The Year That I Was Born...

...was the year that Ted Bundy was captured, the "Son of Sam" went to prison, Jim Jones led his cult to mass murder-suicide, John Wayne Gacy's confession surprised the entire city of Chicago, and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by former Supervisor Dan "Twinkie Defense" White, which led to Dianne Weinstein becoming the first woman mayor.


Milk (four and a half stars total) In addition to being a year for psycho killers, 1978 was also the height of disco. I have long wanted to write a post about the difference between funk and disco, and Milk has given me that chance. You see, towards the beginning of the film, "Rock the Boat" by the Hues Corporation is played, and that song is in competition with "Love's Theme" by Barry White, for the title of of first disco song ever. The Hues Corporation did some songs for the film, Blacula, a couple years before that. Now Blacula may bring to mind more funk than disco for you, so it begs the question: where do you draw the fine line between the two musical genres? When my brother first played his Pure Funk CD for me, I thought: "this is all just disco." Turns out, the CD and I were both right. There's overlap, and here are my lists:

Similarities
-complex grooves
-danceable rhythms
-funky guitar - wah-wah sound and muting the notes
-riffs create a percussive sound
-sampled by hip hop

Differences
-funk had no look (at least before P-Funk and Prince) but disco did
-funk often used a single chord while disco uses several
-funk consisted of a small four-piece band whereas
disco used full orchestras for a large (lush) pop (white) sound
-funk stayed guitar-based (through the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Primus, and Rage Against the Machine) and disco went electronic (through Giorgio Moroder with Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, and Hercules and Love Affair)

Going back to the film, the best part is all the cultural history - that so much of it was a reaction to the hippie movement of the previous decade (changing neighborhoods, shortening hair, wearing suits). The worst part of the film is people wearing white socks with black slacks and shoes, but wouldn't it be great if the worst things about all films were such minor things? Going back to the original meaning of the word "gay," this film is FULL (as in filling entire city blocks) of the happiest people ever to march, sometimes with nothing to celebrate. At one point a rival candidate tells Milk, "in this town, you've got to give them a reason for optimism or you're cooked." From then on, the film is one of the most stirring and hopeful that I've seen. There's some great cinematography, including the opening kiss scene with a "We Are Open" store sign in the window, the hairstyles, aerial shots a cloudy San Francisco, and the last thing that Milk supposedly sees after being shot in slow motion. The editing includes actual news footage with Anita Bryant and a very young Tom Brokaw and a fab '70s multi-split screen. I already touched on the music above, but I must mention all the opera played, including the performance of Tosca. The film is impossible to discuss without getting political, but I'll try to stick to some universal themes. It made me realize that I disagree with people who can't share their partners with a good cause and I don't trust people that can say "I love you" the first day you meet them. Despite what I heard, this film doesn't show faults like Ray did, but I've never seen another film that deals so well with the arrogance and contradictory selfishness of both suicide and politics.

OUT TODAY ON DVD: WHAT JUST HAPPENED