Monday, February 2, 2009

On a Scale of 1 to 10, I Give "Milk" a 100

© 2009 Karen Van Fossan

The only reason I'm not watching Milk right now -- it's not currently playing in Bismarck. As my brother said, "This is the kind of movie you wait for." Someday, someone may try to convince me that Sean Penn is not Harvey Milk II, but I will never believe it.

In college, my friend Shashi had a certain fondness for Harvey Milk, but it took me until now to catch on. In addition to inspiring my favorite movie on earth, Harvey Milk's life also inspired a documentary (which Shashi brought to our college), a book, and even an opera.

Some curious facts about Harvey Milk:

1) He began his work for social justice when he was...
A. In his 40s.
B. In love.
C. A camera-shop owner in San Francisco.
D. All of the above.

2) During his career, he...
A. Joined the service.
B. Worked at an insurance company.
C. Served as the first out gay man elected to public office in the U.S.
D. All of the above.

3) He gained prominence in San Francisco by speaking out against...
A. The anti-union stance of Coors Beer.
B. Dog poop.
C. Proposition 6, which would fire all gay and lesbian teachers in California -- as well as any teacher who supported them.
D. All of the above.

4) As a member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk received...
A. Death threats.
B. Come-ons.
C. The loyalty and respect of thousands.
D. All of the above.

5) True or False. Harvey Milk often compared politics to theater.

See you at the theater! Or maybe at the legislative session...

(Oh. And the answers... Everything's true.)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Will you see Milk with me when it comes to Bismarck? It sounds incredible!

Karen Van Fossan said...

yes and yes!

Anonymous said...

I had never heard of him before, I'll have to see if I can watch the documentary!

Anonymous said...

I'll watch it, even though I'm a vegan...sounds great!