8/3/2019 "And The Band Played On" PHE 455 Christopher Harley Quick Critique 5

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Christopher Harley Quick Critique #5 And The Band Played On

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Positive Aspects

And The Band Played On plays out like a fable. I know it might be more correctly

termed a parable since it lacks the talking animals or inanimate objects commonly

used in fables to convey human emotion. Either way, fable or parable, the film

delivers a lesson that over time will develop into legend. For the sake of this essay,Ill continue in my line of thought that its a modern fable, the qualifying

characteristic being the forces of nature within the story that keep it moving fluidly,

over time and space, through the early years of the AIDS epidemic. I admired the

work of the films main protagonist, Dr. Don Francis, played by actor Matthew

Modine. It was his work that pushed the discovery and the research forward in the

late 70s and early 80s, making possible the wide scale public health announcements

that came to occupy the public psyche at the time. More importantly the film

chronicles the red tape and bureaucratic inefficiencies that kept the story of Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

from the public eye for so long.

I was 12 years old in 1979 and having grown up in Fresno, California, The San

Francisco Chronicle was the chosen paper in our household for news that extended

beyond our immediate community. It was in that paper that I first remember

hearing about the epidemic taking shape, up north, in the bay area. It was also the

first time that I became aware of homosexuals as a political entity beyond a social

category or as a member of a sexual orientation. Prior to this, only the assassination

of Harvey Milk stood out as news about a homosexual man. Unfortunately, Milks

murder was overshadowed by the fact that he was gay and openly so. I add that

thats unfortunate because in my household, the fact that he was gay meant that it

directly contributed to his murder or that his death was forever footnoted by the

fact that he was gay. That footnoting, that same need for ancillary support to qualifya story that should be universal but is made to appear rare and isolated is what

stands out for me about this film. Being alive at the time and coming of age in the

time of AIDS meant one had to hear that the disease was isolated to a group of

individuals easily discounted by the mainstream and therefor easily categorized as

somehow disserving of their fate. It was an ugly time in our history and I feel the

film correctly describes the tone of speech used to fuel that ugliness.

Interesting Aspects

Dr. Robert Gallo was an incredibly interesting character in this story and one that I

forgot about from the epidemics history. The religious right, conservativepoliticians, and apathetic standers-by are easy to excuse for their reactions to the

disease because weve come to anticipate their behavior. Dr. Gallo added a wrinkle

to the story that should make anyone cringe. I remember the red tape. I remember

the need to find a category for the disease. I also remember the myriad of pseudo-

cures and social behavior prescriptions advocated to avoid the disease. What I dont

remember was the willful spite of this one doctor to try and covet the work done by

others to bring this epidemic to an end. After watching the film and further

8/3/2019 "And The Band Played On" PHE 455 Christopher Harley Quick Critique 5

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Christopher Harley Quick Critique #5 And The Band Played On

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researching the work of Gallo and that of Dr. Francis and the French doctors at the

Pasteur Institute, I was glad to hear that the Nobel Prize was eventually awarded to

the team, excluding Dr. Gallo. The fact that he tried to patent work that was not his

own, not to mention patent work that could eventually save lives, seems

devastatingly vile from my standpoint. But at the same time it illustrates a common

thread that weve pursued in PHE 455; how can medicine and capitalism occupy thesame space and both work to make the lives of human beings better? Im still

without an answer. Dr. Gallo, a real person in this fable, is painted exactly like a

villain would be painted. Hes the character that stands in contrast to the hero whom

we rely on to deliver to us the lesson from which we must learn. Hes the

gatekeeper, the force thatslows the heros progress and ultimately our

understanding. Buthe wasnt alone. There were many players that took that role

and roles much more sinister along the way. Apathy and full-on indignation for the

sufferers of AIDS and those close to them were equally detrimental in accepting the

part that the disease would play in all our lives regardless of proximity to any

individual patient. The parables lesson is that were all in this together, like it or not.

Negative Aspects

Matthew Modine. Just five years after Full Metal Jacketand here he is trying to carry

this film in his portrayal of Dr. Don Francis, a physician world-weary from

international travel, a pioneer in the discovery of the Ebola virus and a tireless

crusader up until his retirement from the U.S. Public Health Service in 1992. Modine

cant deliver.This film was made at a time in HBOs history when they were

searching for actors thatdidnt consider the channel something between television

and real film. I think the entire cast reflects that early aversion that film actors had

to taking roles in television. There are several that hit their marks and ham it up in

that television style of delivery. Alan Alda was not believable as Dr. Gallo. Dr.Hawkeye Pierce was a better fit. But I shouldntbe so critical of the limitations that

this film placed on the actors. The truth is that fables need to be concise. They have

to play out in way that the audience can follow even if the delivery is nonlinear,

jumping back in time, referencing points of view not immediately available to the

viewer. But even though Dr. Francis was in his early forties and actor Modine was in

his mid-thirties, the level of maturity stands in stark contrast. Modine couldnt carry

the film and he doesnt possess the fire needed to deliver the lesson of this fable.