How to Survive a Plague
How to Survive a Plague addresses the issues of the AIDS epidemic and the work ACT UP did to further research, education, and activism concerning AIDS. The film highlights the inactivity of the US government and other official institutions and emphasizes the work ACT UP did, both through grassroots activism and underground medical markets to get the necessary help for those with HIV/AIDS. I thought it was interesting to see all the work that ACT UP had done, especially in regards to bringing in new medication that was not FDA-approved. I’ve learned about the AIDS epidemic previously, but most of it has been from the public health side, not the activist side. So it was great to be able to learn more about that.
In relation to the public health side, I think a good movie to watch with this film is And the Band Played On. This movie is a television film docudrama following the work of Don Francis, an epidemiologist who began fighting the AIDS epidemic in 1981. He was one of the first scientists to argue that an infectious agent caused the disease, and he and his team worked to lessen the spread, despite limited funding and equipment. The movie highlights Francis’s work attempting to close gay bathhouses to curb the spread of the virus, as well as his fight with the blood industry. Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), Francis’s work trying to close the gay bathhouses was mostly curbed by those who visited the bathhouses. During the film, we can see that members of the bathhouses viewed Francis’s work as oppressive, similar to the poststructuralist view described in chapter three of A Critical Introduction to Queer Theory. I’m sure those who were opposed to Francis’s attempt to close the bathhouses would agree that “...sex…has been repressed by oppressive institutions…” (Sullivan 40).
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| Main Cast for And the Band Played On (1993) |
One repeated theme in How to Survive a Plague is highlighted by a quote from the beginning of the film, where we see a group of men sitting in their home, one saying “I’m happy to be alive” while another responds “I’m going to die from this.” When I heard these disparate views I was immediately drawn back to Douglas Crimp’s interview, specifically when he discusses different representations of those with AIDS. Crimp discusses how many times those with AIDS are represented as sickly, which can lead to negative stereotypes. On the other hand, positive images can also be damaging. For example, Crimp highlights AIDS medication ads that use “images of hunky men climbing mountains” which ignores that those taking these medications often face various debilitating side effects. (Crimp 84)
This argument about how to represent those with AIDS is similarly mentioned in MacKinnon’s chapter titled Movies and AIDS, specifically, MacKinnon discusses the 1989 British exhibition Bodies of Experience. This exhibition had several photographs of the Lighthouse, which offered a community for those with AIDS. However, when reviewing these photos it was decided that there needed to be more somber photos to balance it out. The article even mentions how adding somber photos would fit with the feelings of many ACT UP activists; many activists shown in this film would probably agree with this sentiment.
Princess Diana visited the London Lighthouse, a center for those with HIV/AIDS, in 1992.
Throughout the film, there is the sentiment that we should not negate the AIDS epidemic and the experiences of those with AIDS. This sentiment reminded me of comments and critiques mentioned in Román’s Remembering AIDS: A Reconsideration of the Film Longtime Companion, specifically about the ending of the film Longtime Companion. The film ends with a fantasy future, where the dead and the living are seen together running, jumping, and cheering for the end of AIDS. Some, such as Suzanne Moore, viewed this ending as crass and insulting (Román 292), most likely sharing in the thought that the representation of those with AIDS and the AIDS epidemic should not be nullified or negated. And, like I said before, that sentiment seems to be shared by many in the film How to Survive a Plague. However, it is impossible to ignore the clear similarities between the documentary’s ending and the ending of Longtime Companion. At the end of How to Survive a Plague, we see a video of the remaining members of TAG (Treatment Action Group) on a beach, celebrating the new treatment of AIDS. The footage is, to me, so similar to the ending scene described by Román that I wonder if the filmmakers were aware of the similarities, or if it’s purely coincidence.
Hi Milo,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the videos you included in your blog. Since reading the Roman article reflecting on Longtime Companion, I have been very interested in watching it. I had no idea that it was available for free on Youtube. Thank you for sharing your resources!
I had also only learned about AIDS as a public health crisis and never knew much about the activism side. I had seen the pink triangle logo pop up in queer spaces, and knew it had to do with AIDS, but had no idea how important activism was in getting treatment. I have heard the sentiment that the AIDS Crisis was a "genocide of neglect" by the government, similarly to how the British government handled the Irish Potato Famine, but did not know how important protesting and advocacy was in persuading the government and Big Pharma to show some decency.
Hello Milo,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. The film was interesting and wonderful to watch. Unlike you, I was never taught any about the AIDS epidemic in previous history classes. I never knew that homosexuals like me got blamed for public health critics. Luckily, I never went through that because I was born in 1998. I think it was right for people to protesting the food and drug administration for not releasing the cure for AIDS.
You mention "Crimp discusses how many times those with AIDS are represented as sickly, which can lead to negative stereotypes. On the other hand, positive images can also be damaging." I think this is an interesting point, and something to consider in the way How to Survive a Plague represents people with AIDS. There are images of people who are sickly, but most of the people we see fighting appear to be strong and healthy. They look attractive. Obviously, there's a certain amount of falsehood in this, as we know that many of them do have AIDS or are HIV positive, and therefore are sick, or are even taking medication to try and improve their health. Still, it is interesting to note how How to Survive a Plague mostly represents people with AIDS as strong fighters rather than weak people who are ill.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s so interesting how you compare the ending of How to Survive a Plague with Longtime Companion, especially when you take into consideration the critiques of both endings. While one (Longtime Companion) is totally unrealistic as the dead can’t come back to life, the other presents only part of the whole story, as while AIDS may no longer be a death sentence to some, those without healthcare are still suffering.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you used examples of both fictional and nonfictional pieces of media to give examples of the main points you talked about within the text itself. It really showed how the subjects you covered in your post were used within other pieces of media. However, the SNL clip and the picture of princess Diana disrupted the reading a bit for me since they were not really referenced or mentioned within the text itself. However, if they were tied into the text of the post, they would be great pieces of supporting evidence!
ReplyDeleteHi Milo,
ReplyDeletethis post was very informative and I loved how you used so many examples from various media to connect to the topic. I liked your point about how some people talked about how they were going to die and others said they were happy to be alive. I find it interesting that it is harmful to focus on either extreme when talking about AIDS. Your post also made me want to watch Longtime Companion as well as And The Band Played On. I'm glad I got to read about your perspective of the film.