Philledelphia

A detailed Summary of Philledelphia

Q1. What are the main points relating to sexuality and STD's to arise in this movie?

The major point the movie makes about sexuality, is that homosexuals are people too. The movie clearly shows how general society hates them and sets the apart from 'the rest of us' like they have leprosy. It shows that Andrew Beckett is a perfectly normal person, from a perfectly normal family, with a perfectly normal upbringing. He is not a dangerous, unsafe freaks, who needs to be kept away from society, yet everyone treats him like he is. The film shows us how we treat these people and tries to show us how we can change our (society's in general) prejudiced opinions and ideas, just as Joe Miller, accepted Beckett as a normal human being.

The film also shows how people cope with their fear of homosexuals. Miller openly calls them 'fagots' and the senior partners of Beckett's law firm tell gay jokes, all which is openly prejudiced. This prejudice also leads on to a fear and ignorance of AIDS.

The characters are extremely afraid of somehow catching the AIDS virus, scared to go near Beckett, as if it could be transmitted like the common cold. The movie helps to dispel the fears and myths people have about AIDS/HIV.

During the start of the movie, Miller experienced fear and prejudice towards Beckett when he learned that he had AIDS and was homosexual. This was the same fear that most of the other male characters in the film experienced. He openly, and almost proudly admits to his wife that he is homophobic 'I admit it, I'm prejudiced, I don't like homosexuals.' However, his wife's open-mindedness was one of the factors that led to him changing his opinion on those issues. Another main factor, is the way he deals with his fear of the virus, and of homosexuals. During the trial, their is a scene in which Miller screams at the attorneys responsible for firing Beckett, "Are you gay? Are you a faggot? Do you do it from behind? Do you do the flip-flop?" Attempting both to defend Beckett and to exorcise his own dark demons, Miller tries to confront homophobia by using its own language. The main turning point is after Beckett's party, Miller is trying to go over some case notes with Beckett, but Beckett is constantly distracted, he has other things on his mind, and he suddenly pays attention to the opera in the background. He loves the song, and passionately explains/translates the song to Miller, who after seeing the emotion that Beckett puts into the song, is truly sympathetic, and the fact makes him uncomfortable. After he has left, and is outside, he hesitates to reenter the apartment, but shook of his feelings and left. It showed that for the first time, he really accepted Beckett for the first time.

Miller and his wife are obviously very close, and have a newborn daughter. Miller's wife understands Miller's fear of homosexuals, but is obviously more accepting than he.

There is also an effort to affront misconceptions about homosexuals. It deals with the popular image of homosexuals, the outgoing, outrageous 'queen' type of character. In this movie, Tom Hanks plays a homosexual man, who for all his other qualities seams to everyone to be completely 'normal'. He is a smart, successful lawyer, who gets on well with his co-workers. He doesn't secretly wear women's clothing, or speak peculiarly, or wear makeup. The movie shows that most homosexuals are normal, they are not some type of dangerous menace to society. This is issued well in his excellent relationship he has with his family. He hasn't been disowned, and his parents, brothers, sisters and In-laws all love him as they would if he was heterosexual. They are understanding, and this is what the director of this movie is asking the rest of society to be.

Q3. Was there

Some common words found in the essay are:
Joe Miller, AIDS Miller, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, AIDS Beckett, Beckett Alberaz, Beckett Miguel, Beckett Beckett, Beckett Miller, Andrew Beckett, joe miller, senior partners, law firm, andrew beckett, perfectly normal, tom hanks, miller aids miller, beckett miller, fear homosexuals, accepted beckett, afraid somehow,

Approximate Word count = 1709
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous