AIDS Activism in the time of DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
The inspiring, somewhat accidental, activism of DALLAS BUYERS CLUB hero Ron Woodroof echoes the fight against AIDS across the country. We highlight a few other stories here.
Jean-Marc Vallée’s DALLAS BUYERS CLUB dramatizes the story of Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey), a real man who, after being diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986, did everything he could to stay alive. In the process, he helped establish the Dallas Buyers Club, a group that skirted existing rules and regulations to get drugs and supplements previously unavailable to people with AIDS. Woodroof’s story is only one among many in the fight against AIDS. To give some additional context, we’ve assembled some articles and videos to give a larger sense of the fight. In “New York City Buyers Club,” Derek Hodel, the former Executive Director of the People With AIDS Health Group, provides a fascinating history of the Buyers Club movement. In three video profiles, Derek Hodel, along with two other members of People With AIDS Health Group — former office manager Robert Vazquez-Pacheco and board member Michael Spiegel — provide a personal remembrance of their own fight against AIDS. And in “Art Against AIDS,” we’ve put together a slide show of amazing AIDS activist art, some of which appears in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB.
SLIDESHOW New York City Buyers Club: A History of the People with AIDS Health Group
Derek Hodel, former Executive Director of the People With AIDS Health Group, maps out the history of New York City’s preeminent buyers club from anger and frustration to guarded hope.
VIDEO People with AIDS Health Group Video: Derek Hodel
Former People with AIDS Health Group executive director Derek Hodel talks about what brought him to AIDS activism and what he learned.
VIDEO People with AIDS Health Group Video: Robert Vazquez-Pacheco
Former People with AIDS Health Group office manager Robert Vazquez-Pacheco relates the group’s day-to-day life, from visits from Lauren Hutton to fighting for people's lives.
VIDEO People with AIDS Health Group Video: Michael Spiegel
Former People with AIDS Health Group board member Michael Spiegel explains why the period was like being in a war.
SLIDESHOW Art Against AIDS: A Survey of Activist Graphics That Inspired DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Inspired by AIDS activist art, production designer John Paino included several posters as a backdrop to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB. We take a more extensive look at how artists responded to the AIDS crisis.