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Former Mayor Ed Koch Reviews HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

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16 Comments

John

I just saw the movie two nights ago and am still buzzing from it. I knew this would be the case and I avoided it for weeks until the return run at IFC allowed me to see on the big screen. It is beautiful and powerful. It is sort of like a Mt. Rushmore-sized sculpture of Peter, Mark, David, Spencer, Larry, etc. Clearly it is a major piece of the history of ACTUP and HIV treatment. But David France is not pretending that this is a comprehensive history, but the story of how the process of research and development of treatments was pushed along through activism. ACTUP had other huge impacts as well, on political culture, on art as activism, on the way we all thought of ourselves. ACTUP's progeny rippled outward through groups like Queer Nation and Lesbian Avengers It also birthed new models of services and oversight with the Ryan White Care Act. PLWHA's were put on planning councils around the country. Service organizations like Housing Works and the LES Harm Reduction Coalition grew directly out of ACTUP. These histories deserve to be told as richly as the treatment story in this film. Hopefully, someone as talented as David France will take those on as well.

January 2, 2013

BREALNYC

I know young people who have been incredibly moved by "How to Survive a Plague." There is no doubt that we owe our lives to the early voices of Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Mark Harrington, and so many others. That said, maybe I'm becoming inured to these documentaries, because I feel like I've seen better. Yes, in the 1980s, too many in our community spent their last days looking like Halocaust victims. So many, many died. But, you know, a lot's happened since 1995. Today, undetectable viral loads are the norm for those diagnosed with HIV in developed countries. Guys still have routine bareback sex because, well, it's the human thing to do. You've also got bb parties and the "gift giving/bug chasing" subcultures. Many people on hookup sites advertise their HIV status as "Don't Know" or "Don't Care." There's more to our story and I'd like to see someone continue it.

December 3, 2012

Marc Caldwell

Congratulations on becoming an Out100 Honoree Peter! Yay!

November 1, 2012

David Handelman

Having just seen Plague, I find Koch's unreflective review simply astonishing. Plus he spends a lot of it cribbing from the New York Times. For once, Larry Kramer is not harsh enough!

October 23, 2012

Raymond Hilerio

Why are we bothering even talking about this man. He's got a foot on his grave and he other in his mouth.

October 18, 2012

Ajax

If you want to know the specifics of Ed Koch's machinations, get the documentary Outrage. Do Ask. Do Tell. by Kirby Dick.

October 15, 2012

Bob Lamm

I fully agree with the comments made above by Larry Kramer, Peter Staley, and Donny Moss. Koch was mayor of New York from 1978 through 1989. A horrific number of New Yorkers died of AIDS during that time. As is documented in THE NORMAL HEART--which I first saw at the Public Theater in 1985--some of the blood of those New Yorkers who died, some of them friends of mine--is on Ed Koch's hands. Of course he is correct that leaders of ACT UP should be honored by the White House. But Koch's statement is hypocrisy at its absolute highest.

October 13, 2012

John Farmer

Nice to see Larry Kramer remaining a bitter old queen to the end.

October 13, 2012

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