Essay about The Power of Angels in America - 2546 Words

The Power of Angels in America Such ethical possibility is, however, founded on and coextensive with the subjects movement toward what Foucault calls care of the self, the often very fragile concern to provide the self with pleasure and nourishment in an environment that is perceived not particularly to offer them. -Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Demanding that life near AIDS is an inextricably other reality denies our ability to recreate a sustaining culture and social structures, even as we are daily required to devote such time to the details of the AIDS crisis. -Cindy Patton Tony Kushners two-part play (or, if you will, two plays) Angels In America is one of most famous and most powerful plays†¦show more content†¦Rogoffs Angels in America, Devils in the Wings is an article thats decidedly critical of the Broadway production of Tony Kushners Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. He begins his critique with as one who lives a life rather than a lifestyle, Im not sure what a gay play, let alone a gay fantasia might be (21). As one who lives a life rather than a lifestyle myself, I find this opening to the essay to conjure linguistic maneuvers of the conservative right used to dismiss the grievances of gay men. While I may be going out on a limb in this analysis, most often the binary life vs. lifestyle is code for heterosexual vs. homosexual-in short, gays and lesbians dont live lives but rather we live lifestyles. Ours are mockeries of real lives, thus requiring the supplemental -style. Rogoff is not sure what a gay play...might b e. In truth, this is no easy question, and there are no easy answers to it. Are the plays of Tennessee Williams, such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie gay plays, since the author was gay? Or do only his later works qualify as gay plays, as they focused specifically on gay material? Are any of the plays of William Shakespeare gay plays, for that matter? Or is this an appellation reserved for post-Stonewall, politically oriented gay plays? These could potentially be veryShow MoreRelatedValues and Standards in Kushners Angels in America Essays1088 Words   |  5 Pagesof Joe and Roy implied in the play, â€Å"Angels in America† by Tony Kushner, while discussing how they can be both valuable and questionable. Kushner implies that religious ideals act as guidelines for those who follow them. He brings this point across with the character called Joe. A Mormon who has used those religious standards to fight off the â€Å"wrong or ugly† and has modified his behavior to what is â€Å"decent† or â€Å"Correct† (Angels in America pg. 40). Joe also talks about the pictureRead MoreHomosexuals: Coming Out of the Closet in Angels in America Essay1069 Words   |  5 Pages Author Steven Seidman writes that â€Å"it is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individuals life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America â€Å"(38). Those that are homosexual tends to tell lies and play deceitful silly games just to appease family, coworkers and a few dear old friends. They feed into the prejudices and fears about homosexuality. In Angels in America, many of the characters are homose xual, and theRead MoreThe Religious Of Religious Texts1428 Words   |  6 Pagestown of Ashton. This clearly indicates that Christianity has not been constant in America and is faced with the immense forces of dark power. Certainly, new interests and issues have emerged but they have not altered the role of religion in the Americans life. Diversity forms the only characteristic that differentiates the late twentieth century religion from the rest of the America’s History . Numerous aspects of America society changed in the 1960s and so did the religious diversity. By this periodRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1521 Words   |  7 PagesThe book The Killer Angels was published in 1975 by the Ballatine Booksand was written by Michael Shaara. The Killer Angels is a historic novel about the time of the American Civil War, more specifically The Battle of Gettysburg. Shaara wrote this historical masterpiece with the sole purpose of letting the reader know exactly how t he war was for the men actually putting their lives on the line to get this great country of America to the stature it is today. In order to accomplish his goal of creatingRead MoreThe Aids Epidemic1504 Words   |  7 PagesAngels in America ambitiously covers themes varying from politics and justice, love and abandonment, to homosexuality and religion. There are undoubtedly too many issues to thoroughly analyze each and every one, but disease and destruction stand out: specifically the representation of AIDS and its affects on the individual acceptance and defining of sexuality, as well as, society’s perspectives. Angels in America is an accurate, honest portrayal of the slow deterioration of the human body, the soul’sRead MoreAngels: Messengers of God Essay examples1452 Words   |  6 Pagesoften have no problem accepting that angels are messengers from God, and they bring protection, healing, encouragement, and hope into our lives. These people find an ease and c omfort in having faith in God and his messengers. However, in the same regard there are some people who lack the amount of faith and belief who cannot fathom their being a God or any type of greater being like an angel watching over them. These people are agnostics and athiests. Angels are messengers of God in the HebrewRead More Allen Ginsbergs America Essay1708 Words   |  7 PagesAllen Ginsbergs America In Allen Ginsberg’s â€Å"America,† the speaker angrily blasts America in a one-sided argument. In this poem America is personified and is addressed by the speaker as if it were human. After calling himself America the speaker asks several rhetorical questions that make the reader think about America’s ethical and moral values while questioning its goals and ambitions. In essence, the speaker presents to the reader those unanswerable questions that neither himself norRead MoreFeminism And Its Effect On Society946 Words   |  4 PagesAs stated before, America in the Reagan period was not comfortable with homosexuality, which resulted in denial about AIDS and in-turn general unawareness regarding the disease. At that time if a person was diagnosed with AIDS, they were automatically labelled as gay, despite the medical inaccuracy of that generalization. The discrimination was so strong, that AIDS became a part of the homosexual identity. There have been instanc es where a man, who identified as homosexual, was considered untouchableRead More A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez514 Words   |  3 Pagesto me when I used to live in South America. The magic realism used in this story illustrates many aspects of our society today. The reaction of the people in the town towards the appearance of an unknown creature with a bald skull, just a few teeth in his mouth and enormous and dirty wings resembling a rare angel, makes me think about how people are very intolerant to differences of other individuals. I concluded this when I read the part in which the angel is staying motionless lying on theRead MoreChristian Doctrine: Angels are Warriors of God1324 Words   |  6 Pagesthink of the word, angel. You probably think of winged beings who sit on clouds all day singing and playing lyres. If you had thought that, you are wrong, very wrong. Angels are warriors of God, abiding by His Laws and His Laws only. They are protectors of earth and its inhabitants and sometimes, the destroyers. An angel’s importance may not be widely known, but their job for us will never be forgotten. Angels are pure spirits that were created by God. The English word, angel, comes from a Greek