“The Age of AIDS” and the “Rise of the Killer Virus” documentaries look at how the disease has spread since the first case was identified in 1981, as well as how researchers trace its origins. The movies look at many AIDS-related medical, political, and societal contexts in the US and throughout the world. These documentaries have opened my eyes to some things that I have never known about the initial AIDS outbreak and where it came from. This paper will reflect on my findings from the two movies.
The first new thing I have learned from the “Age of AIDS” documentary is that the majority of the initial patients were gay men. This meant that not only they had to endure the suffering that AIDS had caused them, but also the stigma that their lifestyle was surrounded with (Simone, 2006). Moreover, when it was found that the new disease was not exclusive to gay men, it was new to me that the initial outbreak of AIDS was largely due to “shooting galleries”, where drug addicts could “rent” needles to inject cocaine (Simone). These findings were astonishing to me, as up to this point I haven’t known about the existence of “shooting galleries”, as well as the persecution of gay men for a disease that they did not cause.
The “Rise of the Killer Virus” focuses on the part that European colonialism played in spreading HIV. One of the most common causes of HIV infection is through the meat of wild animals. According to the documentary, the disease was spread due to malnourished woodcutters in the African colonies, who resorted to eating monkey meat (Gierstorfer, 2014). Thus, Europeans have contributed to spreading AIDS through inhumane work conditions in the African colonies.
To summarize, the two documentaries have given me a greater understanding of the rapid spread of HIV and AIDS. “Age of AIDS” and “Rise of the Killer Virus” are made demonstrate the circulation of diseases among people in an easy to follow manner. From the inhumane conditions in the African colonies, to the stigmatization of gay men and the wildfire-like propagation of AIDS through “shooting galleries”, the films give a better perspective on how societies get infected.
References
Gierstorfer, C. (2014). The Rise of the Killer Virus [Film]. Smithsonian Channel Simone, R. (2006). Age of AIDS [Film]. PBS
LolaCatherine7474. (2017). Rise of the killer virus – video dailymotion. Dailymotion. Web.