Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Stigma attached to people that have AIDS
Stigma attached to people that have AIDS
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Stigma attached to people that have AIDS
Write a one page reflection on the movie, “Something to Live For.”
Alison Gertz, a white, twenty-two year old, heterosexual female, living in the East coast. What could possibly go wrong?
At the beginning of the movie, “Something to Live For,” Alison Gertz claimed to feel, “invisible, like she can concur anything.” At the age of sixteen, this Manhattanite had a one-night-stand with a bartender named Darren. Darren is described in the film, as a lonely person, yet he used to sleep with a new woman every night. This resulted in him getting, and passing, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, also known as AIDS. Alison Gertz had no symptoms of having this infection until seven years after her sexual intercourse with Darren.
This movie really opened my eyes, when it comes to the case of STI’s and HIV. In today’s world, society always puts images in our heads of what a person with AIDS would be like. In all honesty, the only person that I have seen in a movie with AIDS is Jenny from the movie Forest Gump. Jenny was an abused child, who was on Playboy magazine, did drugs and wasn’t careful, thus she got AIDS .You wouldn’t expect this from a woman who, never used intravenous drugs, wasn't promiscuous,
…show more content…
When Mark found out about Alison’s AIDS, he stayed with her for a short period of time before he decided that he needs time to think about the situation. A couple days later, Mark comes to Alison’s house, and they have sexual intercourse with two condoms. (Alison strongly believed that people should include condoms in romantic scenes). In the later scene, Alison accidentally sees Mark excessively cleaning himself with soap. I think that this was a big eye opener for Alison, fore she was now known to be as the girl with AIDS. Towards the end of the movie, Mark and Alison where not together any more. This character in the movie is very important, since it shows the strain that HIV can have on a
Later, Mark was in a motorcycle accident where he almost died, but he survived. After the accident he became a different person and angrier. Mark had an affair with a fifteen-year-old girl. Barbara even told the girl 's mother, but she didn 't care for some reason. Mark found out and became angry, but his mood swung so fast he was ready to have sex with Barbara again.
Alison’s relationship with her father was crucial for her to discover that she was a lesbian. Her father had so many weird gestures and actions that made her figure out he might be gay. On page 5 of the book, he said: “Wash these old curtains so we can put up the hand-embroidered lace ones I found in Mrs. Strump’s attic” (Bechdel 5). That kind of comments made him seem weird not directly homosexual but not what a heterosexual man should have said. After his death, she found out from her mom that he had affairs with men in the past. This made Alison realize that she
My favorite character in the movie is Dr. Francis; the reason being that he had the public’s best interest at heart and cared for those suffering from the virus. He could care less about the fame of discovering the virus, he just wanted to what was right for society, prevent the virus from killing hundreds of people, and educate society. Furthermore, one of my favorite moments of the movie was when the CDC stated that the virus wasn’t a political issue, nor a gay issue, it was a health and human issue, because from that moment on society began to work as a group to help find the cause of the unknown virus. On the other hand, my least favorite moment was seeing how so many people were affected and died from the virus. Additionally, my least favorite character was Gallo because he didn’t have the publics best interest at heart. He was more concerned with the fame and taking all the credit than putting an end to the outbreak. For instance, during a scene in the movie, Francis told Gallo that it should be them against the virus not them against each other. Moreover, I thought the patient that was case zero was selfish and wasn’t taking the virus seriously. He didn’t care to tell the people that he was having sexual intercourse with that he might have been infected. In fact, he continued with his sexual practices, knowing that he could be putting others at risk. During a segment of the movie, Bill, from the CDC, shows how up to forty-five cases of infected patients had been
Wow, I never expected to sit home on a Saturday night watching a documentary about AIDS, and needing a box of tissues. The film a Closer walk was definitely an eye opener!! As mentioned in the film, “AIDS is the grandfather of all diseases”, such a true statement after watching this film and realizing how it affects so many lives in so many ways ( ). AIDS in Africa is a nightmare. As Oliva Nantango, the girl that cared for her mother at age 12, because relatives were afraid of catching AIDS, stated “How do you tell your child you are dying”? I can’t imagine the heartache the children go through seeing their parents die at such a young age and leaving them orphaned. My heart was ached for many on that film, but for some reason, Oliva’s story really got to my heart. She was a very brave, strong young woman and I was so happy she was getting treatment, but it was too late, such a upsetting situation. But, I was happy she got to tell her story at the White House, and hopefully made a difference in someone’s life.
Overall the film was a very informative film for a more homophobic audience. The content was relatable and connected well with the information and discussions that have been within our society for a long time. It was a well-done film that really questions the homophobic opinions and while this is still a very real debate in today’s society the film does a great job at arguing the homophobic opinions.
One important scene in the film ‘The Age of Aids’ is “Port Au Prince, Haiti”. In this scene it outlines the conditions in Haiti, which were very poor and it turn left the city defenseless against the new disease. In 70’s and 80’s the disease began to be seen by doctors and priests who were being sought after to cure a unseen disease which left the people with the “look of death, [making them] so skinny you could see their bones”. The scene then goes on to take a look at one of the first HIV clinics in Port Au Prince, which was opened in the roughest parts of town. One of the surprising things that this clinic found when they were looking at the patients coming in was that the mean they were analyzing had more contact with women then they had with men. This was extremely interesting because this was completely different from what the pattern of the disease had been in the US. The doctors believed this was because homosexual males had been coming into Haiti as tourists and where having sex with locals, who in comparison didn’t call themselves homosexuals because even though they had been having sex with men, the number of women they were having sex with greatly outnumbered the men. This was extremely important because it allowed people to open their eyes, and realize that this was not a homosexual disease, that anyone could get the disease. And that’s exactly what happened within the Haitian community. Within three years the disease had spread across the entire island effects all aspects of society. This scene was effective because it is able to change a viewer with little knowledge of the disease to understand how doctors were able to come to the conclusion that the disease was not in fact a homosexual ...
"Only the BLACK WOMAN can say 'when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed
Anna Quindlen describes in the essay “Abortion is too Complex to Feel one Way About” the different situation that we as a human race are put in everyday. She talks about the topic of abortion in a way that one feels they have had to make the decision of whether or not a person is pro-choice or pro-life. She uses references that are of different personal experiences in the essay that are vital to the audience. Quindlen is writing to state her point that one should never put their self in this situation because one should take the proper responsibility. In this paper you will read about the conflict with abortion and what Quindlen thinks about this issue.
The movie teaches us to look beyond the cover and into who someone is as a person. We also learn that sometimes contact with people makes us reconsider our judgement towards them, to find out the real person underneath.
“And the Band Played On” was an HBO movie that illustrated the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and early 1990s. The movie touched on subjects concerning the reaction of the gay community, the heterosexual community, and the medical community. It showed not only the research in AIDS, but also the way that the US government dealt with it. The movie expressed the consequences the gay community suffered, the plight of the medical community in researching the disease, and the issue of government response to it.
In the movie “And the Band Played On”, illustrated the origin of the AIDS virus, how it was spread across the world quickly. It began with a scene in 1976, Central Africa, shows how the Ebola disease affected a village and was contained before it was spread. This was to show the beginning of another serious disease called AIDS. The world was not prepared to handle such a contagious plague. Doctors treating people with this virus thought that the first cases of the HIV virus was just an abnormality disease. The disease started to spread all over, especially gay men. Throughout the movie, I was able to see different points, such as the beginning of AIDS, the misconceptions it had, and the anguish it brought to the doctors as well as people around the world.
I thought the video was very memorable because it showed how young these kids were and they were already taking multiple pills each day. It is sad to me that these children will likely spend most of their lives on medication. Also, the little girl, Jessica, really stuck out to me. I had never seen such a violent thought come from a four year old, it was something you would never expect because most people don’t recognize that kids can have bipolar disorder too. The meaningful and powerful part of the movie to me was that a little girl died in the night as a result of all the medications she was prescribed. That was very shocking to me because
This film challenged my previous thoughts of bipolar disorder and took me into personal accounts of people suffering from this horrible disorder. I learned that individuals that are diagnosed with bipolar disorder are not the same and have different experiences of how the disease affected their life. I was honestly shocked at the fact that a disease in the brain can make you go into a manic state of mind and then fall into a deep depression. One of the most eye opening parts in the film was when Cheri was going to a client’s house and had to look into the mirror before she went in and told herself to put on her game face and transform into a chipper, perky version of herself because she was feeling down. This made me realize that people around you can be suffering from depression or other mental diseases around you and you can be completely unaware because the symptoms can be
Not only does this movie deal with the issues of society, but it points to biblical scriptures that help lead us in the right direction. The biggest lesson that this film taught me was that if I put my complete faith in God, then no matter what happens, he will provide, watch over, and take care of me. I learned that expressing belief in God is not enough. I have to live everyday believing and trusting him and I have to show my trust and faith through my actions and my words.
If I meet the wrong person or being forced to do something, I should reject and leave immediately. This movie brings a lot of thinking about sexuality, sexual orientation and gender issues, and it does influence audiences in many different