tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post1411675273731087608..comments2024-03-17T18:53:56.416-07:00Comments on Cosmic American Blog: Milk (van Sant)yoggothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-73308447888857777622009-03-01T21:11:00.000-08:002009-03-01T21:11:00.000-08:00See, that explanation of why you liked Malcolm X m...See, that explanation of why you liked Malcolm X more than Milk should be in your review. Now I understand what you're talking about.<BR/><BR/>As for Lawrence and Kane, sure they were unhappy but they accomplished amazing things. Emotional weakness in private is different from actual social powerlessness.yoggothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-10174257954795466802009-03-01T11:30:00.000-08:002009-03-01T11:30:00.000-08:00That is NOT one of those movie critic passages tha...That is NOT one of those movie critic passages that don't really mean anything but probably sounded catchy while being written! What moved me about Malcolm X was not his suffering at the hands of racism; it was his RESPONSE to his suffering at the hands of racism. At first he was aimless, then he decided to hate white people, and then he realized that there was more to it than that. I was moved by his philosophical journey. A movie FEATURING homophobia could move me, but I don't think a movie ABOUT homophobia could. See the difference?<BR/><BR/>Also, my description IS accurate as applied to all four characters. Kane and Lawrence may appear confident but I think they are emotionally weak. Kane thinks that buying things will make him happier but it doesn't work. Lawrence thinks that taking over the desert and walking around in exotic robes is going to make him happier but it doesn't work either. They are restless and unsatisfied creatures. Harvey Milk, by contrast, seems like he's found his perfect spot.Little Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415022026000282965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-55589351144940152382009-03-01T03:58:00.000-08:002009-03-01T03:58:00.000-08:00"I think about my favorite movie protagonists and ..."I think about my favorite movie protagonists and they're all conflicted and weak and confused and uncertain - like me! ... I think of Rick from Casablanca, or Charles Foster Kane, or T.E. Lawrence, or Travis Bickle. Now these are some guys I can get behind." Your description is only accurate as applied to Travis Bickle. Lawrence and Kane were strong willed and confident to a fault. Rick falls somewhere in between.<BR/><BR/>"It seems like Harvey Milk's biggest problem was other peoples' homophobia. That's cool, but it's not exactly going to move me." This is one of those movie critic passages that don't really mean anything but probably sounded catchy while being written. Unless there is some particular reason a movie about homophobia couldn't move you? You're not black and yet you are moved by <I>Malcolm X</I>.yoggothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233852251148460524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-74628288888009841092009-02-25T07:56:00.000-08:002009-02-25T07:56:00.000-08:00I guess you would need to start having adverts to ...I guess you would need to start having adverts to raise money. <BR/>The movie I think was important because many many people will not have heard of Harvey Milk or known what his deal was. I certainly hadn't. This isn't stuff that is taught in school in California or anywhere else for that matter. <BR/>Milk becomes powerful in the duration of the film, and it almost feels like he avoids corruption, or at least the dilution of his legacy through his assassination. He may believe in gay rights from the beginning, but he doesn't know how to fight for them, and he hides his boyfriends away - later he stands confidently in front of crowds and politics his way around city hall. Milk fills out his role - we already know where he'll end up, and it would be cheap to put uncertainty where we have no evidence for it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15091878725089200945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161694830669099204.post-58378008960790716182009-02-24T16:57:00.000-08:002009-02-24T16:57:00.000-08:00I learned about a pivotal era in the gay rights mo...I learned about a pivotal era in the gay rights movement. I was mildly amused for two hours. I will not likely ever think about this movie again now that the oscar buzz is over.<BR/><BR/>I think that sums it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com