How to Survive A Plague

Deb 6+   Me 10

Another straight forward documentary that draws from a wealth of period footage, created from both video and film formats and archival footage from the media. When the AIDS virus was new there was no support in the way of medicine or possible cure and no real interest by the government, FDA or pharmaceutical companies to deal with the growing epidemic. This film follows the travails of about half a dozen guys who suffer from AIDS, wouldn't accept the fate that was dealt them and created a group called Act Up to help facilitate a cure.

This is really a superb inside look at the path of meaningful social change, how it evolves, grows and sometimes explodes in your face. These guys came to understand the tremendous breadth of the issues they faced and dedicated their lives to the research, self-education and effective activism to help resolve this worldwide problem. 

What really blew me away was that this is all happening when I was an adult, mostly aware of world events and had no idea of the struggles that were taking place on this front. I remember my brother watching the movie about Apollo 13 and wondering if it was a true story. He was in Viet Nam at when this all took place; there were other issues in front of him at the time and he never heard about the dramatic events in space. I'm not sure where I was when the "Act Up" group did their protests and demonstrations, but it was outside my range of interest. Now, presented in this tight package, I find a wonderful tale of people who dig a bit deeper and rise a bit higher than I ever imagined. A real eye opening and fascinating story.