Homosexuality In The Film Pariah

In the film Pariah, Alike’s sexuality plays a major role in the lives of the people around her. She identifies as a lesbian; however, conflict arises within her family because they don’t always see eye to eye. As a result of the conflicting views, her relationships with her family struggle, especially her relationship with her mother, Audrey. Alike’s father is a police detective and works long hours, so she mainly sees and interacts with her mother. Arthur, Alike’s father, is much more understanding and easier for Alike to talk to, but with him being gone so often for work, she deals mostly with the judgmental and harsh words of her mother. Her mother displays demanding patterns when communicating with both Alike and Arthur. When addressing conflict, she is extremely direct and overbearing. For example, when discussing whether or not Alike is a lesbian with Arthur, she always pushes for him to talk to Alike to find out. She becomes frustrated with Arthur because he tends to withdraw from

Throughout the film, it is clear that there is tension regarding the subject, and their ability to love her as an equal is constantly tested. In the midst of all of this, Alike is affected the most and she used many different resources for resilience. She used her poetry and the support of her AP English teach to channel her emotions, as well as relying on her friends Bina and Laura for support. Additional resources for resilience would’ve been extremely helpful for this family, and there were even a couple resources they could’ve used that they didn’t. Her mom in particular, could’ve used her friend at work as a resource for resilience. She was always there for her and could’ve helped her rationalize and push through this tough time. A resource that could’ve also benefitted their family is sitting down with a counselor, preacher, or close friend and have a productive conversation to try and better understand