Laramie, WY, is a trivial town that became infamous within a few hours in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a homosexual college scholar, was spotted tied to a fence after being ferociously whipped and left to die, prompting a countrywide debate about crime, hate, and homophobia. 30 days after the incident, Moses Kaufman, a director and writer with the New York City theater group the Tectonic Theater Project, shifted to Laramie to prepare for an upcoming production. (Teman, 2016). The Laramie Project is in many cases referred to as docudrama, a play that is highly based on real facts. To such a point, the play comprises all work of nonfiction. Although the major elements of the play are founded on actual occurrences with their own inherent drama, the author’s talents as a scriptwriter were applied to improve the mutual impact of the events and therefore create a free flowing play.
The Fireside
The indifference to existence has affected many gay students on college campus to date. Cast member Alex Garip, a gay student was drawn to the play to get the message out because she feels personally ill-treated. She remarks that she feels uncomfortable and safe on campus because of her sexuality. She says “I have been verbally attacked by men, calling me slurs and saying inappropriate and sexual things to me. I have mostly just had problems with the straight males on campus because they look at me as some girl-sex-machine and completely erase me as a human being containing any kind of depth besides sex with another woman, and men who call me a dyke or continuously try to harass me or hit on me thinking they can turn me (Teman, 2016, 55). This type of violence is unbelievable given the modern times and shape the globe is assuming. It is an unbelievable demonization of gay sexuality.
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And though this script is about homophobic hate crimes and a gay man, the message is relevant to any minority group. Asians, females, African Americans Hispanics, all have felt these human rights desecrations in the United States. The sad reality is that this are not events that took place in the 50s or 60s; sexism, homophobia, and racism are still a problem in the current world and episodes like this makes sure people do not forget. Shepard’s tragic death is still a painful reminder of how, regardless of the advancement the gay rights movement has garnered over the years, homophobia remains prevalent in the society not only in the United States but also other parts of the world (Tigner, 2002). Incumbent President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that was in favor of gayism. The bill allows all people to choose their sexuality without discrimination. Such practices are prohibited by certain communities especially conservatives.
The Laramie Project reveals one town in America at the close of the millennium. This manages to capture something profoundly American, something concerning social injustices, about idiosyncrasies, about beliefs. So as much as it told the story a section of America, the project spoke to America as a whole. The script raises the debate about equality and justice to a national level. Late in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed to become law (Teman, 2016). Also referred to as the Matthew Shepard Act, the regulation described a hate crime as intentionally causing bodily harm based on perceived or actual issues of race, religion, color, national origin, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Regardless of recent civil progress of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues, The Laramie Project is in most cases met with protests, controversy, and calls for cancellation. For instance, in 2013 a production of the project at the University of Mississippi was interjected by a section of the audience who shouted homophobic slurs midway the performance. This leaves more questions on the reality of life. People should accept that in the world, there are different kinds of people be it bisexual, straight, gays, lesbians, among others. Some of these incidents are old fashioned and should not exist in the current world (Teman, 2016). Many countries still to date oppose ideas that relate to such matters because its people are deeply rooted in the past. It can be remembered the gay debate in the United States elicited many reactions from politicians and ordinary citizens alike. The bill was passed into law regardless of the numerous opposing views.
LGBT Debate
In September 2012, the Democratic Party became the first principal U.S political party in the history of the nation to publicly endorse same-sex marriage on an international forum at the Democratic National Convention. ‘Mormon church backs LGBT rights – with one condition,’ was a top headline in the Cable News Network (CNN) on January 28, 2015 Burke, 2015). In at least one bruising and big culture-war com bat, the Mormon Church wants to call a partial truce, read the article. The church official convened a rare press conference at church headquarters in Salt Lake City. The leaders swore to back the anti-discrimination regulations for gays, bisexuals, gays, and transgender individuals, as long as the provisions protect the rights of religious groups and people. The church in exchange wants gay rights proponents and the government to back off. When religious individuals are publicly intimidated, forced from employment, retaliated against, or made to suffer personal loss because of raising their concerns in the public square, donated for a cause or took part in an election, democracy loses the battle (Burke, 2015). These were the sentiments of Dallin Oak, one of Mormon Church’s elder. It is topic that perceives the LGBT debate from a different perspective.
For many years, religious leaders have voiced their concerns against same –sex marriages. Religious people believe engaging in same-sex marriage is a sin citing God created a man and a woman and neither two men nor women. Arguably, The Laramie Project supports this form of relationships majorly after the murder of Matthew Shepard. Oaks, Mormon Church elder notes the irony that some people who have strived so hard for LGBT rights now attempt to refuse the rights of other individuals to disagree with their public plan proposals. He further notes that this announcement does not alter church doctrine, including its opposition for same-sex marriages (Burke, 2015).
Review
After reading The Laramie Project, one is left with many ideas, questions, and emotions. The play relates to a series of interviews about various topics based on facts and true statements so the readers can make their opinion. Literature reveals that in 2010, statistics recorded 6,624 single bias hate felonies that occurred that year. 47.3 percent were racial, 20 percent involved religious bias, and 19.3 percent were out of sexual orientation ( Teman, 2016). Research indicates that in spite of the fact that such crimes are on the decline over the years, they are still present and many occurrences are still taking place in the modern world.
People may think that what transpired to Matthew was an exception to the rule, but it should be noted it was an extreme version of what is happening to the modern schools and other social gatherings. People are going through hate on a day to day basis and it sucks to realize that the only way to communicate to them is through tragic events such as Matthew’s demise. The acts of crime involve rape/sexual assault, physical injuries with weapons, physical or verbal harassment, robbery/vandalism attacks in schools, homes, and other places where people interact (Tigner, 2002). Same-sex marriage has been one of the highly talked about and hottest debated topics in the last couple of years. Beyond the logistics of the globe and its roots, the denial of gay marriages denies homosexual couples the same rights that are provided for heterosexual ones. As part of being an engaged couple, said couples get to experience distinct rights afforded to them by the government.
In Summary
The Laramie Project explores themes of acceptance, tolerance, and what it entails to be gay, in addition to examining the nature of previous occurrences, how to respect them, and the effective methods to move away from the events. At many instances in the play, the questions asked by the organization members are inquiring about the effect that Matthews’s demise has had on the Laramie community and steps residents have taken to move on (Teman, 2016). Open interviews with gay residents of the region that seek to provide significance to Matthew’s death in the perspective of his sexual orientation despite claims that his sexuality was not relevant. Regardless of past examination, the author refrains from time manipulation, instead dwelling on the present of the characters.
References
Burke, D. (2015). Mormon Church backs LGBT rights—with one condition. Cable News
Network (CNN). International Edition.
Teman, E. D. (2016). Laramie 2.0 The Journey of a Queer Professor. Qualitative Inquiry ,
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Tigner, A. (2002). The Laramie Project: Western Pastoral. Modern Drama , 45 (1), 138-156.
