HIV in Books and Movies

Poz Flix

WITH WORLD AIDS DAY ON DECEMBER 1ST, MORE PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT HIV AND BLOOD BORNE VIRUSES. THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE PIVOTAL TO DECREASING STIGMA AND SPREADING AWARENESS. Recently voices like Trinity K. Boney on RuPaul’s Drag Race spoke openly about her HIV status, using her platform to educate people on the reality that ‘Undetectable = Untransmittable’. Voices like hers reaching mainstream audiences highlight another important aspect of reducing stigma - society is impacted by what is shown on media and what enters the cultural psyche through popular culture and celebrities. Some people today might only be able to think of Queen front-runner Freddie Mercury when you ask them about AIDS. Here are some books and movies that feature HIV, which can be a source of discussion about how the landscape has changed in the past forty years and how HIV can be a point of reference to many intersectional issues.

A 1993 starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, it follows a man dying from AIDS as he fights for his rights in court after being fired.

2. Push / Precious

A 1996 novel and later 2009 film by the name Precious, this story follows a young girl from an abusive home environment and is given the chance to find passion in education.

3. Angels in America

Originally a 1991 play and later adapted into a 2003 miniseries, this story depicts a symbolic examination of HIV and homosexuality in America in the 1980s.

4. An Early Frost

A 1985 television drama that was the first of its kind to depict a gay man living with HIV to American audiences.

5. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

A 2013 young adult novel, inspired by true events, it follows two boys wanting to break the Guinness World Record by kissing for 32 hours.

6. Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave

A 2009 novel that follows a a young gay couple in the seventies and eighties that weathers disapproval,separation and the HIV epicdemic in Australia.

7. Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

A 2019 novel set in 1989 New York as three teenagers are affected by the AIDS crisis in different ways together.

8. April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtney

A 1998 memoir that follows the author’s son who was born a hemophiliac and contracts HIV through a blood transfusion.

9. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

A 2004 novel that is set in three time periods, 1983, 1986, and 1987 as it follows Nick Guest a gay man in Britain during the emerging AIDS crisis.

10. Positively by

Courtney Sheinmel

A 2009 novel about a thirteen year old girl who was diagnosed with HIV, it follows her experiences with isolation after her mother’s passing.

11. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

A 2018 musical biography film on Freddie Mercury and all the band members from Queen up until his death in 1991.

12. And the Band Played On

Originally a 1987 book by journalist, Randy Shilts, it was later adapted into a movie featuring Sir Ian McKellen in 1993. It chronicles the emergence of HIV in an extensive investigation that details the impacts on the gay, medical, and political communities.

13. Howard

A 2017 documentary about Howard Ashman, the man behind the lyrics of Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. This movie shows his success and how it was impacted by HIV.