5B

And then there’s politics. For me, I couldn’t help but track with the events of the documentary and recall what I was thinking and believing about homosexuality and AIDS during that time. I was a high school student when it started and a college student when political tensions were at its highest in the public arena. Did I also mention, not too long before I became a born-again Christian? I should also admit, I was on the wrong side of the war for quite some time.

While this documentary is not about me, I can attest to the heated rhetoric from the evangelical community. The documentary goes into great length to present the political fight waged by Congressman William Dannemeyer, who represented the congressional district next too mine. I remember his efforts to require those affected to notify their doctors they had HIV, which soon spread would apply to places of employment, and thus sparked the wildfire of homophobia is the U.S.

“…those who died were individuals with names and histories…”

It would be in the late 1990s that I would have a “come to Jesus” moment about my own homophobia. But that’s a whole different story and has nothing to do with this documentary.

5B serves as a highly detailed account of the AIDS crisis. Not only does it document the events that happened in San Francisco and the world, but it also brings to light the human element of the story. We are introduced to the people, who were on the front lines. We are also reminded that though AIDS killed over 1 million people, those who died were individuals with names and histories. People with feelings, people staring death in the face, and people rejected by family, but accepted by strangers. 5B has an amazing story to tell. It’s also an important film, particularly from a historical standpoint as “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”