ENGLISH 288 American Dreams American Movies

The storyline of the 1993 legal drama Philadelphia Andrew Becket who is a senior associate at a law farm of Philadelphia. He is a homosexual individual with a diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. One of the partners of the firm saw a lesion on Becket’s back that is known as a Kaposi’s sarcoma and is a tell-tale sign of AIDS. After this incident, Andrew’s files were misplaced and was admitted into the court at the last moment. This issue led to Andrew being fired. However, it could be clearly understood that this was orchestrated and the true reason behind Andrew losing his job is his sexuality and the health issue related to the same.

Concepts of politics, health policies as well an advocacy have been integrated very swiftly into this mainstream American movie. The politics that take place within a work space and the factors that influence the same have been discussed. Here, Andrew Becket became a victim of his own health condition and was fired (Broqua & Fillieula, 2017). It could be seen that it was not the disease that he was discriminated due to, but the same happened because of his sexuality. The health policies within any company should ensure that no individual was being fired as a result of their health conditions. Other members of the firm should also have advocated for Becket to stay and continue his work, as his health condition did not impact the same in any way.

Philadelphia as a movie was an excellent combination of both well-written drama as well as a piece that highlighted the social implications of sexism and homophobia. The movie was set in 1993 where homophobia was a very common problem among many individuals of the United States. It was also believed that AIDS as a disease was a derivative of homosexuality and was the result of the sin that was homosexuality (Jeffreys & Gang, 2017). Thus, Philadelphia held out a mirror in front of American society in the early ’90s. This movie helped me realise the different hardships that gay men had to go through in order for this group to become recognised as individuals with their own rights.

The main focus within the subject of Philadelphia is that of AIDS and how it was believed that engaging in sexual relations in a gay couple was a sin in the eyes of God, and these individuals were punished by this disease. This is a very sensitive topic, and some backward societies in different parts of the world still believe this concept. This is a topic within the movie that might be advocated by healthcare professionals (Kagan, 2018). They can help spread awareness about the cause of AIDS. This disease impacts the immune system of an individual negatively. AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that is seen in both men and women and has absolutely nothing to do with the sexuality of a person. This is a serious topic of concern, and healthcare professionals may advocate from the same.

As a future nursing professional, this video shows me that homophobia and homosexuality have been a problem for men as recently as 1993 (Leiner, 2019). This indicates that there is a need for significant awareness in this area. I also realised that the general population of the United States have none to little knowledge about STD’s and how they spread. Educating them in this area might help these people separate the concepts of homosexuality and AIDS.

The movie covers the different aspects using which Andrew Becket could be defended. He is represented by another attorney who helps prove that Andrew Becket was fired by his firm as a result of his sexuality and a suspicion that he had developed AIDS as a result of the same. The different legal aspects using which Becket could be defended have been outlined. The anti-discrimination law, as well as the law of civil rights, may be used to defend Andrew Becket in this situation. The anti-discrimination laws are state-level laws, whereas that of civil rights is a national one (McAnulty, 2018).

The issue revolving around discrimination towards gay individuals or homophobia has not only been documented in the United States but are found in other parts of the world as well. This makes it significantly harder to address the issue and devise proper strategic interventions for the same (Simões, 2018).

This was a movie that I saw about 7 years ago and liked immensely. Not only did it highlight one of the most common social issues in the United States and the world, but the movie also had a strong screenplay and cast. However, I was well aware of this discrimination towards the LGBT population and the implication that AIDS was a result of a man entering into sexual relationships with another man.

References

Broqua, C., & Fillieule, O. (2017). The Making of State Homosexuality: How AIDS Funding Shaped Same-Sex Politics in France. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(13), 1623-1639.

Jeffreys, E., & Gang, S. (2017). Governing HIV in China: Commercial Sex, Homosexuality and Rural-to-Urban Migration. Routledge.

Kagan, D. (2018). Positive Images: Gay Men and HIV/AIDS in the Culture of'Post Crisis'. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Leiner, M. (2019). Sexual politics in Cuba: machismo, homosexuality, and AIDS. Routledge.

McAnulty, R. D. (2018). The helping professions: Attitudes toward homosexuality. In Homosexual issues in the workplace (pp. 105-118). Taylor & Francis.

Simões, J. A. (2018). Generations, changes and continuities in the social experience of male homosexuality and the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad (Rio de Janeiro), 313-339.

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