MovieChat Forums > Philadelphia (1994) Discussion > The student in the drugstore was in the ...

The student in the drugstore was in the wrong.

posted 12 years ago by yertletheturtle
16 replies | jump to latest

Watching this movie I cannot help but feel that we are supposed to side with the student who approaches Joe in this scene and think that Joe is in the wrong in the way he handles the situation. But consider these things........

1. Why does the student assume Joe is gay? The only possible reason he could have for thinking this is because he is defending a gay in court. So this basically means that the student assumes that only a gay would defend a gay in court and cannot grasp the possibility that the man would just want to help him out because it was the right thing to do.

2. The student KNOWS Joe is married! He was in the store buying diapers and told the student he needed to get home to his wife and the student STILL asks him on a date. This is not even a question of sexual prejudice it is just morally wrong. If the student was willing to pursue him KNOWING he was married and had a child then I think Joe had a right to go above simply saying "no" and needed to make a point that he was not willing to betray his wife.

So how exactly are we supposed to think Joe is in the wrong when he criticizes the student? Sure the slurs he uses are wrong but in general the scene does not do a good job in portraying bias against gays.

Look at that turtle go bro!

[–] lpt0127 12 years ago

i disagree.. i thought that scene did a fantastic job of protraying his bias..

during that scene, Joe hadn't yet developed love and compassion for Andrew as a fellow human being.. he agreed to defend him in court, but his blatant hatred for gays in general was still alive and well.. all it took for that hatred to come out was a simple misunderstanding..

yeah, the student was a bit of a moron for assuming Joe was gay, and he probably shouldn't have been hitting on him, knowing he was married.. but it still didn't justify Joe's violent reaction..

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fctiger 12 years ago

You are a real thinker and gentleman there!

[–] rpe78 12 years ago

I think it's safe to say they were both in the wrong.

[–] TigerlilyBramble_of_WillowBottom 12 years ago

All Joe had to do was say "no thank you, I'm not gay" and walk away. He's never going to see that guy again, so what does he care what he thinks? Plus he's a minor celebrity, so he really just made an ass of himself needlessly.

I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.

[–] Milkdoesabodygood 11 years ago

Me I would have kept on walking but that old white lady gave Joe and gay boy a dirty look so Joe got on the defensive and lashed out at the gay boy as opposed to just saying thanks for the offer but not interested and walking out.

IMDB as of late, sold out and became like City Data and about.com, worthless bureaucrats.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] imtokyojoeiknowtokyo 11 years ago

Friend the "gay homo stuff" line was well worth the price of admission.

It crystallizes the prejudices and reactions of ordinary people placed into that situation by the gay homos who do this, don't you think?

Take care friend.

im tokyo joe and i know tokyo
http://www.tokyojoe.tk

[–] Milkdoesabodygood 11 years ago

Yeah but if the gay guy didn't leave joe Aline on the first try, that becomes sexual harassment and that can land U on some stupid sex offender list/registry, not worth a one night pick up? Now back to the gay bar gay bar. LOL

IMDB as of late, sold out and became like City Data and about.com, worthless bureaucrats.

[–] averagejoeman2013 11 years ago

Well of course the student was wrong as he propositioned a man who was married. Perhaps Denzel reacted with a bit more vinegar than necessary but whose to say they wouldnt be equally insulted if asked to compromise their marriage vows? Since the person making the offer was of the same gender, it was likely akward on top of disrespectful. That said, he should have had a cooler head about it all but it did show another point. Lawyers may represent individuals but it does not mean they are buddy/buddy with their ideals. There is a chasm of difference between tolerance and acceptance and that is a positive thing for society.

"Freedom and morality do not go hand in hand. In fact, they are usually devoid of one another."

[–] diorlouboutin 11 years ago

The movie is not a PSA. The scene is not meant to portray bias against gays. It's meant to reveal something about the character.

And I'm not sure I understand your first point. Plenty of men/women strike up casual conversation in public places and then ask one or the other out on a date. Your question should not by why did he think Miller was gay, it should be why should he have assumed Miller was straight?

[–] drummsteven23 11 years ago

I don't blame Joe for lashing out the way that he did. It would have been wrong for the student to assume that he was gay simply because he was defending a gay. The fact thar he was a law student made it all the dumber. The fact that Miller had a wife and kid made it even dumber (not that a guy with a wife and kid can't be gay; but you get my point). I think that Joe Miller was totally justified in his reaction. And when the student said back to him "Do I look gay to you?"; if I were Miller I would have said "Yeah; you kind of do!". Because that student did look like there was a good chance that he was gay; unlike Denzel.

[–] diorlouboutin 11 years ago

Your post reeks of ignorance. How exactly does someone 'look' gay? You have no idea if someone is romantically interested in you until you ask. The guy was not rude or disrespectful, he just was hitting on someone who was not interested. If you don't get what the point of that scene was you really should re-watch the movie.