Dallas Buyers Club Essay

Dallas Buyers Club was considered a controversial movie. After the release of the film, many were against it but some were not. The movie was directed by a French-Canadian film director, Jean-Marc Vallée. Although the topic of this movie is not openly conveyed by many viewers due to its tendentious aspects to it, Dallas Buyers Club was recognized as one of the best films in 2013 with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. In the movie, the character Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy who lives an ordinary Texan lifestyle. After being diagnosed with HIV positive, Ron’s world was changed 360 degrees. At first, Ron was isolated by his friends and closed ones; HIV was a new virus that was born out of human mistakes and having to dealt with the stigma of it in the mid-1980s, Ron had no choice but to change the way he lives.

Moreover, Ron’s undefeated spirit did not lead him to a humiliating death, with only said of 30 days to live predicted by Dr.

Sevard, Ron lived for another seven years of struggling and finding a cure for his sickness before he rests in peace, like Ron once said “Let me give y'all a little news flash. There ain't nothin' out there can kill Ron Woodroof in 30 days”. The sheer fact of Ron wanting to live desperately has made this movie more interesting; in reality, not many people would go to the extent like what Ron did to live a better life. For a fact, what one sees in today’s social media posting about AIDS awareness are only the frontlines which consist a small number of people conducting it, beyond that is a whole new side of the story. In Dallas Buyers Club, Ron Woodroof spirit to thrive when facing overwhelming problems not only made him a “hero”, but also for the greater good of his

community.
“Dallas Buyers Club takes audiences back to the worst of the AIDS crisis, where the disease was a death sentence, and the public's terror and hostility were at its height” (LaSalle). Ron Woodroof had a rough start after being diagnosed with HIV positive physically and emotionally but his perseverance paid off the sacrifices, anyone with the similar disease would have been devastated when heard at first. Ron was hesitant enough to accept that it was the end of his world, he tried many ways to aid his sickness. For example, he secretly bought the zidovudine or AZT drug from a local hospital male nurse without a doctor’s prescription having to know AZT was the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) by Dr. Eve. In a third person’s point of view, Ron was clearly reckless of his action despite the desperation of his current situation had led him no other choices. Soon after he was in Mexico, Ron found better alternatives that could replace the AZT drug when he realized AZT drug are highly toxic when consumed, as stated by Dr. Vass. Even though the new drugs were taking a positive effect on him, it was unapproved by the FDA. However, Ron’s disguise as a priest was a rather clever way for him to pursue his goal of getting rich rather than doing nothing. The initial plan of Ron smuggling the unapproved drugs back to Dallas to be sold has taken yet a sanguine outcome to his business of the “Dallas Buyers Club”. In addition, Ron not only was making money, he was able to make new friends like Rayon and Dr. Eve to prove that the unapproved drugs are better than the AZT drug against the FDA and the local hospital. Besides that, he was able to gain valuable knowledge about HIV and AIDS that is self-fulfilling.