AIDS has been one of the most misunderstood and deadliest viruses man has ever come across. The movie that we saw in class, And the Band Played On, shows how scientists miscalculated the severity and that it had almost been mistaken for a different virus. The movie shows how the United States and France worked together to try to identify the extremely deadly virus with some quarrelling dealing with credibility. The viewer also learns how HIV spread so rapidly from one person to another.
The video focused on homosexuals and the gay community as a whole in respect to their lifestyles. Accusations were made that only homosexuals had the virus and were considered outcasts to many people. The public tried to close downs the bathhouses in San Francisco, hoping to prevent further spreading. Over time, researchers came to realize that not only homosexuals had HIV and AIDS. They later found out that several blood transfusion patients had also contracted HIV.
At this time, there was a lot of violence and fighting amongst people in the community because they were afraid of getting the disease and since the virus was associated with homosexuals, many people took action against them. As an attempt to educate people about the AIDS and HIV, scientists would hold press conferences and explain to the viewers what the virus was all about and how they were going about to try and contain the virus. These attempts did help people realize the severity and mad them more aware of how to prevent themselves from getting AIDS and HIV.
I think that much more research is needed to help with the fight against AIDS and HIV. Just like in the movie, many places were under funded and working with outdated equipment. Without adequate funding, the problem with AIDS and HIV will continue to escalate. .
