Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is no doubt a great work in the history of queer drama. Through writing the drama, Tony Kushner means to diminish the bias on the homosexuals. Homosexuality, as a sexual orientation, existed and was not disclosed as an issue in spite of some debate since history. It seems that it more and more draws people''s attention since the 1980s when AIDS began to be known widely over the world until today. Homosexuality is more and more received by people as something related to an existence of unreason, abnormality and sin. However, as the theories of post-modernism revives, the ideology on homosexuality has been de-constructed gradually. People today tend to accept the existence of diversity, "anti-tradition" and "abnormality." After a series of efforts, many countries have passed the laws to allow homosexual marriage. Till 2014 November, thirty-two states of The United States has legalized same sex marriage. This has basically shaken the order of dual confrontation.
The conception of the "Other" is borrowed in this thesis. For Levinas, the "Other" is superior or prior to the self; the mere presence of the Other makes demands before one can respond by helping them or ignoring them. However, in a "white male-dominated and heterosexual" society subject excludes the "other" in advance and makes it an object of identification. In the order like that black, female and heterosexuality all become the objects of being excluded and identified. Angels in America records the process that the characters in it realize their being of the "Others" and fight for their right as the objects of being offered hospitality. It is what Kushner shows his ideal in this drama to break the dual confrontation and finally makes all the diversities co-exist.
In modern democracy mutual consent and discussion are important. Modern individuals can have autonomy which makes them speculate and decide without considering relationship. Michael Sandel criticized it as a kind of sense of self-ignorance of relationship. The subject of modern time objectifies everything and emphasizes the unity of it, which makes itself intolerant of differentiation and individuality. Following that, homosexuality is defined to be the differentiation in the unity of heterosexuality and is excluded from it. It even becomes the objection that should be treated. This was specially true in Reagan’s time during which homosexuals suffered great distress mentally and physically. Such social environment inspired with the writing of Angels in America. Tony Kushner names the drama Angels in America a political one. He has a goal to accomplish something, that is, the change of people’s ideology on homosexuality and AIDs. This thesis, through showing the situation of politics and religion in Reagan’s time, tries to make people have an objective understanding on homosexuals and the environment that they are in.
Eco-feminism is a combination of the words, ecology and feminism, which considers the issues of both ecology and feminism. It not only focus on the dual confrontation of male and female raised by the theories of feminism, but it also efforts to conclude more confrontations like human and inhuman, male and female, the north and south, and the west and orient. Theories, practice, politics and science are all concluded into its field. Therefore, it not only resists androcentrism but it resists anthropocentrism and any construction that breaks the co-existence of all the creations and the relation among them. Harper, in her special female insight, shows her worry of the breaking ozone layer and the future of the world. Kushner shows his criticism on the order based upon the androcentrism under which the environment of the earth is suffering from the overexploitation. Furthermore, the drama, in the view of eco-feminism, is a criticism to the oppression on homosexuality under the order of heterosexuality.