Prop 8 Still Would Have Passed Even If “Milk” Were Released Before the Election. Duh.

So SFist says that there’s a theory, started at Slate and now running around internetland that had Milk been released before election day that Prop 8 would have been defeated.  Ridiculous.

First of all, that theory presumes that that the 600,000 Yes-On-8 voters who represent the margin of victory would have seen Milk.   That wouldn’t have happened.

Second, even if enough Yes-On-8ers saw it, would the movie itself have so moved them that it would have started them down the road  to changing their vote or, even less likely, would they have walked out of theater with their minds changed?  The answer is no.

Milk is a a movie. A brilliantly crafted instant-classic of a movie with a jaw-dropping-super-human performance by Sean Penn , but Milk is still a movie, a work of fiction, a piece of art.  Gus Van Sant didn’t make Milk to get people to vote No-On-8, he made Milk because wanted to make a movie about the story of Harvey Milk. Besides, in American culture movies, or any art, don’t inspire people to political action other than the urge to censor art they don’t like.

All that said, it sure will be interesting to see what happens around Academy Award time.  The Academy Awards are in April, we suspect that Milk will be nominated for and win a gazillion Oscars (and deservedly so).  It is also entirely possible that in April the California Supreme Court issues an opinion on the Prop. 8 lawsuits.  We’re hoping it happens the same week – that’s the kind of political theater Harvey Milk would have appreciated.