Matthew Shepard Essay

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Matthew Shepard Story," directed by Roger Spottiswoode, is a 2002 Canadian-American television film highlighting the true story of 21-year-old gay youth, Matthew Shepard. The film scenario written by Jacob Krueger and John Wierick, stars Stockard Channing as Judy Shepard, Sam Waterson as Dennis Shepard, and Shane Meier as Matthew Shepard. The producers of the film were Alliance Atlantis Communications and the film premiered March 16, 2002 on NBC and CTV. "The Laramie Project," a similar film, aired the same day on HBO.

The film "The Matthew Shepard Story" depicts the violent hate crime committed by a pair of men who beat and rob Matthew one night in October 1998 in Wyoming. Matthew was left to die, while the two men sped off in the car. The first scene in the movie goes straight to the violence, showing the two men tying up, beating Matthew, and taking off his shoes. The fire and the frenzies pace of the scene, coupled with the blurred effect showed just how rushed and unexpected everything must have felt for Matthew as he was experiencing what would later become life-ending injuries. This is a very powerful scene and an excellent way to begin the purpose of the film, which is to show the aftermath of the crime, the parents and how the dealt with the murderers and the life left behind by Matthew and his ability to finally accept whom he was, regardless of the dangers he faced for being homosexual.

Going back to the initial two minutes of the first scene, the men especially the one continuously beating Matthew, almost sounds like a monster as the sound gets slowed even further with every stroke he takes. The other man looks in disbelief as the ruffian continues to beat Matthew to a bloody pulp, perhaps recognizing he is killing him, or on the verge of killing him. There was a level of intoxication, hatred, and ease with which these two men set off- to commit such a heinous hate crime. It certainly drove home the level of hatred in America, especially rural America and even suburban America in regards to homosexuals and sexual expression.

There was so much blood on the hay and it seemed never-ending as the louse kept beating the defenseless and most likely unconscious Matthew. The second even looked disgusted and shocked with the actions of the first. He kept hitting him with the gun and pointed a gun to Matthew's skull almost resembling a sign of overkill. He beat him repeatedly in the head until he was exhausted, looking and smiling to his friend.

Considering America at the time had, the notorious "Bible Belt" filled with homophobic individuals, it came of no surprise, and these men conducted themselves in such a manner. Because they themselves were taught to hate homosexuals, either (Bible readers believed homosexuals were sinners and did not deserve a place in the church) or hated homosexuals out of ignorance, fearful of what homosexuals might do to them. In reality, homosexuals experienced more violence and faced threatening scenarios than any heterosexual male did, with Matthew being a widely known example.

It was important and an excellent decision for the filmmakers (It is a Canadian film) to show the violent act first in order to shock people into the realization that these criminals committed a horrible and violent act. The turmoil the parents experienced from not only losing a beloved son, but also having to face his murderers in court all transitions smoothly from that very first scene, the beating and death of Matthew Shepard.

Another noteworthy scene in the film is Matthew wearing a suit and his mom giving him a corsage for his date as he insists and on wanting to watch the game with his dad. A memory like this, so simple, yet so meaningful, delivers the normalcy of Matthew and shows that regardless of his sexual orientation, he was just a regular kid wanting to spend some time with his father. Regardless of how his attackers perceived him, he was a normal person with feelings and family that loved and cherished him. Much like the Brandon Teena story, people who kill people based on their sexual orientation often see these youths as though they were freaks.

Teena and Shepard were not freaks just because they were homosexual or in the case of Teena, transgendered. They deserved respect and the right to express themselves. To witness these kinds of behaviors in rural areas in America and sometimes in the suburbs showed at the time, the level of intolerance within the United States.

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Thankfully, seventeen years later, people in the United States learned to accept homosexuals and transgendered people, with gay marriage becoming legal nationwide. Homosexuals can adopt now and enjoy the benefits that heterosexual married couples enjoy

Unfortunately, not every country handles homosexuality well and still feel ill sentiment towards homosexuals and transgendered people much like the United States did in the 1990's. Specifically speaking, many Islamic countries do not tolerate homosexuality or transgendered orientation. "Despite the Universalist claims, human rights tend to be applied selectively. Thus, in addition to including anti-discrimination clauses in basic human rights documents, separate declarations, treaties, and protocols are adopted to address the rights of particularly vulnerable populations" (Arat & Nunez, 2014). Countries like Turkey have not seen much in terms of improving rights for women and the LGBT community. This is not to say that Islam promotes violence against homosexuals or any other group. Simply, when looking at international problems with homosexuality, Islamic countries appear the forefront in relation to violence against homosexuals and banning the public display of sexual orientation.

Although Turkey is a part of the United Nations and has been seen to attempt to curb hate crimes within its borders, it still has a sizeable population of homosexuals being targeted maliciously for their sexual orientation. "…religious groups in Turkey may be showing tolerance toward the "deviant" sexual orientation and gender identities in different ways, but by failing to recognize equality in dignity, they continue to construct "others" and sustain an environment that is conducive to violence and violation of human rights" (Arat & Nunez, 2014). Other articles show other countries in Africa and Europe that show resistance to allotting equality to those belonging in the LGBT community.

Inequality cannot simply be blamed on religion. There are other traditions and cultural concepts blocking heterosexuals (or the majority) from fully grasping the idea of equality for all (especially in the LGBT community). For example, in Latin America, the concept of Machismo is prevalent among the various cultures. A notorious example lies in Mexico where men are expected to be strong and virile and women are expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children. Going outside of these concepts will help educate people on how to better navigate the sea of gender identity and sexual orientation. "…give wider attention to sex education than to a solidified "gay" identity. In a wider context of sex education with a focus on sexual citizenship, respect for different identities and behaviors that do not comply to traditional roles can be better integrated" (Dankmeijer, 2015, p. 16).

Although acceptance and equality are the main goals for any LGBT community in any country, the most important aspect of promoting such equality lies in strengthening the government of a country. Research shows the strength of a government in maintaining peace within its borders promotes acceptance and tolerance of minority populations. "Institutions do matter -- they seem to be a causal mechanism in the relationship between tolerance and modernization. Institutions play a significant role in the tolerant model, where a post-industrial economy is associated with a post-industrial society" (Shcherbak, 2012, p. 1). The stronger the institution, the easier the transition towards an accepting society will become.

This of course makes sense because as legislation changed in the United States in regards to the severity of punishment for hate crimes and equal rights for gay couples, people began accepting homosexuality more openly. Churches began accepting homosexuals in their churches and homosexual couples appeared on mainstream television shows as loving parents. Although it was a long and hard journey, through new legislation and bills passed to protect gay rights, people slowly grew to accept the LGBT community. This can happen for other countries.

Although religion is not the singular culprit to propagation of hate crimes, it certainly reinforced negative belief system and stereotypes when it comes to homosexuality and transgender identity. "At the same time, studies on sexuality and tolerance suggest that religious beliefs and government institutions play a significant role in shaping societal attitudes about homosexuality, promulgating beliefs and policies that place homosexuality in a negative light" (Henshaw, 2014, p. 959). Many of the Islamic countries having problems promoting equal rights are strictly bound by adherence to religious material and religious law. They feel as though it is wrong for an individual to be homosexual much as if the Christians did along the "Bible Belt" of the….....

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