Jasmine Cannon

LITR218

10/12/2022

Queer People and HIV and AIDS

The society has passed through a period of lack of understanding when it comes to the

AIDS pandemic. The two articles Rent and 1,112 and Counting are a representation of the

myths that existed about AIDS and how the knowledge of this disease resulted to

marginalization of the people due to lack of cure. However, the people living with the disease

were accommodating to each other and could fall in love. These two articles analyze the

disease that was associated with a particular group of people and caused lack of

understanding even in the medical team. However, they help to demystify the myths that

surrounded the people and increase knowledge sharing. The analysis will compare and

contrast the themes of stigmatization and support for people living with AIDS.

AIDS was a disease that caused massive deaths in different places. However, in 1,112

and Counting the highest levels of discrimination were on the gay people. The disease was

shown to be killing this group more and spreading faster. It is due to the spread of the disease

that the hospitals saw a decline in efficient care for the patients. There was also lack of

understanding of how the disease was spread. The gay people were thought to have been

greatly affected due to their sexual behaviors as the straight people were shown to be less

affected. Due to this statistic, the interventions on research were limited and many gay people

continued to face a threat to extinction with little interventions (Larry 15). In Rent, there was

indefinite discrimination with some people preferring to commit suicide when they were

diagnosed with AIDS. However, amongst the major characters, there was an effective living

with knowledge of the disease. Roger and Mimi know that they have AIDS but they choose to

fall in love with each other. With the knowledge of the disease, Roger decides that it is best to

avoid the relationship with Mimi in order to prevent burdening her with his baggage

(BroadwayInHD). Thus, in Rent, there is reduced stigmatization of the people living with HIV

and AIDS compared to 1,122 and Counting.

Supporting people living with AIDS is one way of making them believe in a just society.

The 1,122 and Counting shows a situation where the society is not supporting in actions of

enhancing the understanding of the disease and how it can be prevented since it was affecting

the gay people negatively. Kramer explained that since majority of the people who were

affected by AIDS were gay, there was limited response from the government. The Mayor of

New York was also silent as the disease was increasingly killing the gay people (Larry 18). The

exception however, would have been made in the case of the straight people having been

affected. However, in the case of Rent, the support the people get from around them is massive

even after learning they are HIV positive. The characters held together to the end even after

knowing some were infected and bisexual.

Schulman presents the problem she has which is the recycling of ideas on HIV and

AIDS with people presenting them as their invented ideas. She believed that Rent did a poor

depiction of AIDS and does not get it right with the queer people (Schulman 17). Although Rent

tries to show the societal aspect of HIV and AIDS there are many instances that show these

people as distinguished or bisexual. Mark and Roger however, commands most musical focus

and the latter is straight. However, it is Roger and two other queer characters that have HIV

but it is Angel who is a Trans who dies while Roger lives on. The bias represented is that the

queer community is majorly at a higher risk of death from HIV.

Works Cited

BroadwayInHD, “RENT,” (Nov 17, 2016)

Larry, Kramer's “Historic Essay: AIDS At 30: 1,112 and Counting,” New York Native, Issue 59,

(March 14, 1983)

Schulman, Sarah. Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the marketing of gay America. Duke

University Press, 1998.

ART AND SOCIETY 1

Art and Society

Jasmine Cannon

Professor Faught

Litr218

09/27/2022

ART AND SOCIETY 2

Art and Society

Art is not a major requirement in making social change but it is able to bring

greater changes. The presence of arts increases the community identity and social

wellbeing. The artists create works that are meant to address the social issues and the

changes the way the world perceives certain aspects. The artwork can take any form as

long as it enhances and ignites the outrage and the demands of change by providing

the society with an opportunity to reflect, collaborate and to build the community. For

this assignment, the three articles considered include “The Jungle,” “The Souls of Black

Folk,” and “Native Son.”

“The Jungle” is an article that was written to expose the conditions the

immigrants face when they are living and working. The main aim of Upton Sinclair

was to bring change for the immigrants since they were experiencing poor working

and living conditions and environments (Sinclair, 2011). The focus of change was on

the meat packaging industry where unsafe practices were reported with companies

supplying rotten canned beef to the U.S Army during war. It is the work of Upton

Sinclair that made the people to understand about the unsanitary and dangerous

practices that were happening in the meat packing industry. The changes that

ART AND SOCIETY 3

happened during this time are still in place today. Although there are changes in laws

that have been added and changed with time, the immigrants are still faced with the

problem of poor working conditions. Upton Sinclair wanted to change the situation

with the immigrants but his work changed other aspects.

The “Native Son” speaks about the stereotypical role forced on the people of

color. There are many stereotypes that have been forced on to different people where

they are considered to be angry and violent. Richard Wright speaks about a 20-year old

boy Bigger Thomas who was living in poverty and tries to explain the systemic

causation of the causes of crimes (Wright, 2016). Through the work of the author, the

aspect of discrimination for the people of color. The background in which Bigger grew

in affected the person he became when he was an adult and therefore, this work was

meant to enhance the knowledge of proper upbringing. Receiving hard treatment and

finding it difficult to get out of the situation makes a person to change and affects the

type of person one turns out to be.

W.E.B Du Bois’s on the article, “The Souls of Black Folk” uses different essays to

explain the struggles, historical narrative and the attacks that happened on the other

writers. The psychological struggles of racism affected the African Americans

ART AND SOCIETY 4

especially from their background in Africa and when they arrived in America (Shaw,

2013). The work of the author uses effective language to create awareness about the

negative effects of racism. The life of the African Americans under slavery was a major

cause of the oppression the people were facing. By examining the impact of slavery

and morality created awareness on how the history of Negro in America and how this

history is not uninteresting to the people.

In conclusion, the authors used their sense of art to accomplish through the

writing. They were able to bring into light some of the bad things that were happening

in order to prevent the occurrence of the same in the future years. They wanted to

share a version of stereotyping that was occurring in the society and be able to push

them away. Thus, art is a unique aspect because it is able to push the limits and to blur

the lines that exist between the fiction and fact. The art is able to bring changes in the

views of the society.

ART AND SOCIETY 5

References

Shaw, S. J. (2013). WEB Du Bois and the souls of black folk. UNC Press Books.

https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BbMIWuB4224C&oi=fnd&pg=

PP2&dq=W.E.B+Du+Bois%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%9CThe+Souls+of+Black+Folk%

E2%80%9D&ots=VSNzLEWm8x&sig=gzYJEbDbXf-JMidT77V-toGNVnQ&redir_

esc=y#v=onepage&q=W.E.B%20Du%20Bois%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%9CThe%

20Souls%20of%20Black%20Folk%E2%80%9D&f=false

Sinclair, U. (2011). from The Jungle. Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, 

5(1), 1-11. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/462926/summary

Wright, R. (2016). Native son. Random house.

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