![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
San Francisco's Year Zero: We Were Here
Feb. 9th, 2012 10:01 pm30 years ago last year AIDS began spreading and killing thousands upon thousands of people around the world. This documentary tells the stories of some of San Francisco's residents during the outbreak of AIDS in the 80s.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01b65lr/
It's pretty heavy and left me emotionally drained after watching it. It's very interesting and it's very tastefully put together, it doesn't feel exploitative. You really feel like the film has been made with great respect for the people who died during the epidemic and everyone involved tells their stories with dignity. It's both amazing and horrifying to here accounts of how one of the most open and liberated gay communities in the world was attacked by a mysterious new virus that seemed to come from nowhere. The cast's recollections from first noticing that there was something happening, and slowly becoming aware of this new killer, to watching the epidemic blow up to monstrous proportions is chilling, and the images evoked are like those of some apocalyptic horror movie. It's almost unbearable to think about and impossible to imagine how it must have been for the people of this community to watch as so many of their friends and neighbors died around them from something they knew very little (or in the early days, nothing) about. It reminds us of how dangerous ignorance can be, meaning the lack of information available to the people trying to fight and survive the virus, but also extending to the bigotry of the US government and their failure, during the early stages, to form a sensible and progressive plan of action.
There are many poignant moments in the film which provide food for thought, some dark and depressing but some very much uplifting and inspiring. There is a happy ending of sorts. AIDS is still with us and still killing, but by the end of the film we have learned of how the gay community of San Francisco came together and inspired communities all across America and the wider world to fight not just the virus itself, but also the complacency of governments, and the ignorance of bigots.
http://wewereherefilm.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01b65lr/
It's pretty heavy and left me emotionally drained after watching it. It's very interesting and it's very tastefully put together, it doesn't feel exploitative. You really feel like the film has been made with great respect for the people who died during the epidemic and everyone involved tells their stories with dignity. It's both amazing and horrifying to here accounts of how one of the most open and liberated gay communities in the world was attacked by a mysterious new virus that seemed to come from nowhere. The cast's recollections from first noticing that there was something happening, and slowly becoming aware of this new killer, to watching the epidemic blow up to monstrous proportions is chilling, and the images evoked are like those of some apocalyptic horror movie. It's almost unbearable to think about and impossible to imagine how it must have been for the people of this community to watch as so many of their friends and neighbors died around them from something they knew very little (or in the early days, nothing) about. It reminds us of how dangerous ignorance can be, meaning the lack of information available to the people trying to fight and survive the virus, but also extending to the bigotry of the US government and their failure, during the early stages, to form a sensible and progressive plan of action.
There are many poignant moments in the film which provide food for thought, some dark and depressing but some very much uplifting and inspiring. There is a happy ending of sorts. AIDS is still with us and still killing, but by the end of the film we have learned of how the gay community of San Francisco came together and inspired communities all across America and the wider world to fight not just the virus itself, but also the complacency of governments, and the ignorance of bigots.
http://wewereherefilm.com/
