“And the Band Played On” Film Analysis “And the Band Played On” was a very informative film. It follows Dr. Don Francis, from his involvement in the Ebola outbreak in Africa to his work on the first cases of AIDS in San Francisco to his departure from the CDC. It provides viewers with the truth about the discovery of HIV and AIDS, shedding light on the cover ups and lack of concern of numerous government officials in the 1980s. I found the film to be an eye-opener, providing me with a history lesson on AIDS while showing me just how corrupt people can be.
The Facts I learned a great deal about the disease and its beginnings that I probably never would have known had it not been for the film. Before viewing the film, I was unaware of the details surrounding the discovery of AIDS. I knew that it was a growing concern during the 1980s and that it was mostly linked with homosexual males, but I did not know anything specific. From the film, I learned that the first case was a woman in 1977 (Pillsbury, Sanford & Spottiswoode, 1993). Though I was aware that AIDS was never a disease that only affected homosexual men, I still found this surprising. Bathhouses were also a major concern during the AIDS crisis, which I was also news to me (Pillsbury et al., 1993). I was unaware that bathhouses where many gay men met others for anonymous sex were so commonplace in San Francisco in the 1980s, let alone that there was a push to close them because of their role in the spread of HIV. The role of blood transfusions in the spread of the disease was also a surprise. I vaguely recall hearing about a few cases of individuals contracting HIV from tainted blood, but the fact that there were 5,879 confirmed transfusion transmitted AIDS cases in July 1993 was a complete shock (Pillsbury et al., 1993). I was also completely oblivious to the battle over credit for the