The Epidemic Of The Aids Epidemic - 2044 Words

The beginning of the AIDS epidemic started in 1981 when the first case of an unknown disease was publically announced. Since its publication the human immunodeficiency virus and its autoimmune deficiency syndrome have sparked many concerns, medically, ethically, and socially. The following documentary and films expressed awareness to the public, they are: Documentaries: †¢ Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt †¢ The Age of AIDS †¢ On the Downlow †¢ Reporter Zero †¢ End Game: AIDS in Black America †¢ Silver Lake Life: The View from Here †¢ Hope is the Thing with Feathers Feature Films: †¢ Philadelphia †¢ Jeffrey †¢ And the Band Played On Over the course of the semester, the films have been analyzed ethically rating their values on society. The†¦show more content†¦During the time of the AIDS epidemic, the Reagan Era was in full effect. As of 1982, President Ronald Reagan had not used the term AIDS in public, while his press secretary made jokes of the deadly disease. It is not until 1985, that Reagan speaks of AIDS publically to which roughly approximately 6,000 people have died. However, it isn’t until 1987 and 20,000 deaths later that Reagan identifies the disease as â€Å"public enemy number one† (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003). The political events sparked public controversy since the medical community had made very little advancements pending the increasing death toll. It was with the three documentaries The Age of AIDS, Reporter Zero, and the feature film And the Band Played On the medical struggle was revealed. In The Age of AIDS and The Band Played On that the struggle sc ientists battled to find the culprit of disease. For example, in The Band Played On, the French scientists at the Pasteur Institute raced against the clock to identify the virus that was causing the public havoc. The political issue of international boarders becomes evident when Dr. Robert Gallo’s team is slower in the race. In which Gallomakes a questionable move plagiarizing facts to make it look like his team and the French have identified the same virus, at the same