THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK: Monday Nights with Oscar
With the issue of California’s (potential) approval of gay marriage in the news, it’s probably an appropriate time to revisit Rob Epstein’s 1984 Academy Award-winning documentary feature The Times of Harvey Milk — in a restored print from the Academy Film Archive — which will be screened as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ "Monday Nights with Oscar" series on Monday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in New York City.
Epstein, a current Academy Governor, will take part in a post-screening onstage discussion.
Narrated by Harvey Fierstein (from a script by Judith Coburn and Carter Wilson), The Times of Harvey Milk follows the rise and murder of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, aka "The Mayor of Castro Street," the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected to political office.
In May 1978 California’s Proposition 6 — which would ban gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools — garnered enough signatures to be included as a ballot measure in the fall elections. Milk organized the campaign to defeat the measure, and when voting time came Prop. 6 was rejected by a landslide.
Three weeks later, on November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former police officer who had recently resigned from the Board of Supervisors and whom Mayor George Moscone had refused to reappoint to his seat, fatally shot Milk and Moscone. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter based on diminished capacity and was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison. (White was paroled in January 1985; he committed suicide in October of that year.)
The fact that judge and jury accepted "the twinkie defense" — i.e., that junk food played a role in White’s deadly actions — sparked outrage at the time (and it says a lot about ingrained bigotry — and idiocy — in the U.S. justice system). The verdict was followed by violent rioting in San Francisco.
Tickets for The Times of Harvey Milk in NYC are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be reserved by calling 1-888-778-7575. Depending on availability, tickets may be purchased in person on the night of the screening. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The DGA Theatre is located at 110 West 57th Street in New York City.
Photos: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library
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