Fear in Tony Kushner's Angels In America Both parts of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America paint a painfully true picture of what gay men go through . In most cases, they suffer from internal anguish or public torment. Sometimes they have to endure both. Being homosexual in America is a double-edged sword. If you publicly announce that you are gay, you suffer ridicule and are laughed at by the ignorant in society; but if you keep your homosexuality a secret, you are doomed to personal problems. Kushner's work attempts to get America to look closely at itself and hopefully change its ways. Fear of public scrutiny forces many gay men into a life of denial and secrecy. Kushner describes a society, not unlike our society today, that despises gay men and other minorities. By setting the play in the mid-1980s, a time when gay-bashing was at its peak, he managed to capture prejudice against homosexuals and everything that surrounds it. The early 1980s were also the time when AIDS first became known to the general public as a new disease. By setting the story in New York, a melting pot of different cultures and people, Kushner shows that not just one group of people comes into contact with homosexuals. All of these geographic and atmospheric forces help create the atmosphere of the show. This environment pushes the characters to act as they do and make the choices they make. Angels in America focuses on the gay community who are one of the most scrutinized minorities in the world today. Kushner is able to convey his vision more efficiently by having a wide range of powers. His characters belong to more than one social position and are found in different places... in the center of the paper... men are a minority and, like any minority, there is a prejudice against them. Kushner focuses on this prejudice and shows how foolish it is. It proves that gay men are not drastically different from any other man. The only difference is their sexuality, and that part of each person is nobody else's business. Both homosexuals and heterosexuals feel love during relationships, and this is where the emphasis should be placed. A person's sexual behavior should be left in the bedroom and not discussed in a public forum. Neither heterosexuals nor homosexuals are better than others. Until society as a whole makes a conscious effort to accept gay men and all minorities, prejudice will continue to exist and be a part of us all. Nobody has the right to judge another person. Bibliography: Kushner, Tony. Angels in America, part one: the millennium is approaching. New York: GCC, 1992.