13 - "How to Survive a Plague" & "We Were Here"
Sebastien Christie & Tomas Colicchio
The discrimination towards the gay community throughout the years of
the AIDS epidemic was uncontrollable. People in power took what they had for
granted and left the gay people at blame. The films “How to Survive a Plague” and “We Were Here” display the harassment the gay community received and how they fought
back for their rights and the fight against the more dangerous and contagious
disease labeled with the name: AIDS.
“How to Survive a Plague” is a
documentary/news film directed by David France. The documentary was released in
USA in 2012 and has a running time of 1h 50min. The film depicts the fight
against AIDS and the underlying forces of the government against the gay
community. The footage was taken from a variety of sources including handheld cameras,
the public news and interviews. This footage demonstrated the power and
strength of both activist organizations: ACT-UP and TAG. Both activist groups
raised awareness to the public about the dangers of AIDS and that anyone can be
affected, not only the gay community. Their fight against AIDS, the government,
and the drug companies was persistent as everyone believed something had to be
done and that there was a way to reduce or even stop the effects from the
disease.
The weekly topic for
the in-class screening showed the ignorance the people in power (government and
church) had toward the on-going plague. Also, the discrimination they had
toward the gay community and the message they were trying to spread. On the
positive side, the unity and tenacity of ACT UP demonstrated the power of
activism. They took control by letting their voice be heard and by raising
awareness about the disease. This week’s lesson covered
the three main steps in fighting those in power, which are Learn, Fight, and
Love. ACT UP did a really good job in following these steps as they each
increased their knowledge about the disease, they stayed focused on the greater
picture and never took no as an answer, and lastly, came together from
different beliefs and backgrounds to form one team.
The on-going fight with
ACT UP against the people in power continuously grew each and every year. With
more and more people dying annually from AIDS, new people began to listen in on
what the gay activist organization was trying to say. ACT UP were the ones to
promote safe sex and also educated people on gay sex. The fight was also
against the discrimination on people who were known to be HIV positive. ACT UP
overcame each obstacle and went on to be the ones to change the way people thought
about the gay community and the disease, but most of all, were the ones to get
the drug in order to control AIDS.
To learn more about the movie and the book written by David France clink
the link below:
Caring and Loving
“We Were Here”
is a documentary film directed by David Weissman
and Bill Weber. The documentary was first released in San Francisco in 2011 and
has a running time of 1h 30min. The film depicts the AIDS epidemic in San
Francisco during the 80s and 90s and shows how the LGBT community came together
in various ways and showed much solidarity within the community. The New York Times wrote that "The humility, wisdom and cumulative sorrow expressed lend the film a glow of spirituality and infuse it with grace."
The films consists of
footage during the AIDS epidemic as well as contemporary interviews with
various gay men who lived through the epidemic. At that time, many of the gay
men said that San Francisco was the place to be if you were part of the LGBT
community. A lot of them talk about the fact that while living in San
Francisco, they felt like it was where they were meant to be and that they felt
a certain sense of freedom. The community was thriving, but when the AIDS
epidemic hit, they did not just give up and allow it to breakdown their
community. They fought using one of the most powerful weapons known to man, and
that is love. They were compassionate towards one another and helped each other
out, because they knew nobody could fight it alone.
The film shows a very
beautiful side of humanity. In a time where the future seemed bleak, people
found love and compassion in the simple gestures. It was not one person or
group making some huge change. It was a community that came together by doing
different acts of kindness, and when a community comes together, it turns into
a force that impossible to stop. A good example of this is the story of Guy
Clark. Guy Clark was a man who opened up flower shop and would provide flowers
for people who were going to the funerals of loved ones. This simple action
helped people cope because it allowed their loved ones to be buried with
dignity. Another great example is one involving Eileen Glutzer. Many people
were afraid of AIDS hospitals at that time. Eileen Glutzer was a nurse who
showed no fear and felt a powerful need to do whatever she could to help AIDS
patients. She could not just look away and act like nothing was happening, she
needed to help.
There were many acts of
personal activism like the one's mentioned before. People advocated for
themselves and did not let discrimination stop them from achieving their goals
and winning their fight. In a time when gay people were very much discriminated
against, they rose above and spoke up for their community.
The link below will give you a quick look at the well-directed film from
David Weissman
Personal Reflection
Both films watched for this week’s topic really opened our minds to the danger of AIDS and how it
impacted our society. They also opened our eyes to how much discrimination
there really was when the AIDS epidemic was going on. These films show how much
the gay community had to do to finally reach the near equality that we have
today. Both movies show how
hard our society was on the gay community and how the gay community took the
blame for the AIDS crisis.
The filmmakers created a very powerful message through the interviews
they used. Through interviews of Peter Staley as the head man of ACT UP or even
the multiple interviews in the film “We Were Here”
describing the lives of multiple gay men and the
hard times they had throughout the plague, we saw the story of the AIDS
epidemic from a real point of view. These people were really in the epidemic
and not only watching from the sidelines. Also, the use of multiple sources of
footage showed how each person or news channel viewed these hard times.
Although the films were
very similar in the sense that the topic for both films was the AIDS epidemic
in the 80s and 90s, they also had some key difference. In "How to Survive
a Plague," the AIDS advocates were fighting for more effective drug
testing methods so that they could find a cure for the disease. They protest
and riot and try to help make a difference. The documentary film "We Were
Here," focuses less on the protesting aspect and more in the ways that
people helped each other cope with the AIDS virus. They talked about people
caring for others while they were sick. They showed people selling merchandise
to help raise money. Both films showed the strength of solidarity in a broken
community but in very different ways. The gay community was often discriminated
against, but it was this discrimination that fueled their bond and sense of
community with each other. It is very interesting how both filmmakers chose
different methods to convey the same message.
Both films can connect
on personal levels even if it doesn’t have to do with us being apart of the gay
community. The fight they put up against the bigger powers for what they
believe is right, fuels some motivation to bring justice to our society. Discrimination
isn’t right and there is something that each and every one of us can do to change
that.
The link below shows how hard ACT
UP has ben fighting and what they have continued to accomplish year round.
The AIDS epidemic was a
terrible time in history. Many people died or lost loved ones. But in a time of
such devastation, an entire community was able to come together and help make a
difference. After being broken down, the community used love and solidarity to
come out even stronger. After seeing the power of solidarity within the gay
community, it is interesting to think about what could have happened if entire
cities had come together and tried to fight the battle against AIDS as oppose
to discriminating against gay people.
I really like the fact that the blog mentions the responsibility in the spread. Their irresponsibility and lack of consideration for the gay community really fostered a mitigation of the virus, and thus made it spread even more than it should. Had they taken actions and respected fundamental human rights which state that every man and women have the right to health, many lives would have been saved. And find it beautiful and inspiring how the gay community sticked together and fight, despite the numerous obstacles, both internal and external.
ReplyDeleteI like that this blog spoke about different people that did good things for the AIDS community. I wouldn't change anything or add more because I think this blog is really well written. I really liked How to Survive a Plague because I had no idea that this happened in the 90's. I feel like this movie has taught me a lot about the gay community. Society tends to hide things that involve gay people and gay sex because they think it's wrong. They don't want to educate others about that and that's a reason why there are so any homophobic people in the world.
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog! This film How to Survive a Plague actually taught me thing's I didn't know about the mid 80's-90's crisis, I never heard about the group Act-up. The scene that I really found interesting while watching the film was when Act-up and all the supporters joined together in Washington DC, and the supporters brought there loved ones urns and ending up throwing the ashes on the White house grounds to get there message across to the Government to do something. I thought that was a really powerful scene.
ReplyDelete-Vanessa C
Amazing blog! I really like all the elements that were incorporated into this entry. Especially when you spoke about the importance of certain people during this plague. We can definitely see that specific characters, like Peter Staley and all the members of ACT-UP, are the key to their success! This documentary taught me a lot about the past and of our government. It took as much as them showing up on the grounds of the White House to pursue their dream of getting a cure. It was certainly an extremely touching moment when they realized they succeeded. This thriving film makes us grasp the fact that, to win a battle, all we need to do is learn, fight and love.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! It is really well written. I like the fact that it shows what people did for the AIDS virus. I also like to see some very influential people that did make a considerable influence in the fight for AIDS. I did not know about the ACT-UP group before watching the movie. Overall good blog and very interesting to read!
ReplyDelete-Mathieu M
I really liked your blog, it was very interesting and clear. I also liked the fact that the documentary film “How to Survive A Plague” taught us a lot about about the past and the history of the mid 80’s and 90’s crisis. I also liked how you mentioned the similarity between the two films and that the acts that the people had against these diseases were represented by a whole community that came up together.
ReplyDelete-David R.
This film inspired me more that I anticipated. I had never truly seen what an idea could accomplish for a group of people when hard work and dedication was put in. Despite how many beautiful souls were taken because of this horrible pandemic, this film gave me hope. If a small group of activists could help an entire nation (and even the world), then who is to say I can't do something as well? - Chloe Demers
ReplyDeleteGreat blog well written and documented. Interesting comparison between"We Were Here," and how to survive the plague. The protest certainly had a considerable impact, but without Act up further research into the AIDS pandemic may have been impossible or inconsequential. The blatant discrimination of the LGBTQ community was appalling and a disaster, thousands died when they could have been saved if the Reagan administration had done their part. What happened in the 1980's and 90's should be a lesson to all of us, we must not take our lives and happiness for granted. Overall good job I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Copithorne
“How to Survive a Plague” was one of the films we saw in class that really changed my perspective of society and how we treat those who do not fall in the box of “normalcy”. Your blog summed up the movie well by describing that the film showed an injustice and that you don’t have to be part of the gay community to realize that the gay community was treated with disrespectful during the AIDS crisis. Very well done!
ReplyDeleteJuliet Nolet