Steve Lott Analysis

The story of Steve Lott is something that millennials who live on the internet might find foreign. In an age in which HIV is no longer a death sentence, often treatable with antiretroviral medications, the disease is thought of as a circumstance more so than a death sentence. This video, a rare and very private glimpse into a life in an era where AIDS was a ticking time bomb in the gay community, starkly points out the reality of this very serious epidemic. It’s startling to consider just how far we’ve come.

Recorded in 1991, this is an intimate look into the everyday life of Lott as he suffers with his disease while interacting with his partner, his friends, and trying to lead some semblance of a normal life. Lott is a part of a forgotten generation of gay men who would succumb in in dramatic numbers to this often misunderstood condition. Lott, was 26 years old when he passed away, having lived his life as a moderately successful independent play writer in the East Village of New York City.

In spite of being ravaged by the painful purple lesions brought on by the AIDS-defining cancer Kaposi’s Sarcoma, Lott can be viewed taking a hauntingly casual bath while his partner and a female friend document the event.

While the video speaks for itself, it should be noted just how startling it is to see Lott, emaciated and covered with Kaposi’s spots, discussing his Barbie collection while his partner tends to him. The sheer banal nature of the conversation when juxtaposed with the apparent gravity of Mr. Lott’s situation is stunning, heartbreaking, and strangely beautiful.

Lott’s experiences and death would go on to inspire further art, specifically from his partner. Most recently, Chris Tanner attempted to put on a stage production and performance based on the writings of Lott entitled “The Etiquette of Death.” Unfortunately, his IndieGoGo fundraiser for the project

failed.

Seeing a man in this condition, his body having been ravaged by unimaginable pain and suffering, live on through an internet fundraiser twenty years after his death speaks volumes about the power of the internet to bridge gaps between generations. Rather than some barroom argument over how kids today can’t communicate because of their overuse of Twitter and Facebook, Steve Lott’s legacy lives on through channels that he could have never even foresaw the existence of. The internet can, indeed, be a strange, funny, and heartrending place if you know where to look.