zero’. 12 Rather than the inaction of the Reagan administration, the media focused on the
salaciousness of Dugas’ story and the criticisms of homosexual promiscuity. 13 The accusation
that Dugas was intentionally spreading AIDs would have legal consequences. The stigma
against individuals with HIV that Dugas’ story helped provoke gave a powerful argument for
citizens and politicians who wanted to criminalize knowingly transmitting HIV. 14 As a result
of its popularity, influence, and legacy, And the Band Played On has been a subject of
academic attention and critique.
Criticism of Shilts dramatization of the early years of the AIDS epidemic varies from
critiques of his overall narrative, tropes used, and the work’s legacy. Wald points out that
the concept of an ‘AIDs Patient Zero’ is itself inaccurate as HIV is what is transmitted, not
AIDS which is a possible result of a progression of an HIV infection. 15 Further, Wald argues
that it is im possible to tell if Dugas was actually a ‘Patient Zero’. The Cluster Study does not
name its ‘Patient 0’, and due to the incubation period, makes it impossible to pinpoint an
index case. 16 They also argue that Shilts’ portrayal removes the humanity from Dug as and
transforms the flight attendant into a ‘Human - Virus hybrid’, in a fashion reminiscent of the
tropes around ‘Typhoid Marry’. 17
Mckay is critical of the lack of context in the portrayal of Dugas. For example, While
Dugas’ rejection of abstinence as su ggested by Dr. Dritz may not have been as irresponsible
as depicted. The alleged discussion between Dugas and Dritz would have occurred in 1982,
12 Douglas Crimp , ‘How to Have Promiscuity in an Epidemic’, AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism , 43, (1987), pp. 237-271 (p. 242) 13 Crimp, pp. 243-246 14 Richard A. McKay, ‘“Patient Zero”: The Absence of a patient’s View of the Early North American AIDs Epidem ic’, Bulletin of the History of Medicine , 88. 1 (2014), pp. 161-194 (p. 186) 15 Wald, p. 215 16 Wald, p. 233-234 17 Wald, p. 216
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