The NEIU Women’s Studies program sponsored the viewing of the film “Life Support” in honor of Women’s History Month, on March 26.
In the film, Queen Latifah plays the main character, Anna, who is HIV positive. Anna lives with her husband Slick, who is also HIV positive, and her daughter Kim. Because of her former heavy drug use and irresponsibility, Anna lost custody of her first daughter, Kelly, when she was 25 to her own mother.
Anna wants to make up for the mistakes she made in the past. Anna asks Kelly to come live with her so that Anna can take care of her, as she is responsible and sober now. But, Kelly doesn’t want to move in with her mother.
In a powerful moment, Kelly screams at her mother, “I won’t feel guilty because you got yourself sick, because you were a drug fiend!”
Later in the film, in a defining moment for Latifah’s character, Anna admits to Kelly that she is still selfish even though she is sober now. She is still scheming to get what she wants, although now it is Kelly’s love that she longs for instead of drugs. With touching emotion, Anna apologizes and they reconcile.
The woman who inspired the film is still alive and passing out condoms in Brooklyn, as part of the AIDS outreach program.
After the film, a small panel held a discussion. The first thing mentioned involved a character in the film, a DJ that held parties for young homosexual men, most of whom were infected with HIV. The DJ’s wife and family were referred to, but not actually shown in the film. They represent the most newly infected type of person, and the likelihood of their infection was heavily implied in the film.
A panel member had been living with HIV for 14 years, and made note of the ‘blame game.’ This was portrayed in the movie with a scene between Anna and Slick where they blame each another for their infections. The panel member said that we all play the blame game, and that it is the worst kind of reaction to have, because it can only serve to hurt and not help anyone.
He also pointed out that it is bad to criminalize addiction, because then it becomes the addicts’ ‘fault’ that they are infected, and they are viewed as a criminal. With this point of view, we demonize people who are sick with HIV instead of giving them the help they may desperately need, he said.
The panel member went on to point out that the AIDS epidemic hit when Reagan was in office, and around the same time he cut funding for AIDS education/prevention.
He went on to say that there didn’t have to be 30 million deaths globally before the government decided to take action. The government makes certain policy decisions that allow for the AIDS epidemic to continue.