Although I have never had a problem with homosexuality, In environment grew up I never had a chance to understand in a more detail manner what it is to be homosexual and the difficulties they face. I always made up my mind with inaccurate stories about the reason people were gay and use to judge their behavior. School and society was never open to even the idea of learning about the different aspects related to homosexuality. Nevertheless, I did not understand why it was so hard for others to accept homosexuality as a natural aspect of humanity.
After years of ignorance, I have had the chance to learn through different life experiences about the differences between heterosexuality and homosexuality, and the need to embrace both types of sexual orientation. I realized that homosexuality has been a natural aspect of human identity since the beginning of man kind. Through history, we read stories about the ancient Greeks and the way they practice homosexuality. I think is time to really understand that, as the soundtrack for The Birdcage goes, "we are all family." We are all equal regardless of our sexual orientation.
The development of the characters, and the plot in The Birdcage allowed me to see a more complete picture of the life of a homosexual while inspiring me to laugh more than any other movie I have seen for the class so far. Armand's family is an example, in my opinion, of how different the homosexual lifestyle can be, yet the important similarities that allows them to be just as effective at having a family as any other heterosexual couple can be. Acceptance, understanding, and love are very important themes of this 1996 Mike Nichols film.
The hypocrisy and repression of natural aspects of humanity reflected on the character of Senator Keeley seem to represent the mental and egocentric barriers that lay between a segregated society and a more healthy community. The repression of personal identity and acceptance of one another is the enemy that we should be fighting against. The inability to embrace our differences can be the biggest problem not only in society, but at the heart of the family.
I believe that The Birdcage makes a very strong argument in response to the segregation that homosexuals experienced in the United States. In my opinion, out of the movies we have watched for class, this is the film has made the best use of comedic devices to expose their argument to the viewers. Nichols not only exposed the life of homosexual characters in a very sincere way, but was able to create a light, yet powerful persuasive argument capable of touching millions. Regardless of the controversial connotation in some parts of the American conservative society, the film grossed more that 180 million dollars world wide and earned the nomination by The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for going beyond the stereotypical characters and explore in a more accurate manner the reality of being homosexual.
You make a good point about the film displaying a wide range of gay characters. It has flamboyant people (Albert and Agador) as well as characters you wouldn't necessarily expect to be gay unless you saw them with their partner (Armand). It is also very true that gay people are often times set apart from the rest of society for being “too different."
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