Got Milk?

Milk is captivating without even breaking a sweat. There's a certain point when the richness of history sends a movie plot into autopilot. I'm not trying to undermine the writer Dustin Lance Black's work on Milk, but at it's most rudimentary form, Harvey Milk's story is a touching and awesome one. What struck me most about the film was the overall ease about it. The story flowed smoothly--the 2 hour length was shockingly humble in this day and age of 3 hour movies. The cast slipped into their characters effortlessly, which is most clear when the male actors share affectionate scenes without clamming up like a robot. This ease is ironic, when you consider the insurmountable barrier that Harvey Milk faced and felled.

Like any historical film, there is a great risk of coming off as didactic. Sean Penn derails this with his light touch. Harvey Milk is not portrayed as perfect or Christ-like (as demonstrated through his MAJOR mistake of staying with his second partner in the film, Jack Lira--the epitome of needy). He was simply persistent--stubborn actually. But it takes that to take on the monsters he encountered. I've been raised in an era where sexuality, race, and gender have had isolated moments of discrimination. I take for granted what older generations have arranged--almost seamlessly, as far as a history text book chapter is concerned--for my generation. We know nothing about the Anita Bryants and the Senator Briggs of olden days. I am not so naive to think that people don't feel or think that way anymore, but at least they have been reduced (for the most part, though I can't speak for those red states...) to muttering at their TVs or newspapers in the privacy of their own homes.

Forgive me, for I am about to get a little cheesy. I found the film even more moving after seeing an African American get elected this year. I did not experience the weight of historical figures like Milk or Dr. Martin Luther King when they were pushing for change, but I naively assumed I understood their fights. Milk gently showed me how ignorant I am of what it took to get the US to where it is today. This year, I had the privilege of voting for a man with a solid campaign. In 2008, his campaign could outshine the fact that he was African American. No matter how many of Hollywood's renditions of civil rights activism I see on the silver screen, I will remain naive of the real-time gravity.

That is not to say that being homosexual today is a picnic, by any means. I do not wish to make that claim. Though, it certainly is a bit easier than in Milk's day. All I know is that I was beyond moved during the final 10 minutes of the movie. I sat fighting back tears at the sight of the candlelight vigil. I cannot imagine how people find the courage to fight adversity, particularly when the world in which I was raised did not offer any concrete example of what adversity actually is.

Dexter, the cutting edge of drama (predictions for season 3 finale)

One more episode left in another tumultuous day(s) in the life of Dexter Morgan. This season, like the previous two, has been a gripping one, though many of the themes aren't as shiny and new. I've read that Jimmy Smit's Miguel Prado was essentially Lila with a mustache. Despite my initial desire to dispute that claim, it does hold true under scrutiny. Dexter, the most defended of all men, takes a lot to seduce or befriend, respectively shown by Lila and Miguel. The odd thing about Dexter is that for all his monstrous characteristics, he does try to let people into his world. Of course, given this latest track record of killing off Lila and Miguel, it makes me a little worried for Rita. As long as Rita continues assuming Dexter is just an aloof sweetheart, she's fine. It's only when people dig deeper into Dexter's soul that they get in trouble. There's no soul to find and therefore no way for him to feel remorse when he slices them up like a red onion.

So how will this season end? I suspect that they won't wrap this one up in neatly wrapped packages, as Dexter wraps up his victims. Showtime has given us two seasons with fully resolved season finales and so we're do for one hell of a cliffhanger. This leads me to several different possibilities.

Cliffhanger 1:
Someone finds out Dexter's true colors. You might jump to Rita as the first person to find out, but then she would certainly annul their marriage. I assume the writers are looking forward to figuring out how a serial killer can pull off murder AND marriage. Just imagine what a great hiding place a diaper bag would be for his knives. So that leaves us with Deborah.

Deb has been in the dark for her and Dexter's entire relationship. It's high time she find out about Dexter and the secret he shared with Harry, their dad. Dexter has already let the cat out of the bag about Harry cheating, so how much worse would it be to learn about Dexter's tendencies? "Sure Dad cheated, but he never killed anyone.... Speaking of murder, did I ever tell you about this hobby I picked up sometime after forensic school...?"

Cliffhanger 1.5:
This cliffhanger is sort of a back up one in the chance that the writers don't pick Rita or Deb to discover Dexter's dark side. Laguerta always felt that Doakes was innocent. Imagine her inner conflict if she determines that not only was Doakes framed, but that Dexter is a dark twisted Miami hero? If Dexter has managed to kill the Ice Truck Killer, Miguel Prado, and countless other "bad guys," will Laguerta have the balls to turn him in? If she was torn about handing in Miguel, I suspect she'd be reluctant to pass Dexter over.

Cliffhanger 2:
Deb is still hopeless in the love department. It probably would help if she let down her guard a little bit and laid off the bad language. In the race between, Quinn and Anton, we think Anton wins. Deb has a knack for picking guys that seem like Prince Charmings on the surface, but are supremely effed up when you get down to their core (she might as well get hitched with Dexter, since they're not blood related and he's her "type"). Anton is not quite a bad guy, but he's certainly a "bad boy." I mean on the Dexter/Hannibal Lector scale, Anton looks like a pretty solid citizen. My guess is that the writers will leave us up in the air about who she'll decide on. Maybe Anton will crash the wedding to confess his true feelings, right as Deb has given into one dance with Quinn. A guilty glance from Deb, followed by an Anton pursuit to some quiet corner of the reception?

This all depends on whether Dexter makes the wedding. From the previews for the finale, it seems that he gets tied up on his way...

For the Record: Lots of Abstractions

Sunday night I found myself sucked into the Britney Spears' documentary For the Record. I knew 2 minutes into it that she was not going to provide any real insight into her tailspin last year. The interview scenes revealed far less than the images of her simply going about her daily life. At one point, she tries to go to a NY boutique for some shopping and cannot get out of the car on the first try, since the paparazzi descend on her like scarabs from The Mummy. Seeing her stare blankly into the dressing room mirror as they plaster her with makeup and hairspray was more insightful. Sure, she's a superstar, but when you boil down her life from minute to minute, it's clearly very lonely. Her father, along with an army of handlers, has her under lock and key.

At one point in the interview scenes, she begins crying and admits that "she's sad." I'm not sure how to react to that comment. It's hard to feel sympathetic for someone who has the gall to say "I know that some people have it worse me." In light of the recession and the Bombay bombings, this comment is insulting. Sure, the interview was recorded in September or October, but that doesn't excuse how self-centered the her commentary is. Particularly since she offers no REAL reason for her tailspin. At no point does she mention addiction or depression or anxiety. Hell, just say you had a nervous breakdown, Brit. Let's get real.

The truth is that her life is so far from reality that she cannot be real or genuine in her interviews. Look no further than the caked on make up and the dried out weaves. She's a doll. At one point, she dresses up as a witch for Halloween and descends to the first floor of her house to attend to her two sons. She holds one and it struck me that she looked like a child holding a toddler. I pray those boys will make it to adulthood--even adolescence--alive.

I want to root for Britney. In a way, she is as much a product of America as the cheeseburger, a pickup truck, or baseball. Despite my disapproval of the idea of someone who bares her navel, girates, and sings in a octave that can only be described as sexy (and not angelic, talented, or even memorable), I find myself busting a move when her songs come on any airwaves. The scary thing is that my feelings regarding Britney are the same as rubbernecking: despite the horror and nausea I feel in the pit of my stomach as I look on, I cannot avert my eyes and ears.