Philadelphia

A window to the troubled world

by EMMA SCIANTARELLI

FROM ISSUE # 156 (December 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Fourteen years ago, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington acted in the most profound film about HIV ever made. At a time when HIV was still highly stigmatized and often thought of only as a disease contracted by homosexual men, Philadelphia brought light to discrimination and common stereotypes. Denzel Washington portrays a homophobic lawyer, counselor Miller, who chooses to represent Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a gay, HIV-infected lawyer who is fired from his job because of his illness. 

After being rejected by 9 other lawyers, Beckett approaches Miller for representation. Miller dismisses the idea because of his own hatred and fear regarding homosexuality and his ignorance about the HIV virus. Eventually Miller decides that despite his personal feelings, Beckett deserves representation out of a matter of principle to uphold justice.

Millers acceptance of this high profile trial forces him to analyse his own prejudice. The script is spot on, voicing many dormant thoughts that linger in the subconscious of even the slightest homophobic person. A number of periphery characters mistakenly confuse Miller for a homosexual, thus flaring his already innately homophobic personality. The derogatory language used towards homosexuals is frighteningly real.

Beckett endures the prejudice of not only the bosses that fire him from his law firm but also of onlookers who realise he is an HIV positive homosexual. He is ostracised by others who lack empathy because to them, he is the embodiment of immorality and lack of character. They view his contraction of the disease as the logical consequence of his irresponsible promiscuous behaviour. As the movie states, the film depicts that there is often a social death of the infected person that precedes the actual physical death.

Beckett remains a dignified individual as he withers into a thin, sickly shell of his former self. Throughout the case, Miller breaks down the language and brings light to the real situation of inner fears and stigmas surrounding HIV and homosexuality. He is not afraid to call a spade a spade and goes to great lengths to educate the jury and viewer about social misconceptions and discrimination towards those afflicted by HIV.

Antonio Banderas plays Tom Hank's faithful and constant partner. Long before the days of Brokeback Mountain, the on-screen same sex relationship between Banderas and Hanks was another bold and groundbreaking move in cinema. The couple demonstrated a natural chemistry and love in its true form for each other without vulgarising or sensationalising the gay lifestyle.  

Multiple Oscar nominations and a Best Actor award for Tom Hanks was instrumental in bringing about a radical shift in Western society's view of the then relatively ignorant view it held about HIV. An education on its own, this movie left a dramatic impact on American history and manages to open many windows into the world of this group of people who are still marginalised around the world, including Nepal. 

While urban Nepal is shifting towards a more open, knowledgeable and tolerant viewpoint, there is still a great need for further education and understanding to foster a better environment for those living with HIV and their families. This movie could just be the beginning.