Milk
In the first couple of years or so after I accepted my homosexuality, I read everything I could (but yet not enough) about the history of the gay rights movement. One of the highlights was the election of the first openly-gay politician, Harvey Milk, who was elected as one of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. He and the mayor were assassinated by another Supervisor, who claimed the "Twinkie Defense."
Other than that, I don't recall reading anything more; heck, I didn't know that Senator Feinstein was a fellow Supervisor. Milk put a life behind the trivia and footnotes I had encountered years ago. I thought it was an excellent film, a film that tells an important piece of gay and lesbian history. I have a clearer picture of who Harvey Milk & Dan White were and how they interacted.
And Anita Bryant! Oh, I've read so much about her too. What an evil woman she was (is?). I thought her influence was limited to just Florida.
Milk also showed briefly the development of the gay community in San Francisco. San Francisco now conjures images of a very gay-friendly area, but of course, it wasn't always like that. The gay community went through a lot of shit in order to have what they have today. And it was interesting to see that aspect.
Five generations of my extended family have lived in San Francisco. My grandparents had a Filipino restaurant in the Mission District Crocker-Amazon District. I know my grandmother doesn't approve of gay marriages, but still, I have to wonder what she, my grandpa, and my dad recall from that era. Someday I'll ask them.
But yeah, go watch it if you haven't already! There are a lot of movies on other civil rights movements, and I think we need a whole lot more on the gay rights movement. Hopefully many more follow Milk since there is so much that people don't know. Our struggle is not simply about gay marriage and tolerance, but so much more. And if you're not gonna see it for that, but at least see it for a naked James Franco getting some man-on-man action! lol
Other than that, I don't recall reading anything more; heck, I didn't know that Senator Feinstein was a fellow Supervisor. Milk put a life behind the trivia and footnotes I had encountered years ago. I thought it was an excellent film, a film that tells an important piece of gay and lesbian history. I have a clearer picture of who Harvey Milk & Dan White were and how they interacted.
And Anita Bryant! Oh, I've read so much about her too. What an evil woman she was (is?). I thought her influence was limited to just Florida.
Milk also showed briefly the development of the gay community in San Francisco. San Francisco now conjures images of a very gay-friendly area, but of course, it wasn't always like that. The gay community went through a lot of shit in order to have what they have today. And it was interesting to see that aspect.
Five generations of my extended family have lived in San Francisco. My grandparents had a Filipino restaurant in the Mission District Crocker-Amazon District. I know my grandmother doesn't approve of gay marriages, but still, I have to wonder what she, my grandpa, and my dad recall from that era. Someday I'll ask them.
But yeah, go watch it if you haven't already! There are a lot of movies on other civil rights movements, and I think we need a whole lot more on the gay rights movement. Hopefully many more follow Milk since there is so much that people don't know. Our struggle is not simply about gay marriage and tolerance, but so much more. And if you're not gonna see it for that, but at least see it for a naked James Franco getting some man-on-man action! lol