Media, Memory and Harvey Milk Aspires to Be a Contribution Toward a More Comprehensive History of the Memory of Milk
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COMMUNICATING LEGACY: MEDIA, MEMORY AND HARVEY MILK A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Heidi A. Mau May 2017 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Carolyn Kitch, Advisory Chair, Department of Journalism, Temple University Dr. Chris Cagle, Department of Film and Media Arts, Temple University Dr. Andrew Mendelson, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Dr. Edward Alwood, External Member, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland ii © Copyright 2017 by Heidi A. Mau All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Communicating Legacy: Media, Memory, and Harvey Milk examines publicly available media, artifacts and events in service of remembering Harvey Milk, who in 1977 became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. Although he addressed issues of a diverse constituency, Milk is often remembered for demanding gay rights, his co-authorship of the San Francisco’s Human Rights Ordinance, and a successful campaign against the passage of Proposition 6 in 1978, a state proposition to prohibit gay men and lesbian women from working in public schools. His political career ended weeks later, when Milk was assassinated, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by former city supervisor and colleague Dan White. Forms of public and popular media addressing the remembrance of Milk and communicating his legacy include: journalism, books, documentary and fiction film, public art, theatrical and musical performances, memorials, commemorations, public history exhibitions, as well as types of legacy-naming. I term this media material media memoria – material in service of remembering. Through a mix of textual methods (visual/narrative/discourse), fieldwork (participant observation, interviewing) and archival/historical research methods, I examine how Milk media memoria create representations and narratives of Harvey Milk. I focus on how these representations narratives are used over time in the construction, negotiation and maintenance of local, LGBTQIA+ and eventually a larger public memory of Harvey Milk. This project is a mix of history, memory, and media analysis. It is written as an overlapping chronology, so the reader can experience the mediated communication of iv Milk’s legacy as it moves forward through time. It is situated within the study of media and communication but is interdisciplinary in that it finds inspiration from memory studies, film and media studies, museum and exhibition studies, and public history – all areas in which communication with a public, and mediated communication, play integral parts of collective memory narrative building. Communicating Legacy: Media, Memory and Harvey Milk aspires to be a contribution toward a more comprehensive history of the memory of Milk. The project concludes with a summary of the core and layered Milk memory narratives, a look at the key memory keepers and institutional players in Milk memory maintenance, and a discussion of the future of Milk memory. Through a discussion of how media memoria communicate the legacy of Harvey Milk, the dissertation adds to scholarly knowledge about how collective memory of public figures is constructed in American culture. Additionally, the dissertation works toward resolving deficiencies in research addressing LGBTQIA+ collective memory studies. v For my Sayang. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation might never have reached its end without the guidance and support of superb and patient scholars, mentors, colleagues, and friends. I would like to first thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Carolyn Kitch, whose Media and Social Memory course inspired this project. Her consistent mentorship and uncannily-timed sage advice guided me from beginning to end. Her ability to coax the real story from piles of pages and graduate student babble seemed nothing short of magical. I remain in awe of her intellectual and mentoring talents. Dr. Andrew Mendelson stuck with me throughout my graduate career, first as my program advisor and then, as a member of my dissertation committee. He was someone I could depend on to be direct and ask unexpected questions. Dr. Chris Cagle willingly joined this committee knowing little about my work, and he provided thoughtful and insightful input throughout this process. Dr. Edward Alwood graciously stepped in as outside reader to share his knowledge. I greatly appreciated the positive energy and support offered by the faculty of Temple University. Their willingness to share their talents and create community made this journey all the more meaningful. I would especially like to thank: Matthew Lombard, Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Jan Fernback, Donnalyn Pompper, Peter Jaroff, Nancy Morris, and Patrick Murphy. I was lucky to find a bodhisattva in Nicole McKenna, who helped me navigate the paperwork path to graduation. I entered the program with a fantastic cohort and quickly found additional friends in the program who encouraged me to work hard, think deeply, and laugh heartily: Byron Lee, Alanna Miller, Kelly George, Sam Srauy, Michelle Amazeen, John Church, Stephanie Morrow, Chiaoning Su, Siobahn Stiles, Tina Peterson, Carrie Teresa, Katie vii Beardsley, and Melissa Meade, to name just a few of the many peers I am thankful crossed my path during this time. As I made my way through the writing process, friends and colleagues came forward to cheer me on. Michele Ramsey was a constant cheerleader and provided a hefty snack basket that sustained me through many chapters of writing at my desk. Eric Lindsey and Vinh Liang checked in on me regularly and made sure I left the house from the time to time. Clemencia Rodriguez and Kristin Shamus provided me an important pep session as I neared the end. I was offered and accepted a teaching position at Albright College as I was writing and was lucky to have the ongoing support and advice of faculty mentor Patty Turning and department colleagues Kate Lehman and Jon Bekken. I am especially grateful for my Fight Club cohort, who offer ongoing research inspiration and emotional support: Bridget Hearon, Carrie Skulley, Shreeyash Palshikar, and Samira Mehta. The Mau and Nicholas families I belong to provided endless love and support throughout this process and were patient as I was absent for periods of time from family gatherings. I am fortunate to have Cheryl Nicholas as my life partner, a woman whose humor and intellect ensures there is never a dull moment in our household, and whose love and support is immeasurable. Finally, this project would have been very different without the help of many people in San Francisco who offered their assistance and in some instances, allowed me into their lives. The archivists, expert informants, and general citizenry who welcomed my questions and opened up a new path for me to walk in the study of media and collective memory. This dissertation is just the start of that story. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2. COLLECTIVE MEMORY LITERATURE REVIEW, MATERIALS, AND METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS ..........................................................................31 3. HARVEY MILK’S PUBLIC POLITICAL PRESENTATION OF SELF: MILK’S POLITICAL COLUMNS, 1974-1978 ..........................................................68 4. TRAGEDY STRIKES AND LEGACY BEGINS: THE START OF MILK MEMORY ...................................................................................................................89 5. GETTING THE STORY OUT AND MILK MEMORY ON THE GROUND .........130 6. CINEMATIC ARTIFACTS AS MEMORY TEXTS: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK AND MILK, 1984-2011 ...................................................................168 7. MILK (2008) COMES TO TOWN AND HARVEY GOES TO WASHINGTON ........................................................................................................203 8. COMMUNICATING LEGACY, THE MEMORY KEEPERS, AND THE FUTURE OF MILK MEMORY ................................................................................237 ix BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................256 APPENDIX: LIST OF FIELDWORK MATERIALS .....................................................308 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The origin story for this dissertation research project on media, memory and Harvey Milk is borne out of a convergence of instances rather than one main event. The first instance was a 2009 graduate course in media and social memory, a course that set me on a path I never anticipated and ended up defining a main trunk of my research trajectories. In that course, I worked on a paper in which I examined social memory and the two main cinematic artifacts on Harvey Milk: The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) and Milk (2008). The second instance of inspiration was attending the 2010 National Communication Association conference in San Francisco. It was during this visit that among friends and colleagues at Harvey’s bar in the Castro, that I experienced public remembering of Harvey Milk