Philadelphia Movie Ethical Issues

Philadelphia, a film released in 1993 starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington was one of the first major films to cover controversial sexual health issues in the United States. After the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the media feared to exploit the deadly disease and issues concerning sexuality and sexual health were continued to be viewed as taboo. The film aims to depict the current issues (in 1993) dealing with HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia discrimination and the lack of knowledge and prejudices that accompany those issues. Tom Hanks’s character, Andrew Beckett, is a young and driven attorney that made partner at a high-powered law firm. Beckett conceals his sexual orientation as a homosexual male and his HIV/AIDS status from

An example of this in the film is proven when Miller visits his doctor after he was in casual contact with Beckett, knowing that Beckett is HIV-positive. Miller assumed he could contract the virus through airborne particles settling on his clothes. Miller’s physician had to explain to him that HIV can only be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. Another example of an inaccurate interpretation of how HIV is spread in the film is the scene when Wheeler stated to the partners that“ Andy brought AIDS to our office.” AIDS is a syndrome: a collection of multiple symptoms that are acquired from Human Immunodeficiency virus. HIV is transmitted through exchanges of bodily fluids via blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Behaviors that promote risk to transmit HIV are unprotected anal and vaginal sex, sharing needles- injection drug use, piercing/ tattooing, insulin, hormone and vitamin shot, acupuncture and breastfeeding. Airborne, dermal, saliva exchange and other casual contacts with an HIV-positive person have been proven as