6000 A Day: Account of a Catastrophe Foretold, a film by Philip Brooks. 2001.
First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Video, 55 minutes, color. (www.frif.com; email: mail@frif.com
This film encapsulates the international reaction, or rather the lack thereof, to the AIDS crisis since its discovery, and examines the social, political, and economic barriers that have obstructed a concerted worldwide public health response to the epidemic. Through contemporary interviews and the presentation of historic video footage, Philip Brooks traces the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa and the West. The film condemns the inadequate reactions of western and African governments, which ignored the crisis and allowed stereotypes to dominate public discussion about HIV/AIDS, most notably Ronald Reagan's refusal to use the work AIDS for several years of his presidency. This film lays bare the negligence of official response, which helped the spread of the disease. Interviews with national leaders from UN, NGOs, public health organizations, and pharmaceutical companies make this film an extremely well balanced investigation of the historic and present day condition of the AIDS crisis. 6000 A Day also deals with grass roots movements in Uganda and with specific members of ACTUP in the U. S. who, through tireless effort and tremendous personal sacrifice, helped bring greater AIDS awareness to the public. 6000 A Day is great in scope, and accomplishes the difficult feat of succinctly chronicling the worldwide reaction to the AIDS crisis since it was first isolated. Sound and video quality are both very good, despite the inclusion of several video sources from several different years. The credits are somewhat difficult to read due to blurriness. (reviewed by Steve Brantley, Resident Librarian, University of Illinois at Chicago Richard J. Daley Library)
Keywords: Political Issues; Social Issues 020610
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