HIV In Philadelphia

Ever since the first cases of what eventually came to be known as AIDS were diagnosed in the early 1980s, people with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatized. Over time, there have been many misconceptions about this disease. Even though there have been many discoveries, and treatments for HIV have improved over time, there are still many people who understand very little about this disease. This lack of understanding, along with fear, misinformation about how the disease is transmitted, and “moral” judgments made about the types of people who contract HIV, all have led to stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding the stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is an important social justice issue because that stigmatization can result in people with HIV being insulted, rejected, gossiped about, excluded from family and social activities, fired, and even jailed. People with HIV are no different from people suffering from other chronic diseases. Instead of being alienated, they have a right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.

Politics played a tremendous role in the movie. The best example would be when doctor Gallun was competing with the French to be recognized as the founder of AIDS. Due to this conflict, the matter needed to be taken into court so that it could be resolved. The problem was that if there was a lawsuit, the process of creating a cure for the virus would take ten times as long. That is why doctor

The disease known as AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is the final stage of HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, which causes an exceptional amount of damage to the immune system. Certain white blood cells known as lymphocytes are destroyed, resulting in loss of the body's ability to protect itself against disease. Victims undergo an increased susceptibility to infections, various types of cancers, and neurological disorders. The origins and widespread epidemic of AIDS occurred from the 1970s to 1990s in the United States. There are a number of factors that may have contributed to the sudden spread including widespread drug use, the blood industry, and international travel. The 1970s saw an increase in the availability of heroin

Though incurable, there is medication that can be used to help an infected person live a relatively normal life, but the medication is extremely expansive. Thus the number one prevention method is education. The United States government’s response to the entire disease in a medical, social and economic way were consider major failures as millions were left to suffer without support. Unlike today, where one can search the Internet to learn about their disease and how to handle it, back in 1980’s and 1990’s people were being infected and given no guidance from the government on how to handle it. This caused great fear in Americans and many misconceptions about the disease started to develop. People were unaware that the disease could only transfer through the contact of bodily fluids so people with AIDS were socially exiled out of fear that they might infect others. Thus this disease affected the gay community that was already stigmatized by society more than any other single demographic of people.

In the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” FRONTLINE examines the outbreak of AIDS since its first diagnosed case in 1981. The film investigates different medical, political and social environments under AIDS pandemic in the US and worldwide. The film not only focuses on the scientific research and progress in treating the disease, it also looks at the social stigma, government strategies and public campaigns around different countries.

Ryan White was one of the many people entangled in the hysteria. White, who contracted the virus through a bad blood transfusion, endured much ridicule in his short life. Rejected by his friends, neighbors and even his own school, White felt like an outcast. (Johnson, 1) Most of the people’s fear, stemmed from their ignorance on the topics of AIDS.(Johnson, 1) Hysteria started when people thought AIDS could be contracted by a simple handshake, which made people scared of getting the disease.(Johnson, 1) White began to educate people about this disease by spreading awareness on the subject.(Johnson, 1) People slowly started to realize that the disease wasn’t as contractible as the hysteria led them to believe.(Johnson, 1) Ryan White died at age eighteen, from complications from the AIDS virus.(Johnson, 1) White still serves as reminder of how much we learned from the hysteria. (Johnson,

The year was 1991 when Mary Fisher tested positive for HIV. Fisher is the daughter of Max Fisher, a powerful and wealthy republican. She isn 't the normal face of AIDS, and in 1992 she spoke out of her disease at the Republican National Convention. Fisher 's speech, A Whisper of AIDS, is considered one of the top speeches of the 20th century. When Fisher gave her speech, she spoke to a crowd that didn 't believe AIDS was going to affect their lives. When listening and reading the speech, one must take into context the time period, during the 90s testing positive for HIV/AIDS meant death. At the time there were no treatments to help prolong those

The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, consisted entirely of deaths, illnesses and most of all fear, changing the way society viewed gay men. Being that it was only happening to homosexuals and everyone became super homophobic and believed that the disease was a cause of being gay until it started happening to women too. This affected the entire medical metaphysics in society on what is considered safe methods of having sex and health precautions as well. Before the 1980s hit HIV was thought to originate form Kinshasa which is in Congo. In the 1920 HIV crossed between chimpanzees to humans on the Democratic Republic of humans.(Avert 1). AIDS is caused by HIV and is the last stage of HIV and can lead to death. It attacks every single

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

Since it is a disease contracted on one’s own, it is oftentimes seen as the fault of the person living with HIV or AIDS, therefore causing others to feel as though they should not be held responsible for such accomodation. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the stigma of HIV and other marginalized groups, such as queer and people of color. For a long period of time there was a general misconstrued idea that this disease only affected gay men or those who were economically disadvantaged and seen negatively, including minority groups.

Twenty years ago, a person who has contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, would be ostracized, labeled as a homosexual, and was likely to be banned from public places such as pools and school. The lifestyle was undesirable, and the lack of education on the subject lead many people to start and believe asinine rumors about the virus and its transmission. On top of this the carrier must also take upwards of twenty pills a day to hopefully prevent the growth of HIV, and eventually progressing into AIDS. HIV doesn’t just affect Latinos, African Americans, or gay, but every single person.

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

In the nineteen eighties many were dying from aids as stated by Ja”ne,"A theatrical producer died of AIDS, and a photographer; the lover of the photographer shot himself, either out of grief or because he knew he was next. ”(Atwood 8) This quote from the story shows the real fear that was placed in people minds as they were led to the belief that they had no hope and would choose to kill themselves, unlike today where you can get medication but still no cure. It got so bad in the nineteen eighties that as stated, " HIV in the '80s: People didn't want to kiss you on the cheek. ”(Landau)

The camera focuses on a very physically depleted Andrew who is seeking legal counsel to sue the law firm that fired him because he believes that he was fired for having AIDS. He believes that his boss deliberately sabotaged the documents to make him look bad so they could fire him for incompetence rather than his illness. Many lawyers turned down his case. He sought help from an African American man named Joseph Miller and Miller turned his request down because he was gay and he was afraid of getting the AIDS virus from Andrew. During the time Andrew was in Miller’s office, Miller’s face was visibly fearful

In the film Philadelphia, Tom Hanks plays the role of Andrew Beckett who is a homosexual man who was wrongly fired from his job because of his HIV positive diagnosis. During the duration of the film, Beckett’s health starts to fade as his condition gradually worsens from HIV to full blown AIDS in a heartbreaking process that gives the audience a visual of just how punishing this disease is (Demme, 1993). Hanks himself mentions the overall importance of this role in his speech during which he states “And there lies my dilemma here