his job. Scott says Harvey needs to find a new place and a different set of friends. Harvey agrees and admits he hasn't “done a thing I’m proud of.” As we already know, he will drastically change his life, and his meeting Scott is the catalyst that makes this happen. Scott says Harvey is now an old man at age forty and if he keeps eating his birthday cake he will become fat before he is fifty. Harvey says he doubts he will make it to fifty, which is a foreshadowing of what is to come. Harvey, smiling, says they should run away together, and they resemble a couple of kids looking for adventure.

In his recording, Harvey says that San Francisco was the place to “drop out” of the established society in the 1960’s, a haven for the counterculture at the time. So the two men travel there, and Harvey looks like a hippie himself now, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and he has a beard. The filming of their car ride looks like documentary footage, emulating the real film shown earlier to give the fictional scene a realistic feel. The Haight-Ashbury area was the hippie destination in the 1960’s, but in his recording, by 1972, Harvey notes the area turned seedy, filled with crime and drugs and boarded up buildings. Instead, the place to go now for what Harvey calls “refugees,” those outcasts of society, was an eight-block area called the Castro, which in contrast, had a conservative Irish Catholic lineage. (We again have a mixing of actual black and white footage inserted here as Harvey, who is into cameras, takes shots of the neighborhood).

Scott says he cashed his last unemployment check, and used it to buy marijuana, which stresses the anti-establishment culture of the era. Harvey has an idea, and they rent the store on the ground floor of their apartment building and call it “Castro Camera.” The two are outside hugging after painting the name of the store on the window. A man, McConnelly (Steven Wiig), approaches and asks if they are the new renters. Harvey introduces them and he shakes the man’s hand, who immediately wipes it with a handkerchief. This time period is even before the AIDS epidemic, which shows how the bigotry against gays had deep roots. Harvey asks about joining the local merchants’ association. The man says the police will shut down their store because there is “God’s law” as well as man’s law, and the police will enforce both. McConnelly sees no separation of church and state, and is obviously saying that being gay violates absolutist religious doctrine, which emphasizes the enormity of the struggle gays faced when coming out in the open.

Harvey and Scott openly make out in front of their store in defiance of the accepted norms. Harvey tells Scott that they will establish their own gay business association, and ask every customer what they want changed in their city. Scott questions Harvey’s activist interest considering he was a Republican. Harvey says he is a businessman and all businesses should treat their customers the same, no matter if they are gay or not. Despite the American doctrine that declares that all men are created equal, the country did not live up to that belief when dealing with various races, ethnic groups, and obviously women. People like Harvey are in the vanguard in the attempt to bring all groups into the democratic fold. Despite the seriousness of their struggle, these two men are playful throughout this period of early activism, as we see Harvey preparing a dinner for Scott’s birthday, and then hitting him in the face with a pie.

On tape, Harvey says the Castro became a magnet for gays to find a home. There is real footage of droves of young gay men arriving in the neighborhood. Harvey says the cops hated them, as the unwelcoming McConnelly noted they would, and they hated them back. The cops beat them and arrested them, but Harvey said the residents did not give up. Harvey made a list of the businesses that were friendly to gays and those that were not, and made the information public, causing the bigoted ones to lose business and the others to flourish. He is already using his business and political shrewdness to accomplish goals. There is an amusing shot of Harvey entering McConnelly’s liquor store and asking if he likes all the gay customers he now has. McConnelly smiles. Apparently monetary profits outweigh biblical prophets.

Harvey says their store became a place for many gays to congregate as a “home away from home.” Harvey even received help from unexpected straight sources. The Teamsters Union asked Harvey to get gays to boycott Coors beer, and in return the Teamsters hired openly gay drivers. Harvey understands the power derived from making deals involving monetary gain. He narrates that someone, or possibly himself, started Harvey being called the Mayor of Castro Street.

There is a scene where the cops are sweeping the streets attacking gays. As Harvey treats Scott for getting hit in the head when he went with others to resist the police, Harvey says that gays need leaders like those in the black community who look out for their own people. He says politics is “theater,” which is what Gandhi and Martin Luther King knew. You must get publicity to expose the injustice. Harvey’s anger is evident when he learns that a gay man is jumped and killed, and the police say there are no witnesses to identify the attackers. A cop says the man with the victim was his “trick,” as if all gays are just male prostitutes. Harvey corrects the policeman by saying the dead man was with his lover, and that there would be witnesses coming forward if the neighborhood knew that the police supported them, like other citizens. Harvey’s statement reveals that even though gays abide by the laws, they are treated as outlaws, and receive no protection from the true criminals. He notes that the gay residents were so vulnerable to attacks that they carried whistles to call for help when an assault was imminent.

Harvey decides to publicly attempt to stir the community toward activism. He gets up on a wooden crate that he labeled, humorously, “Soap.” Using a bullhorn he announces that the police raided their neighborhood, with charges of “blocking the sidewalk,” and sent citizens to the hospital while covering their badges so they couldn’t be identified, implying admission that they weren’t acting legally. He says that their tax money should go for their “protection, not persecution,” and for “gun control, not marijuana control.” He advocates using tax money to help school kids and seniors. He announces his candidacy for City Supervisor, to help change policies in San Francisco. His speech is smart in that it addresses the universal desire to use taxes for areas that are necessary and not wasteful to help the various groups in society.

Harvey, Scott, and others campaign and try to get people to register to vote. One young man, Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), from Phoenix, Arizona walks by, and Harvey tries to get him to sign up. The kid is sarcastic, and doesn’t believe in the political process. Harvey says they can change how he was harassed in Phoenix, but they have to start in San Francisco first, by addressing issues like police abuse, rent control, etc. Cleve says good luck but he’s leaving for Spain the next day. But, he will not only eventually return, but also will become one of Harvey’s most proactive supporters.

While discussing strategy, Harvey is handed a written threat of sexual mutilation, and Scott says he’s going to call the police. Harvey notes with dark humor that the cops probably wrote it. The situation shows how sad the state of affairs is when those who are supposed to protect one can be the real enemy. Harvey continues with his macabre sense of humor by saying if they follow through with the threat, he’ll get the sympathy vote. The note has a stick drawing on it, and Harvey hangs it on the refrigerator, saying it only becomes scarier in our imaginations when you don’t face the evil. His response shows how he is adapting to cope with the dangerous hatred he must face if things are to change. Scott says he’s putting himself at risk and he won’t even get elected. But, Harvey reminds Scott that winning isn’t as important at this stage as drawing attention to the cause. It goes back to the idea of politics being theater and trying to draw an audience to hear what is being said.

Harvey and Scott meet with the established, older gay leaders to get their support. They were David Goldstein (Howard Rosenman), who owned the gay newspaper,  The Advocate, and civil rights lawyer, Rick Stokes (Stephen Spinella). These men say that the job Harvey wants is a city-wide position, and that it’s more practical to back straight candidates who are sympathetic to the gay community. These guys are in suits as they sit at Goldstein’s house next to the swimming pool. In stark contrast to their conservatism, Scott swims nude in the water. Goldstein says Harvey’s extremism will only incite more backlash. Harvey declares they have to have one of their own in office, and the solution is not to go back in the closet. As they leave, Goldstein says Harvey sees the election as a “lark,” like something to have fun with, and he’s too old to be a hippie. Harvey counters by saying he is not the candidate, the gay movement is. His words show that he sees his fight as an advancement for others, not himself.

In conjunction with that unselfish belief, he records that there were thirty-two candidates going after six seats in the election, and he says “we” came in tenth. He goes on to say, “We” lost. He does not say “I.”  He says only a few more votes would have made him the first “queer as a three-dollar-bill man to be elected to public office.” Based on the results, he narrates that “they” tried again in 1975.

For the second race, Harvey cuts his hair, shaves his beard, and wears a suit, saying he wasn’t going to give anyone a reason not to vote for him just because he wore a “ponytail.” But, he also says that he and Scott have to not frequent the “bath houses.” Gay men would go to these places for anonymous sex. (Many believe this promiscuity helped to spread the later AIDS epidemic). Showing he was a political strategist, Harvey obviously wanted to tone down the anti-establishment activity to try to win a supervisor seat. However, he still lost in the 1975 race, but he had more votes. He then ran in 1976 for the California State Assembly. He bucked the Democratic Party by running against their candidate, saying the liberal establishment was not defending gays from deadly attacks. Scott, however, is now feeling that the campaigning has hurt their relationship by leaving little time for them to be a couple. As happened to other public leaders fighting injustice, their family lives suffered since they dedicated their time and energy to their causes.

The day before the election, Harvey is walking at night toward his campaign office, and is scared when a man is left off by a car and starts walking toward him. It turns out to be a false alarm, but it shows how gays lived in fear every day. Harvey discovers young Cleve Jones from Phoenix outside his campaign office. Cleve was in love but the man he was with dumped him. While he was in Spain, there was a memorial to all the gays that died under Franco’s fascist rule. The police attacked the drag queens there, but Cleve was inspired by them as they fought back and rioted, showing courage and determination as they shed their blood in the streets. Harvey says there can be a revolution in the United States, but Cleve has to fight. Cleve, looking for a cause he can be a part of, is fierce in his determination to win, and promises to help Harvey round up a crowd on the day the polls open.

There is real film footage of Anita Bryant, who was a former beauty queen winner, recording artist, and subsequent orange juice spokesperson, who became a fervent religious crusader who was against a Dade County, Florida law that protected gays from discrimination. She called the gay movement part of the forces of evil. Harvey sees Bryant on TV as he finds out he lost the assemblyman spot. But, there is a proposition to change voting boundary lines to join the Haight and Castro areas, and he now could win the supervisor job. There is a repeal of the Dade County law after Bryant’s crusade. A riot is building in the Castro in response to the Florida action. Harvey tells the police that he will get the gays to march to channel their anger so as not to destroy property or break any laws which would give the cops a reason to attack them. Harvey addresses the crowd saying that Bryant united them, and he takes the advice of his opponent in the assemblyman race that a candidate must give the people hope. He gives speeches that call for unified gay action to bring about the changes needed to make things better.

It’s 1977, and there is still a part of the Castro area that is conservative, Irish Catholic, and a person who was an ex-cop, Rick Stokes is running for the supervisor position. But, there is another candidate in a different area, Dan White (Josh Brolin), who speaks against what he considers to be an undermining of traditional values. Harvey says he can’t let Stokes win, but in the process, Scott leaves, saying he can’t handle the toll the political fight is taking on them. Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill) arrives as the new campaign manager. Harvey wants to show that it isn’t only gay men who must fight but also the lesbians. Anne gets them some newspaper endorsements.

While Harvey is at his campaign office, Jack (Diego Luna), a handsome Hispanic man, looking inebriated, walks by. He falls and Harvey helps him in. That action basically defines their relationship, which is Jack being dependent on Harvey. They are immediately attracted to each other and have sex. Jack says he came there after his father beat him when he found out that he was gay. The film implies that when one’s own family demonizes a person, it can seriously and permanently damage one’s soul.

Harvey wins this election. Now, David Goldstein shows up during the victory celebration, but Cleve won’t let him in, stressing that the man only wants to be part of the win while never being part of the fight. Scott is also outside, but walks away, happy for Harvey, but no longer feeling like an insider. Harvey catches a glimpse of him, calls Scott’s name, which shows that he does miss his old lover, but Scott is gone. Jack is right next to him when Harvey is interviewed by the TV news, as Harvey, trying to broaden his support, says he is someone who represents all the people, not just the gays. Undermining the victory is the fact that Dan White also won a seat.

It’s 1978 and Harvey is sworn into office by Mayor Moscone (Garber). In a TV studio interview, the reporter says there are many news faces on the Board, and asks will the diversity cripple getting anything done. Harvey is there with White. Harvey says six votes are needed to get anything passed, so compromise is necessary and makes a funny statement that whether White likes it or not, they are “in bed together, politically speaking.” Scott sees Harvey on the TV and smiles, showing how he still enjoys his ex-lover’s sense of humor. White says his prior reference to “deviants” referred “more” to junkies than to gays, which doesn’t negate his belief that gays are deviants. He says he is about to be a father and wants to protect his child. After the show is over, Harvey tells White he does want to work together, and they shake hands, but White looks like he is trying to escape.

Cleve shows up in a suit at the building that houses Harvey’s office. Harvey is flamboyant, waving his freak flag in his exhilaration, saying that Cleve should only show up in tight jeans and dance up the many steps leading to the offices of the supervisors. As he passes the different offices, he mugs, letting Cleve know how he feels about the people working there. At Harvey’s office, Anne, the campaign manager, is already there. Harvey tells the staff that they must pass a gay rights ordinance, and hopefully gain national attention by drawing Anita Bryant into the fight. The others there say Dan White won’t vote for it. But, White shows up asking Harvey to attend his child’s baptism. It seems like a strange request from a person who espoused anti-gay sentiments, but White shifts back and forth, because he is an insecure person looking for attention and approval wherever he can get it, and retaliates when he feels rejected.

Harvey is the only supervisor to show up at the White baptism. Harvey tries to convince White to help pass the gay rights ordinance. But, White says his constituents wouldn’t like it. It has more to do with whether he will be liked than what he thinks is right or not, despite what he says later about being brought up to believe in what’s moral and immoral. Harvey learns that the church is where White was baptized, and back then Harvey points out that the Irish Catholics were the outsiders who had to fight for acceptance. White then tries to bargain, saying he would like to stop a psychiatric facility from being established in his district because it attracts “arsonists” and “rapists.” The movie seems to be saying that after some people moved from being the “others” in society to becoming part of the establishment, they then wanted to keep the new “others” at a distance, seeing them as a threat to their existence. This attitude is a form of paranoia, and White demonstrates the characteristics of the condition. White says that the two of them should look out for each other’s interests, which seems reasonable on the surface, but it depends on the interests. When White’s wife comes by, and Harvey apologizes about talking about gay rights to her husband, the wife says it was inappropriate to talk about that subject in the church, as if human decency only applies to certain parts of the population. Harvey, trying to be diplomatic since he is in office now, changes the subject to how nice the event was.

At his office, Harvey contemplates voting against the psychiatric facility, but it will then be defeated six to five if he votes against it. He sees White as a man with no friends, and he suspects he has the look of a closeted gay man. Also, Harvey’s friends are not happy about Harvey’s attachment to Jack, who is unstable and upset about his rejection by the other gays in Harvey’s circle, and is constantly jealous and needy. Anne says that Anita Bryant’s man in California is trying to get a law passed to ban all gay teachers. State Senator John Briggs (O’Hare) says he wants to stop homosexuals who are deviants and pedophiles from trying to sway children toward joining the gay lifestyle. He says his bill can identify homosexuals, which recalls the McCarthy communist witch hunts of the 1950’s. He then invokes the stamp of approval of the Almighty onto his argument by saying that others can argue with him, but not with God. The movie is saying that there can be no discussion if one says his way is sanctioned by the deity, and that this practice can be used as an argument to justify bigotry.  Following Briggs statement, Harvey says in a TV interview that Briggs’s argument is similar to the one used in Nazi Germany, and that Anita Bryant has said the Jews and Muslims are going to hell, so he implies that the gays are being added to her list.

Goldstein, Stokes, and the old guard politicians tell Harvey that Briggs’s ordinance has widespread appeal in the polls. They want to change their city ordinance proposal by talking only about human rights in general and deleting anything specific to the gay movement. Harvey is outraged and tells Cleve that they need to mobilize on their own. Cleve suggests enlisting Scott, too. They have a meeting of the movement's leaders, and Harvey says that they need numbers to vote against the reactionary state Proposition 6. Harvey says the more people who come out of the closet, the stronger will be the resistance to the proposed law. He says they must tell all their friends and relatives that they are gay if they haven’t already done so in order to let people know that the law will hurt them. Scott confronts Harvey after the meeting and reminds Harvey that he was a paranoid closet gay in New York who denied Scott’s existence constantly. He says that Harvey is asking these young men who have not come out before to possibly lose their families if they expose themselves. Harvey, however, is an unyielding militant now, and in this current war argues if those family members don’t love their gay relatives for who they are, then they shouldn’t be in their lives.

At a city government meeting, White is angry that Harvey won’t vote to keep the mental health facility out of White’s district. Harvey argues that he never promised to vote against the bill. After the session, Harvey reminds White that if he convinces one of the other supervisors he won’t need Harvey’s vote. But White has made this lack of support for his opposition to the bill personal, as if Harvey personally betrayed him and he says he won’t help fight for the gay protection ordinance.

Elsewhere in the country, other states, fueled by Anita Bryant’s anti-gay religious crusade, have been successful in getting anti-discrimination laws protecting gays overturned. Cleve becomes Harvey’s go-to man to mobilize the forces to protest. He gives the bullhorn that the unions supporters gave Harvey to Cleve to get the gays to march to San Francisco’s City Hall. When it looks like there will be an angry confrontation, Harvey, showing his political intelligence, appears as a peacemaker, so he will be accepted as the spokesperson who can forge deals to make progress and prevent violence. He tells his group they need a win that all citizens can get behind. Apparently dog owners are not cleaning up after their dogs in the city and it’s a major problem. Harvey proposes fining those dog owners who do not clean up after their pets, and gets TV coverage, that contains some humor in it. By doing so, he shows himself as a representative who is not just centered about gay activism, but also as a person who gets something practical accomplished.

On the vote on the San Francisco Gay Rights Ordinance, all the supervisors except White votes to pass the bill. Harvey approaches White to see if they can agree on another bill. White says that they must maintain the family unit and the gay lifestyle prevents this, which of course, in reality, it doesn’t since gays are a minority of the population, and can still donate sperm for fertilization purposes. But because he keeps pushing the family argument, White says Harvey can sponsor a bill to increase the salary of the supervisors, since he needs more income to take care of his family, and Harvey doesn’t have that problem, being gay. White’s attitude shows the narrow view of the prejudiced who only see things through their point of view and don’t consider the full scope of each individual’s situation.

At Harvey’s flamboyant birthday party, Harvey has a conversation with Scott, who fondly reminds him of how the birthday on which they met years ago in New York was much less lavish. Scott has a boyfriend, now, and he questions Harvey staying with Jack. Harvey says he doesn’t talk politics with Jack, or anything at all, so he gives Harvey some relief from the stress of his public life. Scott repeats that foreshadowing line that was said on their first meeting, by saying that now that Harvey is forty-eight, it looks like he will make it to age fifty. White shows up drunk at the party. He acts like Harvey is a political winner by manipulating issues, like the dog clean up one. White is jealous of Harvey’s success, saying he has issues, too. Harvey says he knew people who committed suicide in his past because of persecution, so coming out for laws to protect people are more important than just political maneuverings. Ironically, it is the weak and insecure who Jack shows up and gets Harvey away from the unstable White.

Actual footage shows gays coming out against Briggs’s proposition to have gay teachers fired. At a gay pride parade, Kathy shows Harvey a postcard that says Harvey gets the first bullet if he goes in front of the microphone at a rally. The threat of death is a constant presence now in Harvey’s life, which is why he is making his “assassination” recording. Of course, he gives his speech anyway, saying how no matter how hard the bigots try, they can’t erase the words of the Declaration of Independence, or those on the Statue of Liberty (despite recent proposals to do just that). Many at the time who protested against the Vietnam War were told, “America, love it or leave it.” Harvey reminds them of the words that “All men are created equal,” and says if they don’t realize that is what America stands for, then they are the ones who should leave.

Harvey gets Briggs to engage in a public debate on Proposition 6, which goes so far as to have a straight person fired if an employee supports a gay person, since that person is assumed to advocate homosexuality. Briggs keeps talking about teachers in a position to “recruit” children to become gay, obviously not accepting that those that are gay are born that way. Gays can’t have their own children so, Briggs argues, they must convert straight kids into becoming gay or there wouldn’t be any gays left. And, that is why gays become teachers, to turn children, almost sounding like he is making an analogy as to what vampires do. Harvey says he was brought up by heterosexual parents, taught by straight teachers, and yet he’s gay. He humorously says that if children so easily mimicked their teachers, there would be “a hell of a lot more nuns running around.”

Afraid of losing the vote, Harvey asked for another debate without his supporters to entice Briggs to show up again. Harvey points out that Briggs’s literature contradicts his stand that child molestations are not the issue. Since sexual assaults on children are far more dominant in the heterosexual community, Harvey says why not ban straight teachers, too, to eliminate the attacks. He asks, if that is Briggs’s goal, why marginally reduce them by banning gay teachers? What he is revealing is that Briggs and his supporters see gays as a deviant group that are preferably expendable.

White is angry that Harvey not only won’t support pay raises, he will oppose them. Harvey points out that even White is against the salary increases for political reasons, which shows how obsessed he is with Harvey’s acceptance of him, possibly showing that Harvey’s instinct that White is a closeted gay may be correct. Harvey says he will come out for the raises if White will back a bill against discrimination in hiring police. White says he doesn’t trade votes, but that is what he proposed doing before. He says he does not want to be humiliated by Harvey, and cautions, “You will not demean me.” He finally shows what is his real concern which stems from extreme insecurity, possibly rooted in guilt over being in conflict about his sexual orientation.

Despite Harvey wanting to save the insecure, weak Jack, trying to help him did not fit in with Harvey’s life and his message of hope did not reach Jack. In a way, Jack is a sort of mirror image of Dan White’s neediness to gain Harvey’s dedication. He comes home to find that Jack committed suicide by hanging himself. Even though he felt devastated, Harvey says in his narration that there was no time for mourning, which shows how Harvey’s crusade was all that he lived for anymore. Even though Ronald Reagan felt that there was no need to pass any more laws to defend children from harm, and Jimmy Carter came out against Proposition 6, this event was the first time fundamentalist Christians became politically involved on a large scale in a governmental issue, according to the anti-gay Anita Bryant. Cleve says he can get 15,000 people to demonstrate if the law is passed, but he is afraid there will be a riot. Unofficially, Harvey tells him there should be a violent reaction if the law is passed. Harvey gets a call from a young man who had called a year ago saying that he felt like he was going to kill himself. He couldn’t run away from the hatred around him because he was confined to a wheelchair. He was now in Los Angeles, met a friend of Harvey’s there, and decided because of Harvey that he would live and he voted against Proposition 6. Harvey, thus, feels vindicated that his message of hope is getting out.

The bill is defeated by a two-to-one margin. In San Francisco, only White’s district voted for it. Harvey in his speech says they have come out to try to protect those who would have been harmed by “this wave of hate.” Mayor Moscone joins him on the stage to celebrate the victory. Afterwards, White confronts Harvey and says he just resigned. But, the police department meets with him, and then soon after White says he wants his job back. In a meeting with the mayor, Harvey says White has been the main opponent against protection for gays, and he threatens that the mayor won’t have gay backing in his next election if he reappoints White. Moscone says Harvey sounds like strongmen Boss Tweed of New York or Mayor Daly of Chicago. Harvey says humorously that it’s scary that there is a gay man with power. He’s pointing out that a gay person finally has some leverage after so many years of being victimized, and it’s the novelty of that strength that is so surprising.

White gets a phone call from a local news reporter who wants his reaction to a source who said he wasn’t getting his job back. He is in the dark about this information. Interspersed with Harvey going to the opera and then talking to Scott, who says he is proud of Harvey, there are shots of White getting dressed in a suit as if going to work, breaking into the Board of Supervisors building, and acting like he still works there. He gets to see Mayor Moscone and then shoots him when he can’t change his mind about rehiring him. Before anyone knows what’s happening he quickly goes to Harvey’s office and shoots him. The last thing that Harvey sees before he dies is the opera house, where he loved to go, where the stories performed there mirrored his attempt to amplify life’s great passions.

Thousands marched in a candlelight vigil after the assassinations in honor of Harvey Milk. The notes before the final credits state that Dan White was convicted of manslaughter, a much lesser offence, and served only five years. After returning to San Francisco he committed suicide. Scott Smith worked to continue Harvey’s work. He died of AIDS in 1995. Anne Kronenberg became a mother of three and was Deputy Director of Public Health in San Francisco. Cleve Jones created The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial quilt, which is an international symbol of the HIV pandemic. He continued working as a political activist.

In his narration, Harvey predicted the assassination, but hoped that the bullet to his brain would destroy all the closets housing gays, which poetically demonstrates the sacrifice of the one for the benefit of the many. He says that hope must be spread so that all the “us’s” can find freedom, which includes blacks, seniors, the disabled, and others who have been short-changed by society’s hatred and disregard.

The next film is Shane.