1. Monogamy Is Crucial...
The film itself can be seen as a castration of the male fantasy of a 'safe' affair, it subverts the social ideology of the importance of nuclear family and the importance of monogamy in terms of the social norm. It also highlights the importance of a faithful and therefore 'safe' marriage, which is the only true method of containment to prevent the unnecessary transmission of the AIDs virus. The Gallagher's are seen as the epitome of the white, middle-class American family, put at stake by uncontrolled sexuality. The male protagonist self-divided between his erotic desires and his family affiliation. The potential danger of the situation is highlighted by the destructive power of sexuality, which is represented as disallowed and disgraced. It is the generation of 'Alex Forrest's' who are responsible for choosing a career over a family, which have created a cohort of female coded monsters, who threaten the nuclear family. In the process they have managed to kill off the male's fantasy of a casual sex outside of marriage, as well as the idea of the weekend affair. The 1980's was a time when sex was seen as a transmission of disease and women's overt sexuality was seen as unsafe. During the hype of the primary AIDS epidemic there could be no such thing as simple, safe sex and the film is a condiment of sexual promiscuity. It can be argued that Alex is a metaphor for the deadly disease. In one scene, when he shows up to her loft apartment after she has posed as a potential buyer for Dan's family home, she states: "I won't allow you to treat me like some slut you bang a few times and throw in the garbage." She is Dan's punishment for being unable to curb his sexual desires. At this time casual sex did not conform with the idea of remaining faithful to the nuclear family and prevent the transmission of AIDs.