ACT UP brought together people from all races, genders, sexualities, classes, and professional backgrounds. They were united in a common purpose: to force people in power who were ignoring HIV/AIDS (and the deaths of hundreds of thousands) to acknowledge the epidemic and, most importantly, to use their power to help save lives. Graphic designers, visual artists, and writers played a major role in ACT UP. They envisioned and shaped the visual identity of AIDS activism, or the “brand” of the movement, if we want to use that word. Below I have pasted images that were designed for ACT UP campaigns. This week I am asking you to analyze the visual rhetorics of one these major images, and I will comment on your writing. This assignment will still count as part of your weekly assignment grade. However, now I know you better as writers. : ) I want to seize the opportunity of this little bit of knowledge that I have gained so far to comment on your efforts in the weekly writing assignments.
Your assignment is the following:
- Look at all of the images and choose the one you want to write about. (In order to look at them more closely I recommend dragging an image to your desk top and then opening it to enlarge it).
- In a 250-word paragraph, analyze the visual rhetorics of your chosen image. Remember to DESCRIBE then INTERPRET, drawing clear connections between your descriptions and interpretations. You may choose to refer to anything you learned from the first half of the documentary How to Survive a Plague, which we viewed on Thursday. Ultimately, I want you to use your rhetorical analysis (your description, your connection-making, and your theorizing) in order to advance an argument about the intended effect of your chosen image. What did the creator want people to feel, do, or avoid? How is the image working upon people’s visual and verbal perceptions in order to persuade them accordingly?
- Revise. I will print and comment on these writings, so invest as much time and effort as you can in editing. That said, I will not grade them a letter grade. Your substantial completion of the task will be logged into the weekly assignments and will weigh evenly with the others.
- Last, I realize that we have not discussed basic information about HIV/AIDS transmission and other health-oriented facts that are essential to your understanding of this unit. If you want clear info, I encourage you to read the following: https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv-aids/fact-sheets/19/45/hiv-aids–the-basics
Brittany A Cevallos,
The most eye-catching phrases in the image I chose to see first were “WOMEN DON’T GET AIDS” and “THEY JUST DIE FROM IT” because not only are the phrases capitalized white bolded letters, they’re ten times the size of the rest of the text on a purple image. When you get a closer look you see the smaller yellow text in between that cites “65% OF HIV POSITIVE WOMEN GET SICK AND DIE FROM CHRONIC INFECTIONS” “THE CDC MUST EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF AIDS” and at the bottom there’s a credit to “Gran Fury” in italics,the only text that isn’t capitalized. Then smaller crediting by sponsors, “The Public Art Fund Inc. New York and The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles”, just to show legitimacy. All on a faceless image of Miss USA pageant competitors.
The artist chooses a provoking text to make the center piece to get attention because it draws in the audience to understand that just because it was labeled the “gay disease”does not mean it doesn’t affect people outside the circle, that women are dying because they aren’t being recognized. To further back this up they bring statistics to the table and clearly state the reasoning behind image, “THE CDC MUST EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF AIDS”. By not having capitalized the author’s name/credit it creates a distinct differentiation between what should be taken in as information and the “rest”. Finally by choosing the image of Miss USA it ties to the societal view on women just being for looks and not having much importance in contrast to the text and the text stating that they’re being overlooked by the CDC.
The picture I chose to analyze is the one with Ronald Reagan. Half of the picture is him laughing with the phrase “He kills me” under it. The picture of Reagan is black and white, in which he is smiling, or laughing with his mouth closed. The words under the picture are also in orange, like the circles on the left. On the left half of the picture, there are a bunch of black and orange circles within each other. The artist uses this eye catching picture of Nixon to symbolize his efforts, or lack thereof, towards the aids crisis. The phrase “He kills me” is put under the picture of him laughing to connect to the metaphor that one uses when someone is really funny. Analyzing the picture, I realized that the black and orange circles on the left make up a target. The words are also in orange, which indicates that Nixon targets the “me” that the ad is talking about. The artist uses two images and a couple words to allow the audience to use logic and interpret what they would like. The artist uses color, metaphors, and symbolic images to piece together the powerful message that the president was purposefully not doing much for the lgbt+ community, leading to countless deaths.
Joseph Kloper
The image that was the most intriguing was the photo of the women with the phrase “Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Die from It”. I feel that this was the most powerful promotion of the effect of the disease and how there was little to no cure for the disease; As we saw in the movie, the leaders of ACT UP had to fight for medical help. The reason this promotion sticks out to me is the stat line that 65% of women infected die from HIV/AIDS related diseases that “don’t fit the centers for disease controls definition of AIDS”, which is partly caused by women not having the proper medical care to survive. As evident from the protests in the movie to even today, there are people who believe that health care should be free. This ad not only reinforces this idea, but enhances it. In the image, I also see that there are what appears to be winners of beauty contests. What I think this represents is the fact that anybody no matter the statue or the gender. This is an import distinction as the single story narrative is that it is the gay disease, and even in the movie it is said that from either the priest or an government official that the disease is contracted from gay sexual acts. The image is appealing to emotions, as the image is supposed to make light that nothing is being done to help the “65%” which could vastly increase if help wasn’t given. It also appeals to emotion as with the background being famous women that anybody can contract the disease. The text also adds to it, as the wording is in all caps and in white, with the background being purple. This embodies that the viewer should be keen on the phrase. However, what really is the most influential is the writing in yellow. This is because anybody can create this image, however to back it up with facts, it only adds to the credibility of the first statement. We know that this statement is credible as it incorporates that the CDC doesn’t have these disease listed under the effects of AIDS. The image is enforcing a sense of sympathy to these women, in addition to men, as similarly that there wasn’t help for these deadly diseases. The image changes the perception of the effects from the disease as the image portrays that anybody can get it, regardless of gender or social status, and that there isn’t any one cure.
Sarah Halali
HE KILLS ME. These three words are the only words written on the poster. The words are in capital letters, italicized, and in bold. This shows an emphasis on the words “He kills me.” and the importance. The words are placed on the bottom of a Ronald Reagan picture. The Ronald Reagan picture is in black and white, which allows the saying, in orange, to be exposed even more. Reagan’s facial expression seems to be grin-like and semi-smiling. On the left side of the poster, there are orange and black circles that are inside one another and grow in size. These orange and black circles form a target. The artist chose this simple brief text in order to capture the audience’s attention. Once the audience’s attention is seized, it is apparent and easy to interpret what the artist was trying to portray with this work of art. When Reagan was president during the 80’s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was arising and spreading rapidly. Even though this was a huge issue and topic in the United States, Reagan refused to even utter the word AIDS. During the film, “How to Survive a Plague”, we see how the activists were fighting for the recognition of AIDS, funding of AIDS research, and medicines to help diagnosed men and women suffering with the AIDS. Due to Reagan’s silence, this further provoked the activists and their views towards the government and FDA. The audience at this time understood what was going on in their country and were able to recognize that “He kills me” stems from this situation. The image is made up of pictures, texts, and images in order to send the message of how Reagan acted and carried out his presidency in relation to HIV/AIDS, the deaths, the activists, and the people suffering from this disease.
Hasibul Bhuiyan
The image that I chose was Keith Haring’s “Silence equals Death, Ignorance equals Fear”. This image is decorated with a blue and orange background and is divided into 3 parts. On the top, in its blue background, are the words “Ignorance=Fear” written in large and capital letters. On the bottom part are the words “Silence=Death and Fight AIDS ACT Up”. There is also a pink triangle. In the middle part, the biggest and most visible part, there are figures of 3 people with a letter x on each of their stomachs. The 3 figures are covering their eyes, ears, and mouth. This image is calling into attention the gay rights movement in the mid to late 1980s. During this period of time, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was at its height with many LGBT patients dying. The FDA wasn’t helping the community because they weren’t releasing any new drugs that could slow down the HIV virus. The words, Ignorance=Fear, signifies that by not knowing much about the virus and/or the epidemic, people of the LGBT community or anyone who was infected with HIV were living in constant fear of the rising death toll and the idea that they could be next. This ties into Silence=Death, because many of those who were infected chose not to say anything when the FDA wasn’t making more drugs to combat the virus. This can be seen in the three human figures who are covering their eyes, ears, and mouth. This signifies the fact that people are staying quiet in regards to HIV/AIDS and thus refusing to learn or do something about it. These actions lead to their demise, which is signified by the x on their bodies. The image/poster encourages the infected, LGBT community, and the American society in general, to act up and fight aids.
Michael Fajardo-Criollo
“HE KILLS ME.”
In this split image, to the left, we see a large black and orange bullseye. To the right of the image a black and white portrait of Reagan, in a happy mood, is depicted under the bright orange and all caps words “HE KILLS ME.” Much emphasis is put on the words. During the Act Up movement of the late 80’s and 90’s, Reagan was president and an enemy who needed to become a friend of the movement. The words “he kills me” has heavy emphasis because Reagan refused to acknowledge the aids epidemic occurring in the United States. The fact is that because he is not acknowledging the aids epidemic, treatment isn’t being provided fast enough for the patients who “cannot be treated”. The target on the left becomes associated with the right side, and that the HIV/Aids patients are his targets to kill. His intentions aren’t necessarily to directly kill them but Act Up and other organizations feel that it is his intentions of doing so by ignoring the subject and pretending it is all a nightmare and in people’s heads.
The font and colors stand out to viewers and draw attention to the poster, which in turn increases awareness. The contrast in colors is what completes this as well and on the left image, the bright color easily shows how this has become a target. The poster also uses an image of Reagan smirking or smiling and that conveys how they feel that he is careless and is evilly laughing at the matter.
Christian Boyle
“He kills me.”
The first half of this photo is an orange and black bullseye and the second half of this photo is a picture of Ronald Reagan with “He kills me.” written under it. Ronald Reagan is laughing in the photo and “He kills me.” is written in capital letters. This image is meant to get people to start speaking out against Reagan ignoring the AIDS epidemic entirely. Reagan ignoring AIDS slowed the production of treatment for it, causing many people to die and many to suffer from unmedicated HIV and AIDS. It also perpetuated ignorance in the general public, as not many people understood HIV and AIDS or how it was transmitted and were not going to learn if the president would not acknowledge it as an epidemic. Ronald Reagan is a president well known for his sense of humor. This is why the Reagan pictured is laughing with the words “He kills me” written under him. The reader will originally expect “He kills me” to mean that Reagan is a very funny person, but the bullseye makes it clear that it is meant in a literal sense, which is meant to make the effect of the photo more powerful. It portrays Reagan to be humorous but ultimately ignorant of the epidemic going on in the country, making him seem as though he does not care about the epidemic at all.
Randolph Harrison
“Enjoy AZT”
This image has a red background with a white line that curves across it. The word “Enjoy” is above this line, and in bigger font, the letters “AZT” are below it. Below “AZT” there is some very small text that says, “Trademark”. Further down, there is some small text at the bottom of the image, finishing with the question, “Is this health care or wealth care?”. This image to me looks like an old Coca-Cola advertisement with the red background, the white font, and the curved line. In this case, the image is satirical; it’s not actually telling people to enjoy the AZT drug, rather it’s trying to make a comparison between two organizations. This comparison is between the FDA, which released AZT to the public, and the Coca-Cola Corporation, which is a superpower industry. The effect of this comparison will make the FDA seem like a profit driven organization like Coca-Cola, rather than an official government office. This point is hammered in with that question on the bottom of the image, which is asking if the FDA is actually focused on making people better, or just trying to make money off of AIDS victims with a drug that does not work half the time. The whole point of this image then is to provoke people into demanding more from the FDA, or perhaps more importantly, forcing change within the organization to change their rules and regulations so that something can be done. I know from the documentary that the protesters did a lot of research into FDA policies on drug testing, and how they thought these policies needed revising in order to create a more efficient drug faster.
I chose he image that said enjoy AZT with a red background in white letters. It also has a quote at he bottom in medium size words. It says “Is this health care or wealth care”? It also has really small print in the middle of the picture, much smaller than all the other words. So lets talk about the background for starters. This background resembles that of a Coca Cola bottle. There can be many interpretations to this very background. But, my interpretation is that Coke is a drink that almost everybody enjoys. Also the quote at the bottom is very interesting. My interpretation of the quote “ Is this health care or wealth care” in this context is that they made AZT as a way to treat the disease but it is so expensive that only the wealthy can buy it. Lastly the really tiny letters in the middle that no one usually pays attention to. The “ fine print usually has the most important details in it but the person addressing the matter doesn’t want you to know but is required by law to put this information in.In this fine print it is basically saying that the government is wasting time and money on drugs that will either make the patient worse or give the patient temporary relief. There are multiple uses of rhetoric in this picture. One is the audience that this is being conveyed to and the way its being presented it comes in the form of something delightful even though it is not. The bottom question is a use of pathos because it tries to target the the readers emotions in the form of a question.
Keshav Bhati
The image I choose is the “silence=death” image with the pink triangle and black background. This is a very simple image with a plain black background and one pink triangle in the middle. In big bold white lettering it says “Silence=Death”. Under it is a call for action that tell people reading the poster to use their power and vote, boycott, and defend themselves. It tells them to turn their anger, fear, and grief into action. I believe this is a very powerful poster for its simplicity. The creator did not put any images to distract the viewer. Instead the only things there are the pink triangle, which represents the LGBT community, and the words. The big words immediately catch one’s attention which then entices them to read the next sentence underneath criticizing Ronald Reagan, the FDA, and the VAtican for their unfair treatment of people with HIV/AIDS. The black background gives the viewer a sort of erie feel like death is surrounding the LGBT community which is represented by the triangle. The triangle itself is an image taken from Nazi Germany when Gay and Lesbian people were branded with an upside down pink triangle. This poster and the movement as a whole took this image and gave it a more positive notion to represent the community and its fight for equal rights. The words are meant to be the main focus of the poster and that is exactly what they do drawing you to continue reading them and inspiring you once you have read it to take action adn stand up for this cause.
Matthew Bassi
The image I have chosen is the piece of art created by the artist Keith Haring, of which he made to show his support toward Act Up and the ideals the group stood for. The image is brightly colored with bright yellows, blues and reds. The image has this bright blue border on the top and the bottom in which it has the text “Ignorance=Fear” on the top and “Silence=Death”, a pink triangle, and “Fight Aids, Act Up” on the bottom, all of the text being bold, black, and clearly distinguishable from the piece. In between the borders there are three outlined figures of what are meant to be people, all doing a different pose. The person on the left is covering his eyes, the one on the right is covering his mouth, and the one in the middle is covering his ears. The characters are completely yellow except for a bright pink “X” on their chests. The characters also have lines around certain parts of them, most likely to symbolize movement. To finish off, the background behind the characters is red and it is signed “K. Haring ‘89” on the side. As for what the characters and the words mean and symbolize as one piece, the artist is trying to physically describe that ignorance and silence lead to fear and death through the bright yellow characters. This is shown through the characters poses; as in many people in this era were covering their eyes so they would not see the great amount of people who were contracting HIV/AIDS, or covering their ears so they would not have to hear Act Up and others protesting and campaigning for better treatments and preventative measures, and even covering their mouths because it was believed that if HIV/AIDS was not spoken or talked about, it can metaphorically be “pushed under the rug” and cease to exist. Although in reality, Haring displays through the pink “X”s on these characters that the people being ignorant towards the movement would eventually also be the ones to contract the disease that they so harshly tried to ignore.
Dylan Mendoza
The most notable and striking element of this ACT UP propaganda would be the use of the classic Coca Cola branding as the poster’s background and theme. Although the poster changes the placement of the text within the logo design where “Coca Cola” is written based off of the actual branding, the placement of the fine print stays the same. Also, as opposed to the typical product sizing information in the fine print, the poster replaces that with a short blurb about the issue regarding the production and distribution process of AZT. The poster, however, adds a thought provoking slogan-like question at the very bottom which isn’t typically a part of the classic Coca Cola branding theme.
The use of the Coca Cola branding as the poster’s template could be linked to Coca Cola being a symbol of a timeless consumer product. As such, Coca Cola, or “Coke”, is not only distributed worldwide, but it is also made to be easily available for everyone due to its convenient pricing. This would speak to the streamlining, distribution, and accessibility issues that AIDS patients faced in trying to obtain AZT as documented in the film “How to Survive a Plague”. In the film “How to Survive a Plague”, it mentioned how AZT costed about $10,000 a year upon release as well as how limited distribution channels were. This would explain that portion of the blurb where it mentions how Burroughs Wellcome, a biomedical research organization, is making a “killing” in the AIDS drug industry as being the sole distributor of the drug. Through this deliberate choice of using the classic Coca Cola branding as the poster’s template, ACT UP is trying to drive the point of AZT not being a premium item but a consumer item home to the general public. The thought provoking slogan-like question at the bottom which reads “Is this health care or wealth care?” is a perfect way to tie up the poster as it not only leaves the reader thinking but it also appeals to the scores of frustrated and patients furious suffering AIDS that, as previously mentioned, are struggling to get their hands on an accessible and reliable drug.
On another note, the bit of information regarding U.S government spending on AIDS drug research was added with the intent of highlighting how poorly the U.S government and medical organizations handled the matter at hand. Not only that, but it was almost as if ACT UP aimed to discredit the U.S government and the medical organizations involved, as well as lessen their credibility as reliable public institutions.
In 1985 there was an increasing epidemic of AIDs commonly seen in gays and not enough people were talking about it while the government refused to do anything. Six men came together and used art to inspire action by creating this poster. The Silence=Death Project was most known for their iconic political poster that was used during the Act Up campaign. The poster consists of an inverted pink triangle and “SILENCE = DEATH” in white writing. During the holocaust, the Nazis pinned a pink triangle on homosexuals, so the gays decided to start with that, changing the color to a more vibrant pink that is seen today and in the process they flipped it so it’s pointing upwards. The inverted pink triangle had become a gay pride symbol during the 1970s. This poster was seen at many protests, in the windows of multiple stores, and was an iconic staple that was used to assist the campaign. During the height of the AIDS crisis, a declaration was released that “silence about the oppression and annihilation of gay people, then and now, must be broken as a matter of our survival” explaining to the people why it is so important to speak up against this matter.
The image that I’ve chosen is the first image. This image describes two men kissing and grabbing each other to show there love for each other. Also these men are wearing what it seems to be army uniforms. My interpretations for this image is it’s trying to portray that “ Read my Lips” is how there love is trying to be shown and that they don’t care about what other people have to say about who they love, they will do as they please.The way these men are grabbing each other shows the love they have for each other and if they are wearing these uniforms they have more strict rules to follow by because they are in the army which shows that even in the circumstances they are in it doesn’t effect what they believe in and what they want.Something I have learned from the documentary “How to Survive a plague” that connects to this image is that these people fight for what they believe in and although some have HIV/AIDS it doesn’t stop there love for one another and they want to bring awareness around there community. They want to show that they wont stop loving who they want even with the circumstances they live around. I believe the creator of this image wanted people to feel an emotional connection with this image and to really impact peoples thoughts. This image really opens up a lot of ideas in peoples mind and makes people think. For some people it makes them proud because they live this life, but in reality we all do because it is in our community and we have to accept and help fight this disease.
Jacob Kapustin
From the images given, the photo that caught my attention, was the one titled “Women don’t get aids they just die from it.” When you observe the picture, you see in the background, a beauty pageant which looks to be the Miss America competition. Now when you take a moment and zoom out, the title is pasted across the poster in big bold letters. Centered at the middle of the poster, there is also a caption, 65% of women infected, die from HIV/AIDS related diseases that “don’t fit the centers for disease controls definition of AIDS.” The quote adds on, to what the Stand Up Movement was protesting at the time, the refusal of hospitals and healthcare companies to acknowledge symptoms of Aids. This ignorance from the healthcare system has caused many people to die without having a fighting chance against the disease. The title itself, “Women don’t get aids they just die from it” was truly, for me, what conveyed a unique message apart from the other images. While Aids was being spread throughout the country, the media had created a single story of sort, portraying to their consumers that Aids was a disease that mainly only affected men. This misconception had completely ignored the hundreds of thousands of women suffering from Aids who were also in desperate need of a remedy. All in all, this image although simple, conveyed a very strong message to its audience, that the American Aid epidemic, was affecting all types of people and that a solution needed to be found.
I decided to choose the Keith Haring drawing which included the three aids carrying people and phrases on the top and bottom. To. Begin, the three infected people are seen covering their eyes, mouth and ears in addition to shaking or movements of disarray. They are carrying HIV/AIDS as shown by the mark of X on their chest.There are two main slogans; silence=death and ignorance=fear. To cap off the drawing he adds the iconic ACT up pink triangle and alongside a call for help, “fight AIDS, ACT UP”. The symbolization of the three HIV/AIDS patients relate to the classic “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”. By relating the virus to evil it allows the viewer to see what it must be like from their perspective. In the past those baring any signs of evil were torched and stoned because of suspicions and labeled outcast within their communities. Much which has been replicated by the modern society which refuses to acknowledge them. The carriers do not want to speak out because they are paralyzed by what might happen around them. People are safe when they are comfortable and an epidemic makes them very afraid. The slogans are meant to raise awareness of these two issues; the fear of differences and the inability of those infected to raise a voice. To the spectators, he adds “ignorance=fear”, which for the most part is correct, refusal to become involved because of the feared repercussions that might affect us. To the carriers he adds “silence=death”, simple enough, if the don’t speak up they will die as the virus will swiftly finish them. For both audiences he adds a motivator to end his elevator speech “fight AIDS ACT UP”, to any bystander whether involved directly or indirectly to take initiative and make a change. Artist Keith Haring wanted the viewer to feel empathy for the situation and regret if they were not taking action. The bright colors bring in the viewer, red and yellow known commonly as cautionary colors alert the viewer of the dangerous state of the situation in contrast the blue delivers a calm message much like a steady sea. All of these tools appealed to our emotions. Thus pathos was heavily utilized to create a convincing drawing that would inspire action within people.
Ka Lye Chan
The image contains explicit content that is taboo in our society. It is of an erected penis, more specifically the shaft and the glans of the penis, that emerges from the right corner of the poster. The image is in black and white where the background is black and there are white words surrounding the male genitalia. It reads, in bold capital letters, “SEXISM REARS ITS UNPROTECTED HEAD” at the top of the image. To the mid-left section of the image, it says, “MEN: Use Condoms Or Beat It.” At the bottom of the poster, it writes, “AIDS KILLS WOMEN” with a fine print under it that notes, “SPRING AIDS ACTION ‘88: Nine days of nationwide AIDS related actions & protests.”
This image was created with the intent of drawing people’s attention through its uncensorship and its tongue-in-cheek humor. The inclusion of this genital is to speak to the audience, or those who are misled by false stigma, that not only gay people can contract AIDS. AIDS can be contracted through the fluid exchange of blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluids, and rectal fluids between two or more people. With this in mind, the bold words at the top challenges people’s stereotype towards AIDS since women can contract acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) through unprotected heterosexual intercourse. It states that it is sexist to think that only males may contract the disease because women are dying from AIDS related causes too. The image also tells the audience how one can avoid contracting AIDS by telling men to use condoms while having intercourse with an inclusion of a double entendre of “beat it” meaning both go away and masturbation if they choose not to use a condom. The fine print at the bottom tells the viewer that the fight for their lives is only just beginning and that the viewer should join them in order to fight sexism, stigmas, and for the government to do something. Overall, this image was meant to speak about taboo things like AIDS itself, male genital, and sex. In including such explicit things, the creator(s) have chosen to be bold and confront us with how uncomfortable we are when talking about the human body that we don’t talk about it at all, and that is an issue because people are uninformed of what can happen and who it happens to. The words and the image of the penis make people feel unease, which is what it was intended to do, so that it may attract people’s attention and start the conversation about this epidemic. This image shocks the audience in order to jumpstart the viewers.
I have chosen the last image available, because I see a lot of rhetoric devices being used to get out their point. This image is saying “Enjoy AZT” with a brief description of AZT at the bottom of it, in a small, hard to read font. On the bottom of this image also says “Is this health care or wealth care?” in a bold font that is easy to read. This image has a red background with a white wavy line going through it. This image simulates a Coca-Cola advertisement to show how the U.S government is advertising AZT to be the best medication for the HIV/AIDS virus. In the small font at the bottom of the page it talks about how much money the us government invested into producing AZT, yet its still not a viable medication to take for the majority of HIV/AIDS infected people. Usually in ads, theirs always a catch, and its usually written in small unreadable font at the bottom of the ad. This is the information that they hope most people skip over, but it’s actually most of the time the most important information to read on the ad. This shows how the U.S government is aware of the ifnsuficientness of AZT yet still markets it as the best medication that there is for HIV/AIDS. The last part of the ad is “Is this health care or wealth care?” I think that this is a powerful message from the act up campaign because its questioning if the government is producing this medication to help HIV/AIDS positive people, or is it using this medication to generate money out of the people.
The image that grabbed my attention the most was the image of two women kissing with the phrase “Read My Lips” printed above them. In the image, two women who appear to be women of color are kissing and the phrase is printed above them. This image stuck out to me the most because it represents that AIDS cannot be spread from kissing. I believe that the artist intended to disprove the hysteria surrounding aids. The fact that he used two women of color stuck out to me, because it signifies the underrepresentation AIDS victims suffered. The artist wanted people to realize that AIDS could target anyone, of any race, but that it also is only spread through sexual contact or needles. Hence, the phrase “Read My Lips” brings attention to the fact that people were freaked out by those with AIDS and they really shouldn’t be. The fact that the women are kissing also represents the LGBTQ community, which suffered the most from AIDS at the time and according to “How to Survive A plague”, had the most influence is bringing awareness to the AIDS epidemic.