Jonathan Demme's 1993 Philadelphia portrays LGBTQ lives and characteristics as they exist almost exclusively in particularly white and upper- middle-class settings, but his focus on this racial and class faction realistically reflects, with the exception of sexuality, the life and perspective of a gay man living in such a socio-economic faction. To be gay in this film is to be either white and upper- middle-class or perfectly demonized, and the expression of homosexuality through sexual or desirous interaction is almost completely avoided in the film. Throughout the film, we encounter scenes and characters that portray the lives of gays and lesbians in the late 80's, but the films main focus is on the lives of upper- middle- class, white, gay men. Andrew Beckett is our main source of the "gay perspective," but his is limited by his class and race, and most importantly by the film's portrayal of his sexuality. When we first encounter Andy in his own home, it is clear that he associates with other gay, white men, and that he is relatively wealthy. His home is decorated with all kinds of art and the modern design and red color of the interior suggest his luxurious taste. There are very few moments in which Andy even displays intimacy towards his lover, Miguel, while Joe, a straight, black man, expresses his sexuality very openly with his wife in many scenes. Andy's sexuality is relegated to scenes outside of the purview of the film, and they are left for us to imagine, though the scenes in the film hardly allow us to do so. In this way, Tom Hanks rather poorly characterizes the gay man he was playing. He behaves as though he is closeted even when he is alone with his lover, and his sexuality is meant to be taken for granted, not realized or texturized by any realistic expression of desire. The qualities of Andy that we can consider "gay" are rather seen in certain stereotypical instances, such as when we see his flamboyantly colorful and artistic apartment and when he becomes lost in his favorite aria, dancing so indulgently that Joe feels uncomfortable and leaves. However, while Andy is not the most sexual gay man, his expressions of emotional affection with Miguel are touching and complicated. The cares and concerns of a gay man having contracted AIDS ware on their relationship in ways that are very clearly expressed by both Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas. At one point, the two men are together in their apartment, and their conversation about Andy's impending death is touching, especially when Tom Hanks fearfully raises the pitch of his voice before deciding to throw a party at their apartment to do something special for Miguel. The emotions of their relationship are also complicated by Andy's apparent rendezvous with a man at the Stallion Theatre while engaging in a relationship with Miguel. They seem to be very fond of each other, but whatever impact Andy's infidelity had on their relationship may explain some of the distance in their sexual life as well as Miguel's somewhat disimpassioned goodbye to Andy at the end.
If Andy's sexuality was coded by his love of opera and his flamboyant apartment, Miguel's was coded by his effeminate hysteria that seems to be linked with his Hispanic ethnicity. Miguel seems to be the stereotypical "hot-blooded Spaniard" that is only present to be the average, gay, white man's implied object of desire. Whenever they are in the hospital, Miguel is picking fights with all the doctors that are simply telling him the real nature of Andy's medical situation. At one point, he can be heard screaming, "It's not working!" to a group of doctors taking care of Andy, even to the point where one of the doctors must escort him out of the room. In his first scene he picks a fight with the doctor who tells him that Andy will need to have a colonoscopy done. Miguel's sexuality is limited in the film by his ethnicity in a way that seems to place him in the "woman's" role in his relationship with Andy.
Miguel is not the only gay character of color in the film, as Joe is approached by a young black, gay man who wants to have sex with him. But this character is completely demonized in the film, and he represents the worst qualities of promiscuity and cockiness for which gay men, as Joe says, are often criticized by straight people. While there were plenty of other settings in which a gay character might have come onto Joe, this man approaches Joe in a pharmacy in a way that seems both unsolicited and inappropriate. The only good thing that we could say about this black gay character was that he was at least might have been going to the pharmacy to purchase condemns in order to practice safe sex. African American sexuality seems to have been, for both gay and straight black men, far more explicit and open than the sexualities of Andy and Miguel.
While this film did well to capture the emotional connections between Andy and Miguel, its representations of sexuality with regard to race and ethnicity were particularly stereotypical and clearly Anglo-centric. Andy's homosexuality comes across as the most tolerable inasmuch as it is strictly coded, but firmly white and "masculine," with the exception of his brief moment of musical ecstasy.
If Andy's sexuality was coded by his love of opera and his flamboyant apartment, Miguel's was coded by his effeminate hysteria that seems to be linked with his Hispanic ethnicity. Miguel seems to be the stereotypical "hot-blooded Spaniard" that is only present to be the average, gay, white man's implied object of desire. Whenever they are in the hospital, Miguel is picking fights with all the doctors that are simply telling him the real nature of Andy's medical situation. At one point, he can be heard screaming, "It's not working!" to a group of doctors taking care of Andy, even to the point where one of the doctors must escort him out of the room. In his first scene he picks a fight with the doctor who tells him that Andy will need to have a colonoscopy done. Miguel's sexuality is limited in the film by his ethnicity in a way that seems to place him in the "woman's" role in his relationship with Andy.
Miguel is not the only gay character of color in the film, as Joe is approached by a young black, gay man who wants to have sex with him. But this character is completely demonized in the film, and he represents the worst qualities of promiscuity and cockiness for which gay men, as Joe says, are often criticized by straight people. While there were plenty of other settings in which a gay character might have come onto Joe, this man approaches Joe in a pharmacy in a way that seems both unsolicited and inappropriate. The only good thing that we could say about this black gay character was that he was at least might have been going to the pharmacy to purchase condemns in order to practice safe sex. African American sexuality seems to have been, for both gay and straight black men, far more explicit and open than the sexualities of Andy and Miguel.
While this film did well to capture the emotional connections between Andy and Miguel, its representations of sexuality with regard to race and ethnicity were particularly stereotypical and clearly Anglo-centric. Andy's homosexuality comes across as the most tolerable inasmuch as it is strictly coded, but firmly white and "masculine," with the exception of his brief moment of musical ecstasy.