Justice and Discrimination in the Film "Philadelphia" (1993) by Jonathan Demme (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (English Department), course: Law and Literature, language: English, abstract: This term paper deals with the severe aspects of justice and discrimination, which form a strong contrast in a case that seems to be hopeless. "No Justice! No Peace" describes the seedy atmosphere of Philadelphia that Andrew Beckett lives in. The young lawyer just got promoted but, when his senior partners of the prestigious law firm that he is working for, find out about his illness, he gets dismissed.

The film "Philadelphia" cannot be summed up within just one sentence because it combines several elements in one. Why is the film named after the city, and what could it reveal about the plot? After all, the sake of justice makes him win his case despite all controversies. Why is that so? How does director Jonathan Demme manage to present this within the film, and what speaks for the victim, Andrew Beckett? "No Justice! No Peace!" are the scratched words on elevator doors in one of the first scenes of the film, starting to be the first implication for his way of suffering in the city of Philadelphia. Does he find justice and peace after all?

Therefore, this term paper deals with the influence the protagonist receives in order to have faith in justice once again and how it is presented. Another important point is to focus on the aspect of discrimination toward people that are clearly categorised as other/different when compared to the average society. The film gives clear examples of daily struggles people with AIDS or homosexuals faced during the release of the film. Both central elements are combined and entwined during the courtroom scene, which forms the main part of this scientific work and focuses on the lawyer Joe Miller, who changes his homophobic attitude during the encounter with Andrew Beckett as his client. Relevant questions that occur are if society is primarily homophobic and if there is justice for people that acted rather reckless once than reasonable. The answers will be given through the context of the film and will reveal if "Philadelphia" proves to be the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence where All Men are Equal.