Gay in America: Philadelphia

I ended up staying awake way past my bedtime a few nights ago. I turned on the tv and Philadelphia, the 1993 film revolving around HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia, was playing, still in the first half. I knew immediately that any plans I had for sleep would be put on hold and I would be glued to the screen for the next hour and a half.

I have seen the film countless times over the years but each time I watch it, something new jumps out at me and I am moved in a different way.

It astonished me how sad the film really is. Obviously, right, there is a man who dies from AIDS and fights against the law firm which fired him for having the disease and being gay. But this time around, it really struck me how horribly people are treated who are not heterosexual in this country.

Much like racism, heterosexism is less blatant as it used to be but continues to permeate our society. Some of the things that were said to Tom Hank's character, in a court of law no less, were astounding. It literally brought tears to my eyes.

In these times, where young boys are hanging themselves in closets because of taunting at school regarding their sexuality, it makes me say STOP! This is crazy! I personally have no issues with homosexuality and I wish we lived in a world where people let other people live. It is one thing to disagree with what someone else does, or not wish to participate in something yourself. But it is entirely another thing to have the audacity to think only certain people deserve civil rights and equal treatment under the law.

Watching Tom Hanks as he portrayed a man dying with AIDS made my heart ache. They way people hurled insults and basically said he deserved what he got for being gay made me sick. There is a woman in the film who also has AIDS but because she is straight and contracted the disease from a blood transfusion, she was to be pitied as opposed to despised. She didn't "deserve" AIDS according to some, as if anybody deserves AIDS, as if AIDS is God's punishment to those some consider to be sexually deviant and perverse.

Denzel Washington's portrayal of a lawyer defending his gay client was also very moving. You saw his own struggle with understanding gender and homosexuality as he tried to defend someone who he knew had been illegally terminated from his job. He disagreed with what he saw to be an alterative lifestyle while also feeling completely adament that the law had been broken and descrimination had occurred. He eventually came to see that his client was not a gay man with AIDS, but just a man like himself who had a love, a career, and a family.

In the end, I hope we continue to evolve as a society in our understanding of people who do not fit the White, male, straight, Christian mold. I hope all people are able to marry under the law and receive equal civil rights as a result. No matter what you believe in, all of us live in this one society and we all deserve to be treated with fairness, justice, and respect. We all have the right to feel safe and protected by the law.

I know this is a touchy subject for some people but I would love to hear what you all think about Gay rights, this movie, or whatever you would like to add. I would only ask that you be respectful in your comments and understand that even if you don't agree with each other, you can still express your opinion in a respectful way.

This is a clip from the film where Tom Hank's character is talking about his love for a particular opera. Instead of prepping for his trial, he takes this moment to explain the story behind the music with his lawyer. This is the same night that he and his partner hosted a gay party and Denzel's character had attended. Here, he's begun to see that Tom Hank's character is a real person with desires, values, feelings, likes, and emotion. It is pretty moving.