“Act up, stand tall, tomorrow morning at city hall.” (0:01:44)

Watching How to Survive a Plague, a documentary by David France, I was immediately entranced. Being a queer person, it was definitely a hard film to watch. I found myself wanted to cry at times, over people that I have never had the pleasure to meet. People that no one can ever meet again, due to the government’s unwillingness to save the lives of the queer community.

Becoming emotional over the gay community that came before me, who allowed me to exist, to be queer, and to truly live a full life, is not unusual for me. Just last week I found myself crying over young RuPaul, and the rest of the 1980’s New York drag scene.

The film discusses the Act Up group (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), and their fight against the government to receive care and research for the Aids Epidemic. Each clip is purposeful, gaining an emotional response from the viewer.

“What does a decent society do with people who hurt themselves because they’re human?” (0:19:10)

I find this question to be beyond powerful. What DOES a society do to punish those who are human? Those who act on human impulses?

It is a common occurrence to see discourse on whether being queer is a choice, whether it is “a question of being or doing” (Sullivan 37). This is so common, and was increasingly popular during the AIDS crisis, because if it is truly a choice, those who have AIDS are to blame for their own deaths. If being queer is choice, if giving into “sinful” impulses is a choice, then the popular distinction is that the gay community is truly to blame for the spread of AIDS, at least according to President Reagan, the Catholic Church, and the millions others who supported them.

As soon as people fight against that, saying that queerness is something people are born with and that it is not sinful, the blame can no longer be placed on queer people themselves. No one can use the excuse that if you wanted to avoid AIDS, you should have just not had gay sex. Once it is agreed that queerness, within the defintion that one is both “at odds with the normal” and that they are homosexual, is not something that one chooses, the blame for the mass spread during the AIDS crisis can be placed on both the government and the Church (Sullivan 43).

This was what the fight was for. ACT UP protested both groups, fighting for their lives.

“The church will be teaching that homosexual activity is sinful, until the end of time. That won’t change.” (0:46:21)

I wish that I could say that, when I first watched the film, my notes on this quote were polite enough to put on the internet without censoring myself. I believe that my comment went along the lines that “Catholics are anti condom because of ‘spiritual death’ yah okay ***.” I want to add now that you should never wish death upon someone else, unlike the Catholic Church did during the 1980’s, and still does, to the queer community.

Sindelar, D. (2012, August 26). Decades before Pussy Riot, U.S. Group protested Catholic Church — with results. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. https://www.rferl.org/a/before-pussy-riot-act-up-confronted-church-and-won/24668230.html

“We won’t take it anymore, bringing the dead to your door.” (01:20:44)

So many people talk about the quilt that was made to visualize the number of deaths from AIDS. In a beautiful remembrance of the wonderful people that died because of the government’s refusal to quickly begin research and put money into finding a cure, many of the people that died have a 3’x6′ panel, that add together to create a quilt that weighs more than 54 tons. The quilt lives on because the people weren’t given the opportunity to.

Where the quilt is so popular to share, the protest of bringing the dead to the White House’s door is not as popular to talk about, even though it is just as meaningful, if not more. This protest, where activists threw their loved one’s ashes who died from AIDS on the White House yards, happened on October 11th, 1992.

Both projects were meant to show the government the true scale of just how many people they had killed.

The creativity and desperation of ACT UP forever changed the future of activism. The members had no choice but to find new ways to challenge the government, which continues to inspire activists to this day. This group also allowed other AIDS activists groups like TAG (Treatment Action Group) and PUSSY (Perverts Undermining States Scrutiny) to gain power and help find a treatment.

“It is the proudest achievement that the gay population of this world can ever claim.” (1:42:10)

I think that it is truly so important to remember that ACT UP wasn’t just a group of gay leftists. ACT UP was a group of so many people, all from different backgrounds and political stances, that came together to fight to survive. It is so clear throughout the documentary that, if some retired housewife can make a change and help the queer community, anyone was welcome to help. Iris Long wanted to help, and so she did.

The end of the film showed the members of ACT UP and TAG that are now still alive, thanks to the hard work and activism of the groups. Many of these survivors, who not only often felt guilt that they got to live, struggled to feel fulfilled after the triple drug combination saved millions. How, after they had done something so meaningful and impactful, could they ever do something as fulfilling and important again?

I can only be so beyond thankful for those who fought for their lives, and I cannot even begin to explore how impressive these activism groups, led by a bunch of young individuals were.

Watching this documentary served as a reminder that the youth, minorities, and everyday people have always had power, and always will.

A link to the movie How to Survive a Plague on Amazon Prime Video

A link to ACT UP’s website

A link to AIDS resources through Planned Parenthood

Citations

How to Survive a Plague. (2012). IFC Films.

Sullivan, N. (2022). A critical introduction to queer theory. Edinburgh University Press.