Philadelphia Movie Analysis

Philadelphia was an obvious choice for my project. Actors Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington endure the struggles of gender, racial, and sexual orientation constraints communication and society as a whole. The majority of the film takes place in the courtroom as both lead characters are lawyers. An attorney’s goal is to better communicate his or her client’s case. This context projects the importance of interpersonal communication techniques. I will review this film by reviewing the content of the film, relating it my culture, connecting it to interpersonal communication concepts, and finish off by giving my emotions of the film. Tom Hanks character, Andrew Beckett is a newly promoted senior associate at the largest law firm in Philadelphia.

This film came out in nineteen-ninety-three and was set in the present time. At this time homosexuality and AIDs was viewed in a negative light. The general tone of the movie was that homosexuality was a horrible form of deviance, and that these deviants deserved this fate. I was born in ninety-four and was far too young to understand this part of culture. From my understanding the movie correctly portrays the fear and hate of both homosexuals and individuals stricken with the HIV virus. Since the release of this movie, our culture has gained a better understanding and appreciation for both homosexuality and the HIV virus. HIV hasn’t been cured, but more efficient treatment has been developed that allows for better quality of life and decreases chances of transmitting the disease. We’ve also realized that anybody can contract HIV regardless of their sexual orientation. Homosexuality has become more and more accepted in our culture as well. We have begun to separate traditional gender roles and accept that homosexuality isn’t a choice but something natural. Acceptance of homosexuality and sexual orientation of all types has a long way to go to become a second thought in our culture. Legalizing same sex marriage a year ago was a large step in the correct

This chapter is titled, “Emotions: Feeling, Thinking, and Communicating.” The court case this movie revolves around is based upon emotion not physical evidence. Joe Miller realizes his case isn’t about wrongful termination due to an unknown disease. His case is about homosexuality and the culture of fear it produces over the jury. Joe Miller began to seek a change from debilitative emotions to facilitative ones. Joe, Andrew, the judge, and the rest of the courtroom grew up in the culture I’ve previously mentioned. This culture brought upon debilitative emotions. Fear and mystery of the unknown led many to run, hide, or get rid of these feelings. Joe Miller brought this issue to the jury with success. He subsided there fear and allowed them to think more clearly, and have facilitative emotions. By exemplifying there fear, Joe Miller won the