I watched this special report for Panorama a couple of months ago so my impressions might be a little foggy but I'll try my best. If compared to two similar
specials made by BBC on the special Horizon (one that was made in 1983 right when UK was reporting its first AIDS cases; the other was in 1986. Both before this
special) this "latest" and from a different program is quite inferior for lots of things. The good key difference in telling about the evolution about HIV/AIDS
on society and its prevention is that it goes out from UK and covers stories/cases happening in three major cities around the globe: São Paulo (Brazil) when it was
reported as the second place with the largest numbers of AIDS cases in the world behind U. S., Bavaria (Germany) and Minnesota (U. S.), and how those three places
were treating prevention and educating people about the disease. Great points of view and interesting to see how things were back at that time - since I live in one of
those cities it was a fascinating experience to see an international view on how we were going with those issues.
But unlike the "Horizon" documentaries, this one is carried away with some of the dark corners about the disease and the treatment given to the issue seems a little prejudiced, we have biased and harmful views of people who were at the front center of the battle as if they didn't comprehend exactly what they were dealing with. There's plenty of talk (in all of three mentioned cities) about AIDS viewed as something that comes and happens only to people of low income, prostitutes, drug dealers and homosexuals who lived on reckless behavior - the film keeps pointing out to helpers who are fighting against the virus but it's almost like they're saying that kind of people are the only known victims when in fact people from all walks of life and backgrounds were infected as well (and major media talked about it, and by 1987 you already knew plenty of famous people as well). It was quite strange to see that.
And since the film was such on a strange note I wonder why they showed a small clip from future congressman/alderman/who knows now "missed in action" Afanasio Jazadji on his radio show as a Rush Limbaugh version before the man criticising gays and AIDS when you don't get to see an actual critical point of view of his. It's a small clip with the narrator talking over the radio program and I was quite curious to see how close-minded this bigot was back then. Back when I was a kid I remember him due to his electoral TV campaigns and didn't know much about his past and criticisms, so it was a strange shock to see how controversial he was back in his media heyday. But on the opposite side we had a major church figure who was very receptive about AIDS victims, and if I'm not mistaken he was part of an association that dealt with those cases when the public hospitals were too crowded or were rejecting patients. The forementioned examples comes from São Paulo.
Minneapolis had a couple of people delivering pamflets encouring safe sex and encouraging people to take the AIDS test, an improvement if we consider the other documentaries period when one was unavailable (1983) and the other was in its early days (1986); as for the Bavaria case, there was meetings with counseling groups and ridiculous laws against prostitution and gay relationships - don't remember exactly what it was but there was something revolving around the infamous Nazi Paragraph 175.
Newer generations will have plenty of good material to learn and understand the 1980's context of fear and paranoia a deadly pandemic caused on people and society in the 1980's - far more harmful than the COVID era, since people didn't have the internet on full display to gather information, it was really terrifying and the news from major networks didn't help much yet you had to rely on those. It was harmful and with no cure in sight and plenty of people faced prejudice just because they got the disease - they lost family, friends, jobs, social inclusion and that was left was the charity of strangers or ostracism. It's a well presented documentary, but for a more hopeful view on the issue I'd recommend Horizon's "Killer in the Village" (1983) and "AIDS: A Strange and Deadly Virus" (1986), and I don't mention exaggerating its qualities. They carry a lot of qualities both on the informative aspect but also in the humanistic as well. 6/10.
But unlike the "Horizon" documentaries, this one is carried away with some of the dark corners about the disease and the treatment given to the issue seems a little prejudiced, we have biased and harmful views of people who were at the front center of the battle as if they didn't comprehend exactly what they were dealing with. There's plenty of talk (in all of three mentioned cities) about AIDS viewed as something that comes and happens only to people of low income, prostitutes, drug dealers and homosexuals who lived on reckless behavior - the film keeps pointing out to helpers who are fighting against the virus but it's almost like they're saying that kind of people are the only known victims when in fact people from all walks of life and backgrounds were infected as well (and major media talked about it, and by 1987 you already knew plenty of famous people as well). It was quite strange to see that.
And since the film was such on a strange note I wonder why they showed a small clip from future congressman/alderman/who knows now "missed in action" Afanasio Jazadji on his radio show as a Rush Limbaugh version before the man criticising gays and AIDS when you don't get to see an actual critical point of view of his. It's a small clip with the narrator talking over the radio program and I was quite curious to see how close-minded this bigot was back then. Back when I was a kid I remember him due to his electoral TV campaigns and didn't know much about his past and criticisms, so it was a strange shock to see how controversial he was back in his media heyday. But on the opposite side we had a major church figure who was very receptive about AIDS victims, and if I'm not mistaken he was part of an association that dealt with those cases when the public hospitals were too crowded or were rejecting patients. The forementioned examples comes from São Paulo.
Minneapolis had a couple of people delivering pamflets encouring safe sex and encouraging people to take the AIDS test, an improvement if we consider the other documentaries period when one was unavailable (1983) and the other was in its early days (1986); as for the Bavaria case, there was meetings with counseling groups and ridiculous laws against prostitution and gay relationships - don't remember exactly what it was but there was something revolving around the infamous Nazi Paragraph 175.
Newer generations will have plenty of good material to learn and understand the 1980's context of fear and paranoia a deadly pandemic caused on people and society in the 1980's - far more harmful than the COVID era, since people didn't have the internet on full display to gather information, it was really terrifying and the news from major networks didn't help much yet you had to rely on those. It was harmful and with no cure in sight and plenty of people faced prejudice just because they got the disease - they lost family, friends, jobs, social inclusion and that was left was the charity of strangers or ostracism. It's a well presented documentary, but for a more hopeful view on the issue I'd recommend Horizon's "Killer in the Village" (1983) and "AIDS: A Strange and Deadly Virus" (1986), and I don't mention exaggerating its qualities. They carry a lot of qualities both on the informative aspect but also in the humanistic as well. 6/10.