Im in a birdcage!

The Birdcage is not only just a movie that pushes the boundaries of sexuality but the boundaries of your own beliefs. As we start off this film immediately we see cross dressing for drag shows. This sets us up in a fashion that we can expect a lot more later on. Another issue it sets up right off the bat is that Armand and Albert are good parents. We can see that their son is doing well. He went off to school and has job offers flowing in. This is a problem that the world is facing today. People in our society belief that children should be raised in a traditional home of a man and women. I feel that this movie reflects not only can the raise a child the can do so without the mother being present.

Time is also a contributing factor in this film. They did a wonderful job of showing just how your past decisions can shape your future. We learn more about Armand’s life before his club. He was a good man and had a dead on moral compass. Katherine was also a part of Armand’s past. This showed us that it was later on in his life that he found out he was gay. This is an important factor because society has taught that either you are born gay or you are straight.  Armand is showing us more than just being straight or gay. I feel his role proves to us that life is a journey and life has to mold you and shape you. Albert fits right in to this feeling of “finding out who you really are.”  About half way through the film we understand that he has been picked on for his life choice. Even though this movie address gayness in a lite hearted manner we can see it means so much more than that.

One scene I would like to point out is the scene when the Keeley’s first arrive. This is the part when both families sit down across from you. I felt this part in the movie was an important visual metaphor. As we see everyone gets a turn to speak in this greeting and it usually switches from one side to the other. I felt this was a visual for a chess board game. We see each person trying to protect or attack on another. Even the chairs they were sitting in possessed symbols that reflect those of a traditional chess piece. This I believe is a factor in human nature. We try to win over people and influence them. It can all be just a game to us sometimes.

As a comparison between movies I feel this movie and NBT share a similar theme. In this theme we can see both movies showing people hiding behind religion. This is becoming more of a common factor than I hide imaged. Maybe hiding behind religion is more prominent than I had thought in the first place. Overall great movie.