Faith, Fail, Fall, And Four: Movie Analysis

Fear, Faith, Fail, Fall, and Four

In 1993, academy award winning actors Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington starred in the movie, Philadelphia, the first major motion picture to address the issue of HIV/AIDS (Howard, 2015). One intent of this movie was to highlight homophobia, the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals ("Homophobia", 2016), in addition to highlighting the Nation's baseless fear of those infected with HIV/AIDS. These fears were fueled by a lack of education regarding the disease and resulted in intense discrimination against those with the disease. Hanks refers to the influence of this type of fear in his 2011 Yale Commencement address, "Fear twists facts into fictions that

He, too, offers an understanding of his core audience which is comprised of students attending a faith based university. Rather than focusing on one main theme, like Hanks, Washington presents four main points he would like his audience to consider. His first point is to put God and faith in God first. Washington credits his faith in God for his success and humility, "I've been protected, I've been directed, I've been corrected" (Washington, 2015). He suggests to his audience that if they want to accomplish what they think he has accomplished, then they should "stick with God" (Washington, 2015). Washington's second point is to fail. He encourages his audience to follow their passion, take chances, think outside the box, and repress their fear of failure. He urges them "to fail big, to dream big" (Washington, 2015) but warns them they must have goals and discipline to achieve these dreams. Washington's third point is to help others. He reminds his audience, "you'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse...you can't take it with you" (Washington, 2015). He advises them that helping is actually a selfish act because of the feeling of gratification that comes with it. Washington's fourth point is to be grateful and show gratitude for what has been given and what will be given. "Say Thank You" (Washington, 2015). Including gratitude, Washington presents many

He attempts to camouflage his boasting, "Sure, I got an Academy Award" (Washington, "Fall Forward"), by claiming he is out of his comfort zone, however, his speech still comes across as a resume of all of his successes accompanied by an over use of name dropping. His decision to add this self promotion to his speech is unfortunate as it overshadows the invaluable advice he is delivering to his audience, an audience that includes his son who is a student at Penn. The main advice Washington offers in his speech is learn to fall forward rather than counting on "something to fall back on" (Washington, "Fall Forward"). He wants his audience to understand that they will fail at some time, however, when they do fail, he asks them to fall forward and keep trying. He advises them, if they do not quit, something positive will come their way. He also explains that if they never fail, they "are not even trying" and offers a valuable bit of advice from his wife, "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did" (Washington, "Fall Forward"). He encourages his audience to understand that their talents and help are needed, not only in this country, but throughout the world. Washington persuade's them to "figure out where you're going...your life will never be a straight path" (Washington, "Fall Forward"). As his speech comes to a close, Washington recommends that the