Philadelphia

The movie, Philadelphia, was an excellent example of the severe

discrimination many people with Aids are exposed to. In this instance the

main character, Andy ,was also gay. Unfortunately, in our society, he was

faced with a double whammy. The gay iss

is controversial enough, but to compound that in the work force with having

Aids would be almost unbearable for any person to cope with. Tom Hanks

played Andy with a serious need to communicate to the viewers how everyday

life, work, emotions and ment

well being are affected by this kind of situation. The movie was well cast

and thoughtfully portrayed Andy\\\'s serious predicament. The theme was very

interesting. It made me realize how lucky I am to not have to deal with

those kinds of problems.

It\\\'s really very frightening to realize, as Andy did, that even our legal

system can be discriminating. When he started looking for a lawyer, he found

many people who did not want to represent him because of his illness. The

frustration he felt must ha

been a real burden. Most people were afraid of him. Even the man who

finally represented him was afraid of him. He soon came to understand Andy

was no threat to his health or his reputation, but someone he learned from

and ended up becoming friends

th.

Andy himself feared his disease even before he was sure he had it. He did

not want to go for his blood test. He didn\\\'t want to face the reality of

having Aids. He really didn\\\'t have any choice. After the doctor confirmed

his fears and diagnosed him a

having Aids, Andy began to deal with the news and the way it was changing his

life and how people treated him. His employer was trying to shaft him. He

fought for his rights, not knowing what the outcome would be, but knowing

this was something he fel

he must do.

The turning point in the movie for Andy was when he was in the library trying

to learn more about Aids. He was asked by the librarian to go to a private

room. His lawyer was there and saw this happening, although he was hiding

behind a pile of books.

guess this is when he realized Andy needed him to help protect his rights.

It killed me to think just because someone has an illness people don\\\'t

understand that they can let their ignorance make them behave in a way they

normally wouldn\\\'t. To tell yo

the truth I can\\\'t honestly say I would have acted any different then the

librarian did !!! The lawyer took the book Andy was holding out of his hand

to show the librarian he was not afraid getting the disease by touching

something Andy had touched. An

must have felt one hell of a big relief when that happened !!! He finally

had someone on his side.

I hated the firm Andy worked for. At first they seemed okay, but after they

tried shafting Andy, I was really pissed. He worked for them, produced for

them, was an asset to their business and then they just blew him off. The

blowing him off part wasn

as bad as how they tried to do it. They tried