This film made me very upset. I knew the story so I expected it to be bad, but I was much more affected by it than I would have imagined. The film starts out with the murder scene and then skips around to tell the story of Matthew Shepard's life and his parents struggle to come to terms with his violent death. The violent initial scene was really disturbing that human beings did this to another human being for absolutely no reason is almost impossible to believe. Then during Matthews funeral there were people picketing outside with horrible hateful signs. Below is a real sign from his funeral service in 1998!!!I cannot imagine his parents having to attend their sons funeral with this kind of hate present.
In the movie Matthew's parents are engaged in the legal battle to get the death penalty for his murderers. As they go back through his life remembering him the movie shows various stages of Matt's life as he realizes he is gay. In the movie his mothers says that it must have been so horrible for him to not be able to tell anyone, and to think how he felt about his sexual orientation is wrong. He also experiences rape and abuse and suffers from depression and anxiety. I connected this with Johnson, and how he says that being heterosexual is a privilege that we don't even think about or talk about. People are just assumed to be heterosexual and anything else is not normal. Being a white, heterosexual, female I have privilege that Matthew Shepard didn't.
In Safe Spaces, August says " Youth who struggle with Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identities, or are bullied for the mere perception of being different, often feel as if they have no where to turn. Death should never be an option. Unfortunately, for many young people suicide feels like a better alternative than living with rejection or abuse from peers, family members, or community leaders. This was certainly true for Matthew Shepard in his short life.
In the end, his parents decided to not accept a deal without the death penalty because they thought it was time to heal. Having two boys this movie really affected me. The fact that you can be completely unsafe and hated because of your sexual orientation is something I cannot understand. It made me feel afraid for them.
Matthew Shepard was just finally laid to rest in The Washington Cathedral twenty years after his murder. There was so much hate and controversy surrounding his murder that his parents were afraid that his resting place would be vandalized. The Washington Cathedral is a safe place for Matt, and a place where people can go and visit him. When speaking at the service in the Washington Cathedral his father, Dennis Shepard said the following; " Just like this beautiful house of worship, he did not see skin color: He did not see religion. He did not see sexual orientation. All he saw was a chance to have another friend. Just like this beautiful home we have here for Matt right now."
Dennis and Judy Shepard
This is the link to the New York Times article describing the ceremony at the Washington Cathedral.
Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard, started the Matthew Shepard Foundation the year of his death. The foundation's goal is to erase hate crimes and increase awareness of social justice and equality.
She was also instrumental in lobbying for and the passing of the Matthew Shepard Act, a hate crimes prevention act of 2009.
The United States Department of Justice Website describes the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, JR., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
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