The Laramie Project Questions

What do you believe to be the true cause of the Matthew’s murder–was it a genuine hate crime or did drugs and alcohol have the biggest role? Why?

Why did Matt’s murder receive so much attention and cause so much controversy and emotion? I’m sure many other gay people are murdered, so why is this one blown out of proportion? Was it blown out of proportion?

Articles

http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/12/wyoming.attack.03/

This article gives more insight into the lives and characters of the two individuals who murdered Matthew and also into Matthew’s life and some of his concerns about being gay and living in Laramie. I would probably use the descriptions of the murderers given by individuals in the play to compare with the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/ads/marketing/laramie/19981011_laramie2.html

I like this article because it discusses the reactions of the residents in Laramie to Matthew’s death and how they want it to be known that the events were atypical of the small town. However, it also discusses a different side of Laramie and how homosexuals were commonly treated poorly. I think this article would be great to use as there are many parallels with the play, especially concerning the idea of acceptance vs. tolerance.

It seems that what people think depends on their relationship with Matt. People who knew him and who were close to him, such as Romaine and Mr. Peacock, spoke highly of Matt and made him seem like a great individual. However, other people who did not necessarily know Matt seemed to only be concerned with the image of the town and the fact that this whole tragedy is now what defines Laramie.

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