In 1993, the American television network HBO released a TV movie "And the band played on" that tells about the first outbreak of AIDS in the United States in the early 80’s. The film was produced according to the eponymous book by Californian journalist and gay activist Randy Shilts primarily dedicated to social drama that unfolded against the backdrop of a new deadly disease. The film tells about how scientists and doctors have shown that AIDS - a viral disease, rather than "gay cancer" - a social pathology. Robert Gallo - one of the characters in the film, played by Alan Alda, according to scenario he depicts Gallo as a gloomy arrogant scientist who is only interested in his own fame.
Movie’s title usually says a lot about the film. Randy Shilts - the author of the book that was the basis for the film - explained «And the Band Played On» title in the following way: «And the Band Played On is simply a snappier way of saying 'business as usual'. Everyone responded with an ordinary pace to an extraordinary situation». As I understood the film, the title can be considered as a reference to «Titanic», where there was a band that continued playing their music even when the ship was sinking. The same about this film, nobody was about to panic when it was just a «gay disease» until the moment when doctors understood that the whole human race is under a big threat. I can also see the other side of title’s meaning: if we have only understood how big the threat of this disease was at the right moment we would never let it spread all over the world.
Supporting the above ideas, there is a great quotation of Dr. Luc Montagnier: «It's amazing to me that Americans can think a disease has a sexual preference. But that's all Americans think of Sex. Sex. Sex.» There is also another quotation of congressman Phil Burton: «I'll introduce a bill. But if all the angels came dancing down to earth like the Rockettes, even they couldn't get a dime out of this administration for anything with the name "gay" on it.» This two phrases show the problem of the society’s attitude to homosexuals at that times.
And this problem could become the reason of the whole mankind death.
I have watched the movie I actually knew a lot about AIDS. As a kid my parents paid a lot of attention to my health. They have always told me about a disastrous disease that had no cure - AIDS. Since the childhood I have known how a person should live not to get infected. I knew the ways how Human immunodeficiency virus infection can be passed: through sexual contact, through blood and blood products and through the pregnancy, from infected mother to a child.
Finally, I want to remind the words of Don Francis: «This may be the first epidemic in history of which no one officially died.» These words sound very dramatic. They show how peoples differentiation of men into any groups (gays, muslims, jews, etc) may destroy and all human race. We always need to remember that human life is the only greatest value in the world.
