I know I am late to the party .... but last night we watched "Milk"

[Stinky The Clown]

What an incredible movie.

And Penn's portrayal, was even more incredible.

I had forgotten that incident was the source of the term "Twinkie Defense".

[Midlodemocrat]

1. I'm later to the party, Haven't seen it yet.

Which is no surprise. I don't get to watch many movies. I am going to pick it up at Costco next weekend.

[Lex]

8. We bought it at Costco last night.

We want to share it with some folks who didn't get to see it at the theater.

:hi:

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NV Whino]

3. Welcome to DU

I was in San Francisco the day it happened. I can't even begin to describe that day. Confusion, panic, conflicting information and the sheer horror of the moment reigned.

[EFerrari]

12. Where were you? I'm sort of loathe to watch this movie.

It is on pay per view right now.

[NV Whino]

13. I was down on Bryant working for a typesetter

I don't even remember how we got the news, isolated from the world as we were in our little work space. One of the other building tenants must have told us. I do remember feeling as if someone had kicked me in the gut.

[EFerrari]

14. I was in City Hall and then at the Hall of Justice. The story broke

during my busride from one to the other. It was a nightmare. Everyone in the Sheriff's jail was crying. Surreal.

[NV Whino]

19. That must have been horrible to have been so close

It was bad enough just being in the city.

[EFerrari]

20. It was the same all over the city, you're right. n/t

[catzies]

4. I too was very late in seeing it, and it took me back to my teenage years in Miami

in the Seventies when we had to deal with destructive and hateful ideas promoted by the odious Anita Bryant.

I had an epiphany when I saw Milk, as related to the present day: Sarah Palin, with her beauty queen looks and demeanor, her faux-populist indignation with perceived moral wrongs and failings, and capitalizing on the prejudices of an ignorant society is our modern-day Anita Bryant. Evil repeats.

[robdogbucky]

5. Check out

the original documentary of this story, The Times of Harvey Milk, Oscar-award winning documentary from 1984. Narrated by Harvey Firestein, all archival footage, this is chilling to all of us that recall that day, and also is interesting to compare:

-the differences in the acceptance level of the public receiving this story in '84 compared to '09
-how Tom Ammiano, bless his beautiful spirit, has not changed since he led the charge against the Briggs' Initiative
-hew eerie it is to see those people again and how true to the images Sean Penn's movie was
-it seems that reactionaries the reactionaries v reformers will be an ongoing epic struggle
-hope never dies

robdogbucky says check it out, you won't be disappointed

[Lex]

9. Ha, I was typing the same thing, essentially

at the same time. :)

Jinx!

[catzies]

25. Thanks for that, and a hearty welcome to DU!

:hi:

[NV Whino]

16. Anita Bryant! A blast from the past.

I can't tell you how many years I stopped drinking Florida orange juice because of her. I still very carefully read the container and opt for something else if it's from Florida. Way to go, Anita.

[Lex]

6. Hey Stinky, you should also see the documentary from 1984 about Milk.

If you haven't already, I mean. It won an Oscar that year for best documentary and goes into a little more detail about everything presented in the Penn movie about Milk.

You won't be disappointed with the documentary either.

Edited to add: The name is "The Times of Harvey Milk."

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Not to say I won't watch the documentary ......

.... but I recall those times very clearly. The Brynat shit and Milk's work and the horror of the day he and Moscone were shot and killed.

Oddly, while I am absolutely certain I saw the news clips, I don't have much memory of DiFi.

[EFerrari]

15. It's a really excellent piece, btw. Stuff about Dan White I either never knew

or didn't remember.

[PassingFair]

7. We saw it last night, too...

Penn deserved the Oscar!

And listening to Anita Bryant was
horrifying!

[CTyankee]

24. When I first saw Bryant on the screen in "Milk" I thought she was an actress playing Bryant.

It took me a moment to realize it was really Bryant herself. I think she herself was playing a role in a movie -- it was all about her, wasn't it? -- and she did it in a very Hollywood style. It was part of the movie that I admired Van Sant for including -- her theatricality and how well it played.

That said, I think the movie was astonishing in its brilliance, honesty and humanity. Sean Penn gave the best performance of his life. My hat is off to the entire cast, crew and everyone else who participated in such a noble and ennobling artistic effort...bravo!

[applegrove]

10. Yup. Sean Penn was amazing. He totally disappeared into the story.

[greenbird]

17. We just watched it last week

I forgot all about what a horrible person Anita Bryant was. Wonderful movie.

[trudyco]

18. I saw it in the theaters - same experience for me, including the twinkie defense!

I hope gays get the right to marry soon (though I thought maybe splitting hairs by calling it a civil union would get there faster, after watching this movie I think it should just be called what it is - marriage).

[Missy Vixen]

21. We saw "Milk" the night before last

What an amazing movie.

I wasn't in San Francisco, but I remember the horrific shootings and the "Twinkie Defense".

[RetroLounge]

22. I watched it last night too...

Amazing...

RL

[shadowknows69]

23. It's on my Netflix queue, but they aren't too quick with most new releases.

[VampyreHunter]

26. Penn

I like Penn Jilette's take better. ;)