How to Survive a Plague

According to federal data, in 1995 AIDS was the leading cause of death among Americans aged 25 to 44. But 15 years before, as shown in HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, the AIDS epidemic largely targeted the gay male population. At that time, the death rate of sufferers was nearly 100 percent. How to Survive a Plague chronicles the story of how mostly gay men formed ACT UP to fight for the release of drugs that were being delayed by bureaucratic red tape owing to archaic policies that didn't address the urgency of a deadly epidemic and, almost certainly, also homophobia. Some gay ACT UP members who had previously been closeted recognized the need to come out and protest in order to change the way pharmaceutical companies were looking for treatments and cures. The movie doesn't specifically make the connection between the emergence of vocal AIDS activists and subsequent strides made toward acceptance of the LGBTQ community, including gay marriage. But the inference is unavoidable.

Footage of protests in front of the White House, at the FDA, at pharmaceutical companies, at a Catholic cathedral during Mass, and other sites show throngs of advocates bearing signs protesting federal research budgets, poor coordination of research at the National Institutes of Health and a general lack of sufficient action by the federal government in the face of thousands of AIDS deaths. ACT UP's grit, passion, intelligence and determination led to treatments that ultimately changed AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic, controllable disease. ACT UP became a model for community activism, with success achieved without the use of social media or the internet. Some surviving members remained active and went on to advocate for making treatments available to impoverished men, women and children with the disease worldwide.