CHANNEL ONE: A DECADE OF AIDS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of educational news programs geared at teenage viewers. This installment explores the history of the rise of HIV/AIDS in America and features information and tips from experts. The program features a number of clips from a special week-long series. First, nineteen-year-old Krista describes being infected three years earlier by her boyfriend, who chose not to tell her of his own diagnosis prior to having unprotected sex. Krista states that abstinence is the only definitive way of protecting oneself, declaring that she is paying the consequences for her own poor choices. Next, Michael Franti and Rono Tse of the band The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopcrisy provide a brief history of HIV/AIDS, starting with its first discovery in 1979 and experts' initial belief that it was a form of pneumonia or rare cancer. Later it was referred to as "gay-related immune deficiency," or "GRID," though it was then discovered that women and heterosexuals were also susceptible. The number of cases mounted and the epidemic gained fame through Ryan White, a teenage hemophiliac who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, movie star Rock Hudson and later basketball star Magic Johnson. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop stressed the importance of condom use, and President Reagan was criticized for belatedly addressing the issue in 1987. Activist groups such as ACT UP were formed and the medication known as AZT soon hit the market, and the government finally voted to find HIV research in 1990, by which time the number of teen patients had risen significantly.
Two other commentators provide a series of facts on the disease, including how HIV attacks the body's "helper cells" and the fact that HIV and AIDS are not exactly the same, and Dr. Karen Hein explains that it can be spread even by healthy-seeming individuals through sexual activity and shared needles, though most other forms of physical contact are harmless. Hein comments on scientists' ongoing research and the current statistics for survival rates, and MC Lyte shares a couple of hotline phone numbers. Khalil Kain and some HIV/AIDS youth counselors explain the testing process, noting that results can take up to two weeks to process and that secondary testing is recommended for four to six months later, during which time all risky behavior is to be strictly avoided. Kain adds that emotional counseling is an important competent and that a diagnosis is no longer simply a death sentence. Finally, 21-year-old David Kamens describes how his life has changed since his diagnosis, explaining that he now works to educate kids and teens about HIV prevention and stating that he no longer fears death, but views it simply as a part of life's journey. The program concludes with footage of his February 1992 funeral. Tape cuts off abruptly before the closing credits.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1991
- RUNNING TIME: 0:22:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:33677
- GENRE: Education/Information
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBTQ+ Collection; Education/Information; HIV/AIDS
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Franti … Anchor
- Rono Tse … Anchor
- MC Lyte … Anchor
- Khalil Kain … Anchor
- Karen Hein … Interviewee
- David Kamens … Interviewee
- Rock Hudson
- Earvin "Magic" Johnson
- C. Everett Koop
- Ronald Reagan
- Ryan White