(And The Band Played On) The movie “And the band played on” was all about the beginning of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the United States. This disease also has similar symptoms from Ebola Fever, the one that affected the lives of people in Congo. This disease is attacking the immune system of the person infected which would eventually lead to death. At first, they thought that only the homosexuals are the ones being infected but they were wrong.
Due to further research and case analyses of Dr.Don Francis and other the scientists working at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they were able to discover a new breed of retrovirus which is usually transmitted through a contact of mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing the said virus. The whole story revolves around how different kinds of people like doctors, scientists, businessmen and even politician all over the world deals with an epidemic outbreak.
The characters that left great impressions to me were Dr.Don Francis and Dr. Robert Gallo. Dr. Don Francis was a very hardworking and dedicated scientist. His outmost concerned was the welfare of other people and not just his own popularity. He never gave up despite all the difficulties that they’ve encountered like insufficient funds and lack of support from the government. Dr. Robert Gallo, on the other hand was more on popularity. His primary concerned was good publicity because he wants to take all the credit for discovering the new virus.
The scene that left an impression to me was when Dr. Don Francis got mad at the meeting and started arguing with one of his colleagues and told him that they shouldn’t wait for more death cases to happen before they start working on the solution to stop it. The verbatim was “when the house is on fire, you don’t look for scientific proof… You immediately grab the hose and start putting off the fire. ” I certainly agree with what he said. I believe that prevention is always better than cure.
If you found out ways how to stop something from spreading then it would be better if you implement it immediately before everything is too late. Everyone wants to be famous. People would do anything to have the spotlight on them so that other people would notice them. Most people tend to rather do what’s best for them rather than what’s best for others. People stealing other people’s ideas and claiming it that they have created or found something when the truth is, he or she stole the idea.
Sometimes I face the reality that we humans are a jealous lot. Why can’t we be happy for other people’s achievements even if it’s for the good of others? These are just some of the thoughts that came into my mind while watching this film. I believe that our tendency to be the best in whatever field we may pursue might eventually lead to a negative result so it is a must that in undertaking something we should always consider the welfare and benefit of other people first before ourselves after all, no man is an island.
