Response to Philadelphia
In a publicity image for the 1993 motion picture Philadelphia, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are portrayed on opposite sides of a black and white background, facing in opposite directions, with a gavel in between them. Without even watching the film, we might notice the obvious separation of the two characters. For years the word separation has been closely associated with matters regarding race, class, and religion. This particular film focuses on separation in regard to the ill and the healthy. The film Philadelphia portrays how the world of the healthy views the world of the sick; it also illustrates the stigma of being ill. Throughout the film there are various scenes that demonstrate this separation between these two worlds. Susan Sontag’s essay AIDS and Its Metaphors discusses many of the same ideas that are represented in the film.
“So, you were concealing your illness…?”
Tom Hanks’ character, Andy Beckett, is fired as an act of discrimination against him because he has contracted AIDS. He plans to sue the law firm from which he was fired and seeks representation from Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington. During the scene in which Beckett goes to Miller to discuss the possible case, multiple elements in the cinematography intensify the separation between these two characters. As Beckett walks into the room, Miller greets him with a handshake without hesitation, but once Beckett tells Miller he has AIDS the atmosphere changes instantly. Miller quickly withdraws his hand then steps back behind his desk, separating them physically. While the two engage in conversation from this point onward the camera focuses on everything that Beckett touches and the lesions on his face. We are able to see by the expression on Miller’s face that he is very uncomfortable and he keeps his distance from Beckett, as if a person could catch AIDS simply by contact. As the scene progresses Beckett begins to explain why he is trying to make a case against his previous employer. Once he finishes his story, it almost seems as though Miller is defending the actions of the law firm by questioning Beckett as to whether or not he was up front with his employers about his disease. Whether or not an individual is ill should not play a role in the event of firing someone, especially if it does not affect that individual’s quality of work. By the end of the scene, Miller makes it clear that he has no interest in helping Beckett make a case and wants nothing to do with him. According to Sontag, we view those who are diseased, particularly those with AIDS, as “members of a certain ‘risk group,’ a community of pariahs.” Once the identity of those who are ill is revealed we no longer view them as people, instead we see them just as a disease and want nothing to do with them.
“Something’s come over you Andy, a kind of stupor or fogginess.”
In the previous scene, Beckett explains to Miller why he feels that he was fired from the firm. A flashback takes us to the scene where Beckett was called in to be fired. The arrangements of the seats are so that all of the heads of the firm are on one end of the table and Beckett is completely isolated at the other end. This distance between Beckett and his colleagues is another good representation of how the sick and the healthy are separated from each other. In this case the distance may be seen as a representative of quarantine; a small group of individuals who are ill are kept far from the masses out of caution to prevent the spread of disease. Beckett believes that he was fired because one of the partners noticed a lesion on his face and knew that such lesions were caused by AIDS. According to Sontag, “Those who have not already succumbed are described as “under assault, showing the telltale symptoms of the disease”…” When someone is ill we tend to keep a safe distance from them, especially if we can see from their outward appearance that they are not well.
“This is the essence of discrimination”
As the film progresses there is a scene where both Beckett and Miller are in a law library. At the beginning of the scene Miller is reading and eating when a man of assumed authority walks by and gives him a condescending look. Miller is an African-American, well educated lawyer, and for that man of authority to give him such a look suggests prejudice against Miller. This is significant because it connects Miller and Beckett; both of these individuals have experienced a form of discrimination. Since Beckett is not able to find someone to represent him in court he decides to represent himself. An employee at the library approaches Beckett with some literature that he requested and suggests that he move to a private research room. This catches Miller’s attention and he watches from a distance to see what is going to happen. Beckett refuses to go to the private room, and questions the employee as to whether or not his presence is making him uncomfortable. This is where Miller steps in and decides to help Beckett with his case. Even with Millers change of heart, he sits on the opposite end of the table across from Beckett. The camera then pans out to show a symmetrical division between the two characters. Even with a willingness to help sick individuals, the healthy keep their distance.
This film allows us to get a better understanding of how the world of the sick and that of the healthy are divided. This separation may not be as obvious as that of race or class, but it is present. The growth that is seen in Joe Miller is a representative of society. And like Joe Miller we can also grow to become more comfortable with ‘the other side’.
“So, you were concealing your illness…?”
Tom Hanks’ character, Andy Beckett, is fired as an act of discrimination against him because he has contracted AIDS. He plans to sue the law firm from which he was fired and seeks representation from Joe Miller, played by Denzel Washington. During the scene in which Beckett goes to Miller to discuss the possible case, multiple elements in the cinematography intensify the separation between these two characters. As Beckett walks into the room, Miller greets him with a handshake without hesitation, but once Beckett tells Miller he has AIDS the atmosphere changes instantly. Miller quickly withdraws his hand then steps back behind his desk, separating them physically. While the two engage in conversation from this point onward the camera focuses on everything that Beckett touches and the lesions on his face. We are able to see by the expression on Miller’s face that he is very uncomfortable and he keeps his distance from Beckett, as if a person could catch AIDS simply by contact. As the scene progresses Beckett begins to explain why he is trying to make a case against his previous employer. Once he finishes his story, it almost seems as though Miller is defending the actions of the law firm by questioning Beckett as to whether or not he was up front with his employers about his disease. Whether or not an individual is ill should not play a role in the event of firing someone, especially if it does not affect that individual’s quality of work. By the end of the scene, Miller makes it clear that he has no interest in helping Beckett make a case and wants nothing to do with him. According to Sontag, we view those who are diseased, particularly those with AIDS, as “members of a certain ‘risk group,’ a community of pariahs.” Once the identity of those who are ill is revealed we no longer view them as people, instead we see them just as a disease and want nothing to do with them.
“Something’s come over you Andy, a kind of stupor or fogginess.”
In the previous scene, Beckett explains to Miller why he feels that he was fired from the firm. A flashback takes us to the scene where Beckett was called in to be fired. The arrangements of the seats are so that all of the heads of the firm are on one end of the table and Beckett is completely isolated at the other end. This distance between Beckett and his colleagues is another good representation of how the sick and the healthy are separated from each other. In this case the distance may be seen as a representative of quarantine; a small group of individuals who are ill are kept far from the masses out of caution to prevent the spread of disease. Beckett believes that he was fired because one of the partners noticed a lesion on his face and knew that such lesions were caused by AIDS. According to Sontag, “Those who have not already succumbed are described as “under assault, showing the telltale symptoms of the disease”…” When someone is ill we tend to keep a safe distance from them, especially if we can see from their outward appearance that they are not well.
“This is the essence of discrimination”
As the film progresses there is a scene where both Beckett and Miller are in a law library. At the beginning of the scene Miller is reading and eating when a man of assumed authority walks by and gives him a condescending look. Miller is an African-American, well educated lawyer, and for that man of authority to give him such a look suggests prejudice against Miller. This is significant because it connects Miller and Beckett; both of these individuals have experienced a form of discrimination. Since Beckett is not able to find someone to represent him in court he decides to represent himself. An employee at the library approaches Beckett with some literature that he requested and suggests that he move to a private research room. This catches Miller’s attention and he watches from a distance to see what is going to happen. Beckett refuses to go to the private room, and questions the employee as to whether or not his presence is making him uncomfortable. This is where Miller steps in and decides to help Beckett with his case. Even with Millers change of heart, he sits on the opposite end of the table across from Beckett. The camera then pans out to show a symmetrical division between the two characters. Even with a willingness to help sick individuals, the healthy keep their distance.
This film allows us to get a better understanding of how the world of the sick and that of the healthy are divided. This separation may not be as obvious as that of race or class, but it is present. The growth that is seen in Joe Miller is a representative of society. And like Joe Miller we can also grow to become more comfortable with ‘the other side’.
