The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later - Movie Review Example

April 13, One Step Forward, One Step Backward: The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later Murdering people because of their sexual orientation is never right, but it terrifies people even more when it happens in a small community that prides itself as having a philosophy of “live and let live.” The Laramie Project is a 2002 film, directed by Moisés Kaufman. It is based on a play that he wrote with the Tectonic Theater Project. The movie used interviews from the residents of Laramie, Wyoming and real news reports to determine the media’s and public’s reactions to the brutal murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in Laramie in 1998. Based on the court hearings, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, both young adults, murdered Shepard because he was gay. The paper analyzes the film and the Epilogue that Kaufman directed too. The Epilogue refers to The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, which reflects interviews with the people of Laramie, a decade after Shepard’s death. The community showed that its people have paradoxically regressed and progressed because of their diverse behavioral and attitudinal reactions to Shepard’s murder, which manifested indifference, anger, denial, and acceptance of gay people. Laramie regressed because people showed, immediately and a decade after Shepard’s death, that they are still indifferent to the gravity of homophobia in their culture. Some Laramie people did not want to think that Shepard’s murder should be treated any differently from other murders. A man who was interviewed in Laramie asserts that the murder is only significant because a homosexual is involved. He shows the attitude that he should not care more because a gay person has been killed. Rulon Stacey (Dylan Baker) confides in a co-worker of Kaufman who interviews him, Greg Pierotti (Grant Varjas), that he disagrees with a gay lifestyle, despite Shepard’s death, while others assert that they should all move on because Shepard is an isolated incident (Laramie). After Shepard’s death, a section of Laramie felt apathetic and some people wanted to get on with their lives. A decade after, some people of Laramie continue to be uninterested. In the Epilogue, Sally Palmer says that if the interviewers would ask Laramie people at Wal-Mart about Matthew Shepard, they would say, “Who’s that?” (tectonictheater). Palmer indicates that Laramie has not largely changed. Their “live and let live” mindset means minding their own business. Even the local government does not think that Shepard should be a significant issue up to now. Laramie Mayor Klaus Hanson says that no one from the local government “officially” deals with the LGBT community and the Latinos (tectonictheater). He feels uncomfortable because of how he has his hands clasped and his strained facial expressions. He demonstrates that the local government does not prefer to respond in any grand-scale way to LGBT issues in Laramie. These sentiments reveal that, ten years after Shepard’s murder, many people are apathetic to the concerns of the LGBT group and they would rather sweep Shepard’s case under the rug. Besides indifference, Laramie has regressed due to manifestations of anger that arises from its homophobic culture. Other people were angry, not because they thought that what happened to Shepard was unjust, but because they felt that Shepard died because of his own doing. Sherry Johnson (Laura Linney) is angry that Shepard gets significant media and community attention. She tells Leigh Fondakowski (Kelli Simpkins) that Shepard is a “barfly” who forced himself on people and spread AIDS around. The way she expresses her disgust for Shepard’s character exhibits that she continues to hate gay people with spite (Laramie). Johnson also compares the media attention that Shepard is getting to a police who died. She says: “Here is one of ours and it’s just a little piece in the paper” (Laramie). Evidently, she does not see Shepard as one of them at all. Her reaction shows that Shepard does not deserve media attention and public recognition because he is gay and spread AIDS. She is one example of why anti-gay hostility may turn into violence against gay people. In addition, a decade after Shepard’s death, Dave O’ Malley says that “equally horrific crimes” continue to happen because of race and sexual orientation (tectonictheater). Some people of Laramie persist on hating gay people so vehemently that they would hurt or kill them- even after Shepard. Apart from violence, Laramie has regressed due to prevailing attitudes of denial, because few acknowledged that, as a community, they grew children who could kill gay people. Jonas Slonaker (John McAdams) tells Pierotti that the “live and let live” philosophy of Wyoming is “such crap” because it means keeping secret one’s gay identity (Laramie). He is saying that Laramie people want to deny the truth that they are homophobes. Doc OConnor (Steve Buscemi) tells Stephen Belber (Andy Paris) that people in Wyoming do not “give a damn one way of another” whatever gender or sexuality others have (Laramie). Belber asks: “Really?” He answers: “Thats just what I said, it doesnt matter” (Laramie). He smokes and looks uncomfortable in his movements, which means that, in Wyoming, being gay does matter. Ten years after, Laramie also does not want to think that Shepard’s death should be a big issue to them. Laramie Mayor Hanson defends that “that kind of discrimination probably shouldn’t occur but we don’t need to legislate it in any way shape or form” (tectonictheater). He looks uncomfortable when he says it, which indicates that he does not want to give any special attention to gay rights. Gene Pratt, Mormon spiritual adviser to Russell Henderson, explains that what the convicted killers did may not be a hate crime, but simply something “really stupid” (tectonictheater). Pratt thinks that the ruling on Henderson is “unjust” because he could not have truly premeditated murdering Shepard. He reflects the thinking that being gay is not an issue in Laramie. Jedadiah Schultz talks about lingering questions of whether Shepard’s death was a hate crime or robbery. These beliefs indicate that some Laramie people insist that gender sexuality should not be an issue at all. Other people persevere that Laramie cannot deny who they are- a community that generally hates gay people and that breeds children who hate gay identities. Jen Malmskog (Summer Phoenix) disagrees with individuals who say that Laramie accepts gay people. “It is this kind of a town…That’s a lie because it happened here” (Laramie). She adds: “We have to be sad that we live in a town, state or country that allows this to happen…We are like this” (Laramie). She admits that Laramie promotes gay hate. Reggie Fluty cannot believe that some people continue to say that Shepard’s death is not a hate crime and might even be due to the influence of drugs. She says that “those guys had adrenalin and they were going hard” compared to the usual drunks or people under the influence of drugs (tectonictheater). These interviews underscore that some people in Laramie preferred to deny the reality that they are promoting a homophobic culture. Instead, they plan to maintain the thinking that Laramie has no gender-identity prejudice and discrimination issues, a mindset which worsens the latter because they do not get resolved on a community level. Despite the denial problem, Laramie has improved too because some people also changed regarding their attitudes and behaviors toward the LGBT community. Rob Debree (Clancy Brown), detective in charge of the case, admits to Stephen Belber (Andy Paris) that he used to be homophobic, but not anymore. He asserts that he is “not going to put up with it anymore” (Laramie). He reveals that he has lost friends because of his tolerant beliefs and attitudes, but he does not care anymore. He says that he “feels more comfortable and can sleep at night now” (Laramie). He is an example of a person who changed because he is shocked that homophobia literally kills. Another example is Harry Woods (Bill Irwin), who says that he was “moved” when he saw the tag of people at the end of the homecoming parade (Laramie). The small group of people who walked for Shepard swelled as they turned into another street. He says that they had grown “five times” (Laramie), and so the tag in the end was bigger than the whole parade. To some extent, a number of people did become more compassionate for gay people because of Shepard. A decade after Laramie, more people care about the LGBT community, although problems are still present. Many positive changes happened in schools. Palmer says that the University took a large step in addressing “diversity” (tectonictheater). It made a “huge stand and followed through” (tectonictheater). Furthermore, Hilliker talks about the Matthew Shepard fund. O’Malley says that they formed a “gay-straight alliance” in their high school (tectonictheater). These actions suggest that some Laramie people feel the need to continue educating their children against gay hate. In addition, O’Malley confesses that he changed from not having gay friends and being homophobic to interacting with the LGBT community. A number of individuals are becoming more tolerant of gay people. Nonetheless, Hilliker admits that changing the larger community is “much more difficult,” but they hope to truly transform mindsets someday (tectonictheater). Hilliker says that people are improving “intellectually” because they are talking about their problems more now; however, she says that “[Laramie] have to put [their] money where [their] mouth is” (tectonictheater). These sentiments reveal that attaining greater social acceptance for gay people is in progress. The Epilogue illustrates how anti-gay cultural values and norms are so deeply-seated that they cannot be changed in ten years. Some people continue to be indifferent, angry, and in denial because they do not value gay people as people with the same moral worth as heterosexuals. Nevertheless, a number of people also changed and they developed several initiatives to ensure that Laramie will not fully forget Shepard. In essence, Laramie might have both stepped backward and forward, but as long as the people who respect gay people spread their beliefs for respect and tolerance, Laramie is taking more steps towards becoming truly humane to all gay people. Works Cited tectonictheater. “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. The Laramie Project. Dir. Moisés Kaufman. Perf. Christina Ricci, Steve Buscemi, Kathleen Chalfant. Cane/Gabay Productions, 2002. TV Film. Read More