[in EU!‘ FNTEE I985 ru movie lluuiluhle on nun REVIEW BY MIKHAEL YOWE BC first broadcast An . Early Frost on November 11, 1985, when it beat Monday night football as the top- rated program that night. People wanted to know something, anything, about this new disease that was sweeping the country. The movie won ‘four of the fourteen Emmys that it was nominated for. The DVD hit the streets on July 18 of this year. I didn’t even know this movie existed’ until now. An Early Frost was the flrst major film to look at the AIDS crisis. Well, it didn’t ex- actly look at the whole crisis. It followed one young man’s interaction with his family as he became ill and found out he had AIDS. I watched this movie three days ago, knowing that it would push all my buttons, and it did. It was a trip back in time to a place where my friends were dying. It was a place where ev- eryone was afraid and confused about what was going on and what to do about it. It was a year after the broad- cast that my friends died and our little girl was diagnosed with HIV. I can remember the horror of that day and the year that followed. It seems ironic. that she died two years to the day after the movie aired. As I watched the movie, I could relate to the emotions of the characters. The realistic por- trayal of peoples reactions to To learn more about: M ~ HIV testing - Benefits of ' knowing- your HIV status - Treatment, support and counseling options HlV/AlDS PROGRAM infg Call Vermont AIDS Hotline: 1-800- aa2— 3 AIDS AIDS and those who had it re- minded me of how some ofnur friends and family shied away, or found excuses not to come around. But in 1985, the average person didn’t know how it was contracted. ~ It seems to me that was the whole point of the mov- ie: to educate people about just how AIDS was spread. The writ- ers managed to get that informa- tion into the dialogue through Gina Rolands’ role as the moth- er, with her matter-of-fact “you can’t get it that way” attitude. I didn’t find the father’s (Ben Gazzara) process of acceptance convincing, but maybe that’s just from watching my friends deal with their fathers. Aidan Quinrr’s portrayal of Michael was powerful. His self-effacing struggle was evident though out the movie. This movie went a long way toward letting Americans know how they could avoid getting AIDS. I think that it probably quieted some people’s fears. I wonder, though, how many people in 1985 were turned off from the movie be- cause it was a.gay man struggling with the dis- ease. His family was forced to cope not just with AIDS, but also his homosexuality. But back then, maybe everyone else really thought that it was just a gay disease, and they could sit back and not wony about it. Watching this movie and looking back tWenty—one years reminds me how far we have come since the epidemic started. It also re- minds me how far we still have to go. It is a good movie. It is a reminder that the battle is not over. An Early Frost is relevant today, because as always, his- tory repeats itself until we leam . from past mistakes.V trans-queer leatherman who lives in Williamstown, Vermont. 3 Michael Yowe is a married YOU’VEl HAD UI\lPRO'l’EC'l‘ED SEX OR SHARED A NEEDLE SINCE YOUR LAST.‘ TEST. NOW IS THE Till/IE TO GE'1‘ AN HIV 'l'E§“’ OCTOBER 2006 l nutin the mountains 23 IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TESTED. OR IF YOU'VE’ HAD UNPROTEICTED SEX OR SHARED A N IT'S TIBTTBT TD ITIIDW D UNPROT S 37633 Yllll CAN GET HEALTH EAIIE Mill TREATMENT IF Yflll TEST POSITIVE. 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