Philadelphia Movie Essay

The movie Philadelphia stars Denzel Washington and Tom hanks as two young thriving lawyers in the prime of their career. It begins with Denzel and Tom in a mediation session about a case that they were both working on, so this is how they get to know each other. In the movie Hanks works in one of the top firms in Philadelphia. It is clear that he is loved by all the staff and even his bosses. One evening the senior partners of the firm invite Hanks in their office and offer him the chance to litigate one the biggest suits the firm has ever received. Hanks immediately accepts the offer and is elated, because this could be his career changing case. While one of the partners were congratulating Hanks he notices a lesion on his forehead, and proceeds
It is clear to Hanks at this point that he was not fired due to this alone, but there was something deeper going on. He realizes that all of this has come about shortly after being questioned about the lesion on his face, which is commonly linked with people battling AIDs. He then theorizes that he has been in fact fired due for having AIDs. Hanks hires Denzel Washington to be his lawyer and brings forth a wrongful termination suit on the grounds of discrimination against the law firm. During this time in the 1980’s being gay was extremely stigmatized, and added on top of that the discovery of AIDs was fairly recent and labeled the gay disease. Due to this many people were being discriminated against when it was found out that they had AIDs. In the early 1980’s, because of all the discrimination that stemmed from the epidemic, it was added to the Vocation Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as a protected handicap. Through the trial the defense stayed firm that Hanks was let go due to his inadequate work. However, as their witnesses took the stand their case began to crumble. Washington asked the defense witnesses questions that caused them to show how hateful and bigoted they were about gays, which is what ultimately led to the Washington(