Presupposed Meaning in Structural Presupposition

The fifth utterance is found in Scene 140, portraying Harvey Milk‘s conversation with Mayor Moscone. 5 Mayor M.: A man has the right to change his mind. Give me some peace. Harvey Milk: How many of our propositions has Dan shut down? We could finally settle this police desegregation nonsense. Cememt rent control. It‘s his vote on this Board that stands in our way. Dan White has shut down Harvey Milk‘s propositions Based on the conversation above, it presupposes that Dan has shut down Harvey Milk‘s propositions. It can be indicated through the way Harvey Milk also asks the degree of quantity in Dan‘s action of shutting down his propositions instead of asking whether or not Dan White has done such an action. As a result, it depicts the fact that Dan White is truly an opposition of Harvey Milk by channeling his stance of disagreement through shutting down Milk‘s propositions that are ―gay-friendly‖ and supportive towards the gay liberation movement.

B. Ideologies in the Character’s Utterances

This part inspects the i deologies promoted by Dustin Lance Black‘s film entitled Milk which are presented through the characters‘ utterances in the film. The inspection of the utterances will focus on the presupposed meaning using Yule‘s theory of presupposition 1996. Considering that the presupposed meaning is potentially ideological, they will be used as a tool to emphasize the negative other presentation outgroups‘ bad things such as dominance, power abuse, and inequality that are enacted in the context of gay liberation in San Francisco during the 1970s. The outgroups‘ bad things are then resisted with an PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI underlying belief called ideology, and supported by the positive self presentation ingroups‘ good things as a strategy to depict the ideologies. Based on thirty nine utterances and their presupposed meaning, there is a common denominator that the presupposed meaning shares which is seen through the way they emphasize the negative other presentation outgroups‘ bad things and the positive self presentation ingroups‘ good things related to the dominance, power abuse, and inequality in the context of gay liberation movement in San Francisco during the 1970s. When presupposed meaning is able to expose and resist the gender inequality in the film Milk, it means that there is an underlying idea called ideology that serves as the ground to resist the exposed inequality, gender inequality in particular. The ideologies of the film entitled Milk are liberty and optimism.

1. Liberty

The first prominent ideology of the film Milk is liberty. This ideology is obtained from the presupposed meaning that draws the dominance, power abuse, and inequality negative other presentation that can be resisted by upholding the idea of liberty. The dominance, power abuse, and inequality by right wing Christian fundamentalist Anita Bryant, Dan White, and John Briggs is presupposed to create a nuance of constant discrimination towards the gay community. Such a nuance is going to provide the sense of urgency for the gay community to start advocating for a liberty. Thus, it is important to analyze the presupposed meaning in order to relate them to the liberty that the gay community PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI advocates for. Below is the list of presupposed meaning based on existential presupposition that draws the dominance, power abuse, and inequality. No. Presupposed Meaning Uttered By 1. There is a slightly hostile and straight audience Harvey Milk 2. There is a ―kind‖ of person that refers to a gay person or community that is far more welcome on Haight Street McConnelly 3. There is a law established by the society and God‘s law in San Francisco McConnelly 4. There are splinter groups of social radicals, social deviants, and incorrigibles Dan White 5. There are sensitivities of all people, all their problems, the problems that affect this city affect all of us Harvey Milk 6. John Briggs and Anita Bryant exist Anne Kronenberg 7. There is a petition for a statewide referendum to fire all gay teachers Anne Kronenberg 8. There are right wing Christian fundamentalists Harvey Milk 9. There are referenda to repeal gay rights ordinances Harvey Milk 10. Prop Six exists Harvey Milk 11. Bigotry exists Harvey Milk Table 7. The Emphasis on Negative Other Presentation through Existential Presupposition Based on the presupposed meaning from the existential presupposition above, the presupposed meaning There is a “kind” of person that refers to a gay person or community that is far more welcome on Haight Street 2 uttered by McConnelly, There is a slightly hostile and straight audience 1 uttered by Harvey Milk depict the nuance of inequality to the gay community. The inequality can be seen through the hostility by a straight or heterosexual society mentioned in the first presupposed meaning. In strengthening the idea of hostility, McConnelly believes that all gay people are far more welcome on the Haight Street. It gives the impression that the gay community is not accepted, welcomed, or acknowledged in the Castro Street of San Francisco. In the context of gay PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI discrimination and liberation in 1970s, Haight Street is known as a secluded area where a large portion of the LGBT community was centered due to the hostility Hennen, 2008: 252. In othe r words, Hennen‘s points affirm the ugly truth pressupposed by the first and second presupposed meaning. The presupposed meaning There are sensitivities of all people, all their problems, the problems that affect this city affect all of us 5 uttered by Harvey Milk and There are splinter groups of social radicals, social deviants, and incorrigibles 4 uttered by Dan White depict the nuance of inequality as well. In the context of gay liberation, it is believed that there are sensitivities or sentimental hatred from the heterosexuals towards the existence of the gay minority. The example is by labelling them as social radicals, social deviants, and incorrigibles. The depiction of the power abuse can be seen through the existence of John Briggs and Anita Bryant 6 mentioned in the presupposed meaning. Both of them are the main oppositions of the gay liberation movement, as it is mentioned that they are part of the right wing Christian fundamentalists 8 who uphold the idea of bigotry 11. It is emphasized that Anita Bryant is ―a now infamous antigay crusade in 1977 that successfully overturned D ade County, Fla.‘s ordinance that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation ‖ Malkin, 2011. It means that it is valid to say that she utilizes an abuse of power to repeal the gay rights ordinances using referenda 9 mentioned in the presupposed meaning. John Briggs also utilizes his abuse of power by establishing a law by the society and God‘s law in San Francisco 3. One of the examples is Prop Six 10, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI or known as ―the Briggs‘ Initiative which sought to ban gays and lesbian from teaching in public schools ‖ Malkin, 2011. The ninth presupposed meaning also reveals the blatant intention of John Briggs who makes a petition for a statewide referendum to fire all gay teachers 9. After all of the dominance, inequality, and power abuse are addressed through existential presupposition, there are also two supporting presupposed meaning based on existential presupposition that resists the dominance, inequality, and power abuse emphasizing the positive self presentation or good things by Harvey Milk and his allies. No. Presupposed Meaning Uttered By 1. There are first ordinances protecting gay people against discrimination Harvey Milk 2. Democracy exists Harvey Milk Table 8. The Emphasis on Positive Self Presentation through Existential Presupposition Based on two kinds of presupposed meaning mentioned above, Harvey Milk attempts to resist the inequality that is imposed to his gay community by glorifying the first ordinances protecting all gay people against discrimination 1. Other than that, he is willing to fight for the rights of the LGBT in San Francisco in order to maintain the proliferation of democracy 2 that exists in United States of America. No. Presupposed Meaning Uttered By 1. There is a person who stands for what Harvey Milk stands for, such as an activist or gay activist that becomes the potential target of a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or disturbed themselves. Harvey Milk PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI