Philadelphia (1993): las claves de un icono cultural

Abstract

Philadelphia answers to the fundamental reason of commercial cinema in the last years; that is, giving the audience what they expect to see. As new problems arise in society, the cinema business, which is getting interested in them, shows these themes on its films. At the beginning of the 1990’s, more and more films dealing with AIDS were being made due to the increasing social alarm that AIDS caused to the population. Philadelphia, is the most famous as well as the most accessible film (and is probably of the best cinematographic quality). However, its approach may be misleading: this is not so much a film about AIDS but about the rejection against homosexuals. Nevertheless, it erases some aspects of AIDS and gives some answers which can be considered pedagogic.             A great director, a succeeded cast, an excellent screenplay (of a classic structure), a soundtrack which has been carefully chosen and some lights and camera games well cared are the ingredients that make of this film one of the icons of the 1990’s popular culture.