38 Gscene
The changing representation of HIV and Aids in film and TV
Examining the social and historical context of this widespread public panic and fear, Bright Eyes goes deep into the historical roots of oppression, and how homosexuality itself had been described as a disease in order to justify the extermination of thousands of men in the Nazi concentration camps. So, instead of fear, this documentary offers an interesting analysis of the pathology of fear and its manipulation by the media, and the devastating result.
But first, a bit of context. The religious revival and conservatism that marked mainstream American and British society during the 1980s was not only a reaction against the gains won by second-wave feminism, but also to the flourishing of the lesbian and gay liberation movements during the same period. When the Aids epidemic hit in the early 1980s, rightwing moralists and religious extremists had all the ammunition they needed to launch an attack against those groups they deemed ‘disreputable’.
Stuart Marshall died in 1993 from an Aidsrelated illness.
What eventually became known as Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was initially labelled GRID (gay-related immune deficiency). As a result, the earliest representations of Aids in television news programmes focused almost exclusively on gay men, and shortly thereafter intravenous drug users, as ‘guilty villains’ in the emergent Aids crisis, with a visual emphasis on emaciated individuals covered with Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions.
) Bright Eyes, directed by filmmaker, artist, teacher and activist Stuart Marshall, was
Even though it wasn’t only gay and bi men (or men who sleep with men) that were contracting the virus, being labelled GRID before it was named Aids stoked the kind of fear and hatred that led to the following statement by Conservative commentator William F Buckley: “Everyone detected with Aids should be tattooed in the upper forearm to protect common needle-users, and on the buttocks to prevent the victimisation of other homosexuals.”
) The 1989 experimental documentary, Tongues United, was written, directed, produced, narrated by and starring black American filmmaker, educator, poet and gay rights activist, Marlon Riggs. This powerful personal documentary on black gay identity broke new artistic ground in its blend of poetry, music, dance, monologue, and personal account. Exploring the double stigma of being Black and gay at the height of the Aids crisis. As Riggs said: “My struggle has allowed me to transcend that sense of shame and stigma identified with my being a black gay man. Having come through that fire, they can’t touch me.”
BUDDIES
It is a poignant and moving low-budget drama about a young gay volunteer ‘buddy’ who visits and helps take care of a dying man with Aids. It stands the test of time because, unlike many of the other films made in the 1980s about Aids, it expresses anger at the lack of action taken by the Reagan administration, and includes an erotic dimension. Something that is so often missing when films are aimed at heterosexual audiences. Arthur J Bressan Jr died of an Aids-related illness in 1987.
first broadcast in December 1984 on Channel 4 as part of the Eleventh Hour series. As a refreshing counterpoint to the conservatism and homophobia that marked both the Reagan administration and Thatcher’s government of the time, it explores and challenges the antihomosexual reporting of Aids by the media.
portrayal avoids making him into a victim, and instead, represents the virus as another part of gay life during a pivotal period in our history. The film also features three Bronski Beat songs on the soundtrack: Love and Money, Smalltown Boy and Why?. Sadly, this would be first-time director Bill Sherwood’s last film as he died from an Aids-related illness in 1990, aged 38.
TONGUES UNITED
So, let’s go right back to the beginning to look at the British television arts documentary, Bright Eyes (1984), and the first US feature film to depict the Aids epidemic, Buddies (1985).
) Buddies, directed by a former gay porn filmmaker Arthur J Bressan Jr, was the first fiction film to depict the Aids epidemic, combining the personal with the political.
PARTING GAMES
Since film, television and the media have played such a huge part in our collective understanding, and misunderstanding, of HIV, Frances Hubbard, who volunteers with More To Me Than HIV, has been looking at the changing faces of HIV and Aids in Hollywood and British film and television
The film was restored and digitalised in 2018 and is available on DVD/Blu-ray and to watch on Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/ buddiesfilm ) Parting Glances (1986), directed by Bill Sherwood, was one of the first queer indies. It’s a funny and frank depiction of the virus and its impact on a 1980s New York gay community. Set within a 24-hour period, it tells the story of couple, Robert and Michael, on the eve of Robert’s departure for a job in Africa. Choosing to spend their last night together in the company of their best friends, it depicts the warmth and affection between this queer community. But it’s a young Steve Buscemi who steals the show as Nick, an ex-lover and friend of Michael, who is dying of Aids. His unsentimental and caustically witty
Despite winning numerous film festival awards in 1990, Tongues United sparked fierce controversy when it was scheduled for national public television broadcast in 1991. Receiving virulent attacks from the religious and political Conservative right, which condemned the film as pornographic and profane. By the time it aired, 156,000 Americans had died of Aids. This national media attention certainly brought to light the virulent racism and homophobia of the dominant white, heteronormative society. Sadly, not a great deal has changed since then, with a continued lack of visibility and representation of queer people of colour. Riggs died of an Aids-related illness in 1994, aged 37. ) While Norman René’s Longtime Companion (1990) wasn’t the first film to detail the devastating effect of Aids on the gay community, it was the first major feature about Aids to get a wide(r) release and major media attention. Given that the
