On Oct. 20, Ragtag Cinema presented “The Times of Harvey Milk,” a 1984 Oscar-winning documentary directed by Rob Epstien and narrated by Harvey Fierstein. The film highlights Harvey Milk’s life and his political career. Milk was the first openly gay politician elected into office in California. As a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Milk used his position to advocate for gay rights, and the rights of other minorities, through organizing campaigns and marches, while being an active member on the board. The showing drew sniffles and tears amongst the crowd, but also a fair share of laughter.
Two MU students, Drew Dahlgren and Paige Bierman, attended the show that evening.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Dahlgren. “The film gave me more perspective.”
The film screening is part of Ragtag Cinema’s monthly “Show Me Series,” where the cinema shows films for free with help from community partners. “The Times of Harvey Milk” was presented through a partnership with the Center Project; a nonprofit organization based in Columbia that provides resources for the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.
Faramola Shonekan, director of community partnerships and education at the Ragtag Film Society, oversees all of Ragtag’s community outreach as well as educational programs.
“The point is to bring community into our cinema; to bring the Center Project’s own community, and Ragtag’s own community … into the cinema,” Shonekan said.
Megan Altschul, community partnerships coordinator at Ragtag, believes community involvement is an important aspect of Ragtag and the Show Me Series.
“We call our panel, or discussions, “community conversations” because we really value community feedback and audience engagement,” Altschul said.
Altschul moderated the community conversation, a Q & A between a panel and the audience.. MU Professor Emeritus of women’s and gender studies Jo Neitz and community member Keith Politte spoke on the panel. Politte, who occasionally appeared in the background of the film, was a lawyer in San Francisco while Milk was in office.
Neitz was “inspired” by the film, saying “clearly [Harvey Milk] made a difference.”
“I think that the underlying story here is really … about grassroots organizing; it’s about community, it’s about people working together, it’s about people coming to claim an identity,” Neitz said.
The film and community conversation also provoked conversations over its current relevance.
“We’re in a time where politics is really important,” Altschul said. “When we have this overarching fear that our rights are being taken away, especially in [the LGBTQ+] community, so we want to show this film … a hopeful film.”
Physical and emotional safety was a common theme of the screening and a main topic of discussion. The community conversation allowed audience members to express thoughts about the film and about resources in Columbia aiming to provide this sense of safety, like the Center Project. Politte acknowledges the progress made within the LGBTQ+ community with the development of these resources.
“This generation now has opportunities that [his generation] couldn’t have even imagined,” Politte said.
Edited by Egan Ward | eward@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Shirin Xavier and Jacob Richey
