I attended the screening of a movie called 4th man out at the Marmalade

Library, which is located at 280 west and 500 north. It took place from
7:00pm to 9:00pm on Thursday April 21, 2016. There were many topics I was
interested in, and I wish I could have done or assisted to all but I chose the
topic of LGBT issues. I have been intrigued by this topic for a while and I
wanted to be in a closer contact with people who not only know the issue but
live it. After very careful observing the people who attended the screening I
came to the conclusion that most of them where either gay or lesbian. How
did I come to this deduction? Well, most were same sex couples. There were
only a few man/woman couples. Also I talked to a couple that sat next to me.
Two men, probably in their 50s. After the movie I asked how accurate the
movie was and they said it is very close to real life; they empathize to the
characters of the movie as they went through a similar experience.
To explain why this event was so meaningful to me I will have to use some,
very personal experiences. My interest in this topic aroused after my (back
then) 28 year old cousin came out of the closet. His name was Hilmer. He
had a rough time with people close to him, especially his parents. A year
later, Hilmer committed suicide. This happened about 3 years ago.
In order to understand the effect of the film, we first need to understand the
main events in the story. 4th man out is a story about a young man named
Adam who just turned 24 and decided to finally make public his sexual
preference: He is gay. Adam struggles to come out, as he is surrounded by
conservative environment. His friends are the typical macho man, his
mother is the kind of parent that pressures her son to get marry and to give
her grandkids. He is a mechanic with a man job and even his neighbor is a
very religious person who sees homosexuality as the most horrible of all sins.
Friends, family and even that religious neighbor are trying to hook him up
with a girl. Adam finally tells his friends and they are astonished. Then the
neighbor finds out by accident, and finally he tells his family. This story not
only shows Adams struggles but that of his friends and family. Everyone is
affected and their lives changed.
The movie basically humanizes homosexuals, and makes them look as
people, just with a different preference. Just like I might like the color blue
and somebody else might prefer the color red. The question of preference
does not change the value of a person. It is hard to live against the
thousands of years traditions imposed in the world. It has been only recently
that people started accepting people for what they are. In the US their
liberation started in 1969, where some protection against harassment was
granted1. The trend seems to towards tolerance and acceptance2, and we
see it in politics and/or in media with films like 4th man out

This film not only reinforces some of the concepts I had of people with
different preferences but it also demonstrates the psychological stress
people like Adam goes through to find acceptance, or people like Adams
best friend, as he endures to help him fit in. The film makes it look like it is
not easy to come out and Im sure it is not but I am also sure that it is not
easy for the people around. I saw my uncle and aunt suffer when my cousin
Hilmer told everyone he was gay. And it came as a shock to everyone
because, although he never married, he had a 4 year old daughter at the
time. Nevertheless social pressure was a load on him so great that it made
him snap. In his goodbye letter he apologized to my uncle and aunt, and the
way I see it now is, my uncle and aunt should have been the ones with the
apology.
This film has given me new point of view, and a broader one as well. The
humanities can be described as the study of human experience 3. In this
sense the more I interact with the experiences of others, the more attune I
find myself to empathy. Humanities help us see the reality of life and helps
us avoid stereotypes4, misunderstandings, and illusions. Not only would I
keep learning about the LGTB community but other issues maybe concerning
to race, religion, politics and many more. My goal here is to see the humanity
in people and understand the story of what shaped their opinions.