The Film : Milk, An Activist And Leader Of The Gay Rights Movement

Due to the increasingly negative view of homosexuality in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the LGBTQ community was facing a world altering decision; they could either shrink into the background, and allow the world to continue to draw its opinions based on speculation, or claim the spotlight and allow themselves to be judged based on their own merit. Harvey Milk, “the first openly gay elected official in the United States” (Hope Speech, Commentary) saw a need for an uprising of the latter. When addressing a crowd of his supporters and the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) people in “The Hope Speech” at San Francisco City Hall on Gay Freedom Day in 1978, Harvey Milk uses the I-You/Us-Them relationships as defined by Martin Buber, pathos appeals, and shared experiences to establish an emotional bond with the LGBTQ community. This relationship of comradery and mentorship, deeply rooted in shared values, best prepared the crowd to absorb his message of activism and hope.

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

Homosexual people have been misrepresented and refuted their basic civil rights in America over the years, especially during the late 1970s. During this time, Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, was one of the most prominent spokesman on the issues surrounding gay rights. In 1978 he gave a speech impacting the gay citizens of San Francisco and America, the anti-gay right wing movement supporters, straight allies of the gay movement, and politicians in general. His speech known as the “Hope Speech” resonates with people even today as Milk attempted to address gay rights and the importance of electing gay officials in office, using various rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos, and elevated diction.

According to Sullivan (2008), same-sex attraction has not always been considered a deviation. However, post-war societal reaction to prohibition, gay bathhouses and other establishments were adverse and a new war on immorality arose, which was supported by American individuals, religious and governmental institutions. This outlook prevailed throughout the 1950's and led to blatant anti-gay attitudes. The persecution of the gay life style brought on renewed shame and guilt for the homosexual community as gay men were forced to cope with the stigmatization by "passing" as heterosexuals and thus become invisible. This resulted in the development of their own discriminatory social construct, with a hierarchy where males who were able to prove their masculinity through assimilation were held in the highest regards, while those that did not were looked down upon by their own gay communities

I was very bothered by the comments Anita Bryant made during a televised speech that was shown in the film. She was an orange juice sales woman who was working to repeal laws that protect homosexual human rights; specifically in employment and housing. She described homosexuality as “tearing down the foundation of the family unit” and compared gays to prostitutes and thieves. She tried to convince the public that the traditional family was being threatened and that practicing or accepting homosexuality was blasphemy.

From my perspective it’s the judgement of homosexuality that is portrayed in the movie. Riddled throughout the movie is drugs, other deities and violence. Even the main character Che is an alcoholic bully who’s been to prison. How they wrap their heads around these

During the 1980’s indulging in homosexual activity was considered in crime, people were imprisoned when caught doing so. But in 2003 some parts of the United States, suspended the law, and made homosexuality legal, soon European countries such as Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands passed an act which approved of homosexual weddings (Bonvillain 2006). If one digs deeper into this issue, where these debatable, one can find that it roots back from religions. Most religion disapprove of homosexuality but in religions such as Hindu, for sexuality, scriptures of homosexual activity only stated that it was normal and natural, to be attracted to the same sex (Bonvillain 2006). But in today’s society the main issue is regarding the issue of males being attracted to each other, an example of this issue is ‘Homophobia of men’. Homosexuality is considered to be a cultural construct, which apart from the ‘lesbian identities’ gave rise to the ‘gay identities’ (Herek 1986). It is common for normal men, to avoid influencing with homosexual men, as they fear what the public might think of them being judged as not ‘masculine’, where as its more normal for woman to associate with lesbians or homosexual women, as they are not being judged by the rest of the females (Herek 1986). Studies showed, that the social construction of gay identities meant that there was something psychologically wrong with that person,

In several cases, the desire to kill the queer self also occurs when it seems impossible to move forward without fully accepting and presenting oneself as queer. When this idea is seen on television it is presented in both the interpersonal and introspective forms. For example, the characters that attempt suicide, such as the eight queer women characters between 2001 and 2016, are illustrating the introspective act of assassinating the queer self by killing themselves. In contrast the interpersonal aspect derives from the idea of identity as zero-sum and therefore the queer characters who do not cover present a threat to the stability and validity of gay characters on screen. This paper will specifically investigate how the interpersonal side of "assassinating the queer selves" plays out on screen as a way to reinforce the importance of

Supervisor Dianne Feinstein was shaking as she delivered the fateful line that would set an entire state ablaze. "Today San Francisco has experienced a double tragedy of immense proportions. As President of the Board of Supervisors, it is my duty to inform you that both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed," then adding after being drowned out by shouts of disbelief, "and the suspect is Supervisor Dan White." Uproar. Gays and pro-gays screamed out, be it in disbelief, terror, or for the blood of Daniel White. No one could believe it: the champion of gay rights, Harvey Milk, had been shot and killed. Harvey Milk, who had taken a stand as the first openly gay politician

Society kills homosexuals in ways other than murder. Due to the societal pressures, suicide rates amongst LGB individuals are skyrocketed compared to heterosexuals. Gay youths are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide. Gay teens are 3 times more likely. Gay men are 6 times more likely. 30% of the total suicides globally are made up by LGB individuals. Treating homosexuals as abhorrent and inferior, and societal persecution is exactly what causes these shocking statistics.

Among young influential minds, The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC. evoked foster care placement to prevent the ability of children being placed in homosexual homes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 16 states, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation...have the right to marry...found a family... entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution…” (UDHR, 1948). Not defending the ability to same-sex marriage. In New Jersey a Methodist Ocean Grove Camp declined a Civil Union Ceremony. Religious beliefs argue that in the bible God does not promote or support gay marriage. Supporting their reasons in the bible, as stated by God, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither...nor homosexuals...will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1st Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)). Debates continue in several schools. At a school in Florida a social studies teacher posted a comment on facebook criticizing same-sex marriage. In other schools teachers dismissed students involved in homosexual relationships claiming to be uncomfortable. Therefore, many will argue the several consequences to allowing same-sex marriage, but the inability to see past the discrimination among Americans prevent a growth in our society. Positivity can be created through Americans creating a

Harvey Milk was a gay right activist, politician, fighter, an inspiration and most importantly an Icon. This movie charts the last eight years of Harvey Milks life. His life changed history. In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and he was the first openly gay man to be voted into public office. Throughout this movie Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights.

The film was made in 2002 and uses the setting of 1957 to explore issues of social taboos and the treatment of the outsider. The film reflects contemporary attitudes to race and sexuality by representing the apparent attitudes of the past. In the United States in 2002 educated Americans are sensitive to issues of race and the vast majority subscribe to values of racial equality. This is in sharp contrast to the setting of the text; in 1957 there is a clear division between the races and the civil rights movements was yet to make real gains for African Americans. At the time that the text was composed Americans were and still are, debating gay rights. While many gains have been regarding the rights of homosexuals, they are still significantly discriminated against by laws relating to marriage, property and children, even in the more liberal states of the country. The film highlights the injustice of this by juxtaposing the stories of racial and sexual discrimination. Representing the life of an archetypal 1950s housewife shows how far society has progressed regarding women since the time when the film was set. Cathy's role as a house-wife would be an anachronism in today’s society. The filmmaker also reflects his cultural context by his conscious evocation of the films of the

Chapter 18 was complex on all measures and for some reason it was hard for me to deconstruct what it was they were trying to say. What I have concluded is that the once leftfield concepts of the queer lifestyle are now being embraced and used in mainstream films. I also concluded from the chapter that Hollywood is embracing this idea of escapism and fantasy by opening avenues that combat the heterosexual hegemony.

Gender and sexual orientation is a topic that has been and still today is not talked about in such a way it should be because of how society has chosen to structure and control it. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided up into layers according to their relative privileges (power, property, and prestige). It’s a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges (Vela-McConnell 2016). People, who deviate from the norm of the “accepted” gender and sexual orientation that society has placed upon us, are stratified below the norm of a dominating binary gender and sexual orientation. People who are queer face the struggle of mistreatment and an unaccepting society that has been socialized to see and act on gender and sexual orientation to being a dualistic system.