eBook

Philadelphia: AIDS, Organization, Representation

Holliday, Ruth

1998

Overview

An integrated organization studies-film studies approach is used to critique Jonathan Demme's film Philadelphia (1993), which documents the connection between AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), homosexuality, & the dominance of heterosexual discourse in contemporary organizations. The legal organization in which the protagonist Andrew Beckett is employed is described as dominated by heterosexual masculinity. David Goss's (1994) notion of the \"disorganization of AIDS\" & analysis of several scenes from the film help demonstrate how the discovery of an individual with AIDS in an organization essentially disrupts that organization's logic. Although it disintegrates organization logic by undermining traditional homosocial behavior, it is contended that AIDS also threatens humankind's faith in scientific discourse. Noting that Philadelphia was written for a heterosexual audience, it is maintained that the film concretizes the immutable nature of heterosexuality, & Hollywood is delineated as a heteronormative organization. 1 Figure, 34 References. J. W. Parker

• Subject: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome / Collective Representation / Homophobia / Homosexuality / Mass Media Images / Organization Theory / Organizational Culture / Organizational Research
• ISBN: 9780761953920, 0761953922