Tony Kushner s A Gay Fantasia - 2126 Words

American playwright Tony Kushner’s momentous two-part production Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes documents the varied lives of five men residing in New York City throughout the 1980s AIDS epidemic. A truly unique aspect, which pertains to Kushner’s dramatized narrative, is that each focal male character is homosexual. Although these men may share a collective sexual orientation, they experience their sexuality in their own individualistic ways. Through the lenses of Kushner’s male protagonists—Roy Cohn, Joseph Pitt, Louis Ironson, Prior Walter and Belize—the play endeavours to eradicate conventional perceptions of sexuality as a dichotomized view: heterosexuality/homosexuality. As the narrative progresses, it becomes apparent that Angels in America contends the monolithic stereotype attributed to a homosexual orientation, by reconceptualising the notion of sexuality as one that can be situated upon a spectrum. The spectrum established within the play illustrates the range of contentment each character experiences, regarding their sexuality. For example, the more â€Å"out of the closet† and overtly open one is about the nature of their sexual orientation, the more seemingly secure they are with themselves—and vice versa. It appears that each male protagonist’s location on the spectrum is ultimately contingent on his enactments of gender performativity. The following analysis seeks to prove that the more effeminate a male character acts, the more open andShow MoreRelatedTony Kushner s Angels Of Americ A Gay Fantasia On National Themes Essay816 Words   |  4 PagesThe Struggles Accompanying Homosexuality in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America Set in the late 1980s, a period of regression and tragedy for the homosexual community, Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, explores the lives of four gay men living in New York. Kushner’s two part drama expounds some of the many difficulties encountered by gays during this time period. While two of his characters, Joe Pitt and Roy Cohn, both struggle significantly with their sexualRead MoreIs Hannah Transformed / Changed Through Her Relationship With Prior?2201 Words   |  9 Pages1. In what specific ways does Hannah help Prior? Why might she (a complete stranger) have such a profound effect on him? In what ways does their relationship (and her views on world, religion, disease) make possible Prior s transition from AIDS victim to a PLWA (a person LIVING with AIDS)? In what ways is Hannah transformed/changed through her relationship with Prior? And why/how does this change occur? Specifically, Hannah helps Prior by both bringing him to the hospital when he falls ill and