Representations of HIV and AIDS: Visibility Blue/s

Representations of HIV and AIDS: Visibility Blue/s

Manchester University Press, 175 Fifth Ave., Room 400, New York, NY 10010. 216p., illus., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-7190-4710-2, 0-7190-4711-0pbk. $74.95, $29.95pbk.
Gabriele Griffin. 2000.

From the beginning of this epidemic, representing AIDS to the rest of the world has been ongoing and in most cases very effective. The first crude paintings, drawings, or sketches were able to depict the horror of the disease without too many words or no words at all; just a visual representation that let the viewer determine what it meant. The first plays and movies were more explicit, playing on the ultimate death of the individual. Then in among all of these were the countless number of poems and essays written by those who were HIV positive or had full-blown AIDS. And, finally, there were the memoirs of lovers who lost their partners, writing about the disease and how it savagely took someone away whom they loved ever so much. Oh, yes, we must never forget The Quilt, which moves anyone who views it to tears and sorrow.

The interesting thing is that all of this visibility surrounding HIV and AIDS came to fruition in a very short time. It was a spontaneous effort that has never happened with another disease up to this time. The people it touched were moved to immediate action in order to vent their anger or calm their sorrow. As a result there is much to see and hear and Griffin has analyzed some of these representations in great detail. It is not the kind of book you curl up with and read page after page without going back and rereading. Instead, it is a book that has to be read slowly and the reread in order to understand fully what Griffin is saying. It is truly a scholarly work that other writers will want to read. Those in the arts and literature will find this a book full of tangents from which they can pursue their own analyses. It is a recommended book for all academic research libraries.

Keywords: Education; Literature; Art; Erotica)
010810
BK011095

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