December 2nd, 2008
By Eddy
Yesterday December 1 was World Aids Day. So even though I am late, I have decided to participate spurred on by the example provided by my steamy ex girlfriend/Fiancé Tara Met Blog and her exploits on various causes. Now keeping within the modest theme of the website I wanted to give you my top 4 (because that is all that I can remember) AIDS/HIV related movies and a little bit on what I thought of them:
1) Kids-While not specifically focusing on HIV and AIDS the reason it tops my list is how accurately the life of a NYC teen is depicted during the early to mid 90s. The HIV/AIDS part only show up a few scenes but ultimately has an enormous impact in the end on the lives of a number of the characters. I periodically have flashbacks on the final rape scene like some shell-shocked Vietnam vet, because of the profound impact it had on me at the age of 14. The people on the screen were only a couple of years older than I and it scared the shit out of me. I am pretty certain that the movie did more for me in giving me the “talk” about wearing condoms than any middle or high school sex-ed class ever did. Much like Philadelphia below, the ending is too sad for me and I can only watch the movie every once in blue moon.
2) Philadelphia-Now this one is on top of everybody’s list. It served to bring out into the open much of the stigma that has surrounded AIDS and HIV during a period in the late 80s and 90s that the disease was extremely misunderstood. It helps having an Oscar winning performance by one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, Tom Hanks and a very good performance by Denzel Washington (no slouch himself). I still can’t watch this entire movie all the way through, I really hate sad stories and after I watched it the first time, I had enough (Its funny that I can watch the most gory movie with the crappiest endings possible and see it multiple times but I can’t watch a sad movie more than once, I guess there is no accounting for taste). I think that this could be really the patient zero on all the Ugly/Gay/Mentally Ill, etc. Oscar winning performances that followed in the latter years. Special shout out to Antonio Banderas for playing Tom’s boy toy bringing him into the national spot light for the first time.
3) And the Band Played On- Filled with a number of B+ stars this DocuDrama told the story about the initial outbreak of AIDS. It was framed in the movie like a killer epidemic showing the spread from Africa and basically made it sound like the disease was going to spread through out the world in a matter of months. If any movie could be called a “fire and brimstone” sermon on the dangerous spread of the virus this is definitely it. Of course, this is the first movie they showed my class in freshmen year in high school 1995. Goes to show what adults (wait that is me now) are willing to do to get kids to listen and obey. Unfortunately, it didn’t work then and probably won’t work now. God, what have I unleashed upon the world with my son! The kid is going to be a terror; I can’t even get my dogs to behave.
4) The Ryan White Story- Now, I am pretty sure that this was a News special that they started sending out to schools so that students could see that AIDS is not only spread by sex (especially the homosexual kind, which was the big brouhaha of the time then) but can be spread through blood transfusions. We get to see the story of Ryan White and how he tried to get his message out. I am pretty sure that he got to spend sometime with Michael Jackson (I will refrain from any jokes at this moment 1) because they are so played out and 2) hasn’t MJ had enough problems) and Elton John even wrote a song about him, and that is pretty damn cool.
That is pretty much it. I tried for 5 but got only 4. Oh well, like I said, most of these movies don’t really end well, so it isn’t really something I try and see.
Either way, I think it really is important to support causes like the cure for AIDS, which some people say is only a couple of years away if everyone bands together to eradicate it, which is saying something.
Through all the bloodshed of politics, religion and race…can one cause really rise above it all? It is a difficult task, but one worthy of striving for because if we as a world can’t come together to create some hope of a better future then there won’t really be a future left to hope for.
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