Hanna Fathima

1930523

Reflective Note - Philadelphia

Watching the film, Philadelphia made me understand the extent to which I was unaware

of the details of AIDS and added connotations. The film, which won several Oscars, is a highly

impactful reminder of the consequences of AIDS and, moreover, the societal discrimination that

allows. In the movie, Joe Miller, the lawyer, states a line that more or less sums up the prejudice,

“society wants to put away people who have aids far away from the rest.” In the movie, Andy is

fired from his law firm since he was infected with AIDS under the guise of him being

incompetent. This shows how the law firm did not want to appear prejudiced and decided to

rather fire a highly competent talented lawyer by labeling him as incompetent. Since the

beginning of the movie, the audience can notice how the people in the background were reacting

to those infected with AIDS; as soon as joe Miller understood Andy was AIDS, he distanced

himself and even went for a check-up. This shows the ignorance and the prejudice that stems up

from it. Individuals with AIDS were often viewed as people who brought it upon themselves,

and hence the public did not feel they owed them sympathy. The movie also highlights the issue

of “double discrimination”. Tom hank’s character was a homosexual, and during the 90s there

was an alarming prejudice against this, combined with hatred, misconception, and repulsion.

Therefore a gay person who had AIDS was considered a social pariah and is looked at with

disgust. This movie was made more than a decade after AIDS was identified as a disease, and in

itself was a bold statement. Despite the fact that a huge number of people had been infected with

AIDS, the representation was still low. Filmmakers were afraid of introducing this in cinema.
Moreover, even when there were movies that portrayed AIDS, heterosexuals were the victims,

hence staying away from the controversial section of society.

It was very refreshing to see a highly supportive family. Andy’s parents and siblings were

extremely supportive of him and stayed with him throughout his treatment. They did not blame

him for his condition and neither did they cast him out. However, the family that was portrayed

in the movie Philadelphia is seldom the reality. Yes, there are families that are supportive. But

the families of the majority of the AIDS-infected individuals are not this supportive and can add

to the suffering.

Fortunately, after more than two decades since this movie was released, society’s reaction

to homosexuals has changed dramatically and there have also been multiple laws made in the

LGBTQ community’s favor, and the society’s outlook towards people infected with AIDS has

also improved along with treatment options. However, there still exists a large section of society

that still has varied misconceptions about the disease.