Television Topic: Angels in America

Analysis

I will choose characters who are Prior Walters, Harpers and Roy Cohn. Prior Walter is presented as a gay person who lives with the disease of HIV and AIDs. Roy, on the other hand, is a lawyer who is gay (Fujuta, 2006). Kushner presents him as later contracting HIV and AIDs though he tries to live in denial for the better part of his time.

The dilemma of Sexual Identity

The queer people are faced with the dilemma of sexual identity. Roy Cohn stated in the play that ‘Roy Cohn is a heterosexual man, Henry, who fucks around with guys.’ By his words, Roy Cohn was outrightly rejecting the label of being a homosexual. The queer people are inwardly struggling to identify themselves (Schultz, 2006). There is a battle between the emotional feelings towards people of the same sex, on one hand, and the fear and the danger of being labeled as a gay or homosexual person. People like Roy Cohn believe that people can easily take advantage of him once he is labeled as gay. He also feels that being labeled gay means that one is weak. This shapes the normal thinking of the immediate society. While society often feels that gays are out to express their love for other men, this play helps the people to understand that the gays and gay couples have their struggles in trying to get out of the social identity with which they are branded. The gays are also living in self-denial as explained in the next section.

Self-Denial of Gays

Secondly, gay sex feeling for the queer men is full of self- denial. Roy’s friend such as Harper stated that “It was wrong of me to marry you. I knew you… […] It’s a sin, and it’s killing us both. […] Are you a homo?” These words show a Harpers was inwardly struggling with the sex life of gayism. The society may be outright in their disdain for the gay acts. The play helps the members of society to understand that even the men are struggling to understand themselves (Kushner, 2014). Roy Cohn was involved in crimes of passion such as the execution of the LGBT group members while trying to hide his identity. Roy executed Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were also gays. This also shows his dislike for his status and the status of others thought who were also struggling like him. Accordingly, the immediate society should not be too harsh to the population. Judging the population out rightly would only mean worsening the already bad situation. Apart from the self-denial, the lives of the gays are unique as explained in the next section.

Unique Sex Life

The sex life of the queer people is not all that smooth. It is also not a healthy one and one does not need the sex in order for the relationship to be strong. Harpers who is a major character states that ‘You think you’re the only one who hates sex; I do; I hate it with you; I do. I dream that you batter away at me till all my joints come apart, like wax, and I fall into pieces’ (Hogan, 2012). In the current society, all gays are viewed as people who have and enjoy sex with other men. In fact, they are viewed as not capable of doing any other thing than sleeping around with men. The words of Harpers here go to show that gay’s sex is not based on mutual enjoyment (Hogan, 2012). In fact, from some angle based on the comments of the gays themselves, one would think that the sex from the queer people is the worst sex on the face of the earth. The other partner feels battered when they are having sex. This shows that the sex between gays is hostile and does not bring the connection between the couple. This particular idea is not very common to most heterosexual viewers. The heterosexuals often think that there is too much emotional intimacy between people in gay relationships. The play changes the attitude and this seemingly traditional thinking. Even with the unique sex style, the gays still chose to cover up their desires as explained in the next section.

Cover-Up of the Gay Life

The ideal situation of the queer members is to cover up their situation unless they find people in whom they can confide. Episode two of the play presents a conversation between Roy and Joe in the following manner: “Joe: I never stood out, on the outside, but inside, it was hard for me. To pass. Roy: Pass as what? Joe: Oh. Well… As someone cheerful and strong.” (Kushner, 1993). This explains to the normal society members why the members of the queer people’s community like to cover up their identity (Kushner, 1993). The members are skeptical about how society will receive them. In this episode, Joe was just about to declare that he is gay. He, however, retreats for the fear of what Roy would think about him. This goes to show that if the society would become less conservative and judgmental, the American society may experience the rise in the number of gays since that will have a favorable environment to express themselves. This informs the society that there are several members of the American population that are innately gay but would not express themselves for fear of immediate backlash. In fact, it is only the Aids crisis that enabled the gays to be open regarding their sexual orientation. Despite the cover-up, the playwriter explains that the gay acts have biblical underpinnings as explained in the next section.

Biblical Basis of Gayism

The other idea is that someone is not just gay. The play of ‘Angels of America’ uses the angels and ghost things that are sacred to showcase how they rapidly engage in gay sex. In fact, the playwriter further describes that Heaven is like San Francisco (Kushner, 2014). The story is also buttressed by the constant reference to the Bible texts (Nutu, 2006). The playwriter specifically refers to the text where Jacob had a fight with an Angel of the Lord (Kushner, 2014). The example of the engagement in sex showcases that to be gay is not to be religiously prohibited as the communities have always thought. The reference of the Heaven and its likening to San Fransisco means that even Heaven is also faced with similar Aids crisis as it were in San Francisco (Kushner, 2014). At the time of penning the play in 1983, the Aids crisis in San Francisco was spiraling. The playwriter uses the symbolism to explain that the sex situation and crises in the world are not any different from the way it is in heaven. The playwriter stretches the imagination of the religious community and thus calls them not to be dogmatic in their reasoning. Before the religious community comes blazing on the topic of gayism, they must also be ready to accept that the sexual acts of the lesser beings can be validated if the angels can do the same. According to Kushner, therefore, to be gay is a form of expression of the sexual desires which is a sacred thing (Hogan, 2012). The biblical origin is the basis of the sacred nature of gay sex as explained below.

Sacred Nature of Gayism

Gayism as a form of sexual relationship has the heavenly blessing and is by a scared design (Kushner, 2014). When the angel visited Prior, he erected instead of doing the usual bowing down to the heavenly being. This means that sex is based on heavenly activities (Kushner, 2014). In fact, the writer presents that the angels are able to cum during intercourse. When the Angel cum, they release a gel-like liquid which is responsible for the creation. This goes to show that sex, whatever form it takes, is sacred and has heavenly blessings. The idea that gay sex may be having the heavenly blessing is not readily obvious to the common viewers. The play serves therefore to shape the thinking of the community so that they do not go on discrimination-spree without having to first rationalize the activities of the queer members of the community. Apart from gay sex life, the gays also live other lives, political lives, as explained the next part.

Political Dynamics

Politics is guided not by morals. The play presents Roy as being hungry for power. He is a power broker. He is also a capitalist who aims at acquiring and amassing wealth. When he lay on his deathbed, he describes politics to be like activity of the intestines (Kushner, 2014). He likens it to the sound of the intestines called borborygmi. According to him, the process is not guided by morals and one should be guided by the strong power to amass wealth and nothing else. This shows that even if Roy is gay, he can still make certain achievements on earth. Though he makes them with reckless abandon, he seems to make some effort which is not defined by his sexual identity.

Conclusion

The play of Angles of America is indeed mind-blowing. It sets the stage for the change of mind, perception, attitudes as well as traditional dogmas. During 1983 at the time the play was written, there was a prevalence of gay sex as well as HIV/AIDs prevalence among them. The playwriter seeks to deconstruct the media-bound stigma created by the Aids crisis and restore the sacred nature of sex by likening it to heavenly beings such as angels. The writer is successful in doing so by relating sex to the solemn act creation. The society gets to learn the struggles of the gays in coming in open and the personal issues of sex enjoyment in order to liken it to heterosexuals.

Works Cited

1. Frantzen, A. J. (2000). Before the closet: same-sex love from” Beowulf” to” Angels inAmerica”. University of Chicago Press.
2. Schultz, J. A. (2006). Heterosexuality as a threat to medieval studies.Journals
3. Fujuta, A. (2006). Queer Politics to Fabulous Politics in Angels in America: Pinklisting andForgiving Roy Cohn. Tony Kushner: New Essays on the Art and Politics of the Plays.Ed. James Fisher. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 112-26.
4. Kushner, T. (1993). Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Vol. 1). Theatre Communications Group.
5. Kushner, T. (2014). Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition. Theatre Communications Group.
6. Nutu, E. (2006). Angels in America and Semiotic Cocktails of Sex, Bible an Politics. Biblical Interpretation, 14(1-2), 175-186.
7. Hogan, K. (2012). Green Angels in America: Aesthetics of Equity. The Journal of American Culture, 35(1), 4-14.