Conservatism, By Moises Kaufman And The Tectonic Theater Project

The movement of the gay and lesbian population in the United States is one that has been in progress since the early 1900s, and is still facing overwhelming controversy and backlash today. The push for gay liberation in a country founded on Christian morals and beliefs has subsequently led to struggles over equality of marriage, adoption, jobs, and healthcare. One side of the controversy argues that every individual deserves the same rights, while the opposing mindset argues that being homosexual puts you into a group of people that is different, and will therefore be treated as such.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, society wasn’t the most accepting of places for people who were different from the “social norms”. Now I know, people today still struggle with trying to fit in and be “normal” but it was different. Being a gay man living in San Fransisco at the time, which had a large gay population, Richard Rodriguez had a hard time dealing with the discrimination he faced. Richard Rodriguez was an American journalist who wrote and published a memoir about his life as a gay man. In October of 1990, Rodriguez published his memoir “Late Victorians” in Harper’s Magazine, a critically acclaimed publication of the time. In his memoir, Rodriguez describes what it was like to realize he was gay and watch as the country changed to become a more accepting place. He does this by setting up how things can change and then explaining the actual ways things change for the gay population.

Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Company travelled to Laramie, Wyoming to ‘Conduct over 400 interviews with about 100 Laramie residents’ (Chalkdust Theatre Inc. Riverside Theatre Parramatta, 2010) following the tragic murder of Mathew Shephard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming in 1998, to then create the verbatim, docudrama play, The Laramie Project. The production follows the real residents of Laramie following this tragic event by portraying a large range of views and opinions on the topic of homosexuality and the incident from that of priest’s, the parents and friends of Mathew Shephard as well as Laramie residents who identify as gay or lesbian and many more. The director juxtaposes these contrasting opinions throughout the play to portray the conflicting emotions within Laramie about the event, all the while we follow Mathews last hours and the court proceedings to determine the consequences for the perpetrators as the town begins the healing process.

He taught a town that opinions are sacred to the eye of the beholder and a town can come together to spread a single message. Throughout watching “The Laramie Project” you hear how people identify among others, how tragedy shook a town, and how their sense of home was constructed by a community. How a flip of a coin can determine the rest of a person’s life. If the two individuals would of stopped and thought of the right and wrong decisions to make maybe they would be at home right now with their families and children enjoying the night. Maybe a man would have been changing the world one smile at a time. Now the world will never know what Matthew Shepard could have

Moses Kaufman is the producer of the successful play “The Laramie Project” after a horrific incident that occurred in Laramie. Members of the artistic group of Kaufman 's, traveled to Laramie to find out more about the horrific incidence. The main aim of the whole project was to find the emotions, reactions, and reflections that the people of Laramie manifested concerning the beating and subsequent death of a twenty-three-year-old college student (Gale, 2016). A lot of questions were raised concerning the death as people had different point of views. Some thought it was a hate crime, others thought it was just a brutal assault or a form of robbery. Four hundred interviews were conducted so as to come up with the reasons behind the brutal murder straight from the town folks. The main issue was how homosexuality was defined in the crime. The Laramie Project, questioned the rights of the LGBT+ group. For example, why were Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders discriminated by the community and the society as a whole even though their rights were constitutional?

Laramie consisted of many other religions that presented the views of many of their citizens towards homosexuality. Reverend Fred Phelps, a minister from Kansas, negatively impacted the gay community as he protested against homosexuals. He believed gays were determined to go to hell because of God’s hatred for them. Reverend Phelps like McKinney was a homophobe, which upset many citizens when he ranted about gays going to hell right after the murder of Matthew Shepard. Many citizens including Romaine Patterson decided to take a stance against such hatred to “show the differences. And [to] think at times like this when we’re talking about hatred as much as the nation is right now, that someone needs to show . . . that there is a better way of

In Moises Kaufman's, The Laramie Project the under lying theme of the novel is people are afraid of change. This can be proved from the novel with the character Cathy Connolly and the struggle that homosexuals have to live in there own society. The juxtaposition of anti-gay demonstrations sparked by religion at a homosexual's funeral, and even the physical setting is related to why people are afraid of change. Whether it is start by homophobia, religion, or opression, people are not just afraid of change in general but change for a free society where homosexuals can express and just be themselves.

The Laramie Project is a play written by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project by interviewing the residents of Laramie Wyoming about the murder of a gay student, Matthew Shepard. The play raises controversy revolving around homosexuality, hate crimes and acceptance. In addition to the various themes suggested by the play, the author wanted to present the varying perspectives toward homosexuality in the Laramie Community at the time of Shepard death. The three main perspectives towards homosexuality were hatred, tolerance and acceptance. The author also wanted to explore how these perspectives may have changed as the result of Shepard’s death.

Laramie, WY, is a modest town which became ignominious overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being callously beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide dispute about homophobia and hate crimes. My reaction to this moment in time initially is horror and shock that people did and do these unspeakable acts to their fellow human. However, I can also appreciate the many different views that were portrayed in the film.

Opposed to contrary beliefs, I “hate the sin, but not the sinner.” I will not condone it. I will not vote for it. I will not hate them, and I will not be a bully. I recognize that we live in a nation full of Christians and not a Christian nation which separates the church from the state, but my Christian faith does not agree with the practices of homosexuallity. On top of that, if gay marriage is not a “big deal” then why did people force the Supreme Court embedded gay marriage in the Constitution? With everyone arguing about the Supreme Court decision and that “Same-sex marriage is [now] a fundamental constitutional right guaranteed under the 14th Amendment”, an easy response is to attack the opponent by arguing that what happens under the roof of someone’s home is not the business of the government. My bigger question, however, is if the marital status of two people is not the business of the national government, then why did the Supreme Court have to hear and review to the court case to please the people? Shouldn’t the judiciary branch of the government focus on imposing more important policies for the betterment of the American nation instead of personal

For decades, there have been several cases and stories about how the homosexual youth have been mistreated, and Matthew Shepard is one of the many cases. The causes of the oppression may be disturbing to some, but they are clear: discrimination and inequality. This issue is dividing our community into acceptance and refutation. Those who disagree about the gap often see it as a choice between being a heterosexual or a homosexual. Often times, the maltreatment may take place in school, at a workplace, or public. It has been shown that “still, some gay students suffer harassment of their sexual orientation, and many, particularly athletes, stay “in the closet” for fear of unfavorable treatment” (“Gays on

The author lists recent protests held by the trans community over a movie that places a cisgender, white, gay male at the center of the revolutionary Stonewall Riots, despite the widespread fact and acknowledgement that trans-women of color were the revolutionaries of the riots. The Stonewall Riots were the pivotal moment in the on-going movement towards equality for the LGBT communities. During the riots that took place in the 60’s, queer men and women worked alongside trans and gender nonconforming people for the purpose of making the LGBT voice heard across not only America, but world. The conjoined efforts of both the trans and gay communities are what have led us to the legalization of gay marriage this past year. Together, both communities have created so much progress. Wouldn’t dividing ourselves into separate communities effectively stop us from continuing this progress towards

The Laramie Project is a play written by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project. The play is based on the interviews of the citizens of Laramie about what’s happening in Laramie and their responses to the murder of Matthew. In addition to the various themes suggested by the play, the author wanted to present the varying perspectives toward homosexuality in the Laramie community at the time of Matthew’s death. The author also wanted to explore how these perspectives may have changed as the result of Matthew’s death. Even though the citizens of Laramie persisted that hate is not a value they practice, they still showed contrasting and puzzled views

The Stonewall Protests were a series of riots fighting for gay rights in New York City in 1969. The riots at the bar were a major starting point for the fight for equality in the United States. Through the brave citizens who fought for their rights to be equal to everyone else, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, + (LGBTQ+) are so much evident in today’s society. LGBTQ+ rights are not avoided anymore due to the fight for everyone to be created equal, just like what the constitution states. The Stonewall Protests have affected LGBTQ+ rights today because gay marriage is now legal and accepted in the U.S, kids in the LGBTQ+ community can live in a safer environment, and 200 U.S. cities have banned gender identity discrimination.

Opposition to gay marriage has increased since the summer and a narrow majority of Americans also oppose allowing gays and lesbians to enter legal agreements that fall short of marriage. Moreover, despite the overall rise in tolerance toward gays since the 1980s, many Americans remain highly critical of homosexuals ­ and religious belief is a major factor in these attitudes.