Shilts+-+And+the+Band+Played+On


 * "**He rejected suggestions that he should be an advocate for homosexuals.'Though I'm open about being gay, I do not perceive myself as being an activist of any sort,' he said. 'The book has a point of view, but I reject advocacy journalism. I'm just your basic reporter'" (Reinhold, 1987). In Reinhold, R. (1987, Oct. 31). AIDS book brings fame to gay San Franciscan. //The New York Times.// Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Shilts' "point of view" is in itself a form of activism. From just the first few pages of the book, it is clear that Shilts' polemic style of writing is meant to instigate action on behalf of the readers. By denying that the book is type of activism, what type of politics is Shilts also rejecting? The term activism, like innovation or politics, is one that is used so frequently that it can often have little meaning. Beyond being overused and/or underdefined, what is the relationship between activism, politics, and innovation?

"Africa sired new diseases with nightmarish regularity" (Shilts, 1987, p. 4). - Shilts uses words such as plague, nightmare, primitive, and frontier when discussing Africa and the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. These words/descriptions, combined with his novelistic writing style make the opening of the book "The Feast of the Hearts" reminiscent of Conrad's //Heart of Darkness//. Although compelling, portraying Africa as dangerous, uncharted and teeming with diseases that are waiting to infect generous white doctors only displaces stereotypes about the AIDS epidemic that Shilts' reporting seems to seek to counteract.

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