VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History VH1 Music Studio Cable in the Classroom ARTS RESOURCES

Note to Teachers: The programs viewed in conjunction with these educational materials may include references, consistent with the eras portrayed, to substance abuse, violent acts, and topics of a sexual and/or political nature. Because this may be considered inappropriate for classroom use in some communities, you are encouraged to review the programs before presenting them to your students, and if necessary, choose those sections that enhance your lesson and are acceptable for use in your classroom.

Arts Resources

“A picture is worth 1,000 words.” What about a song: what is it worth? What can a song communicate to listeners? Whether it is a photograph, painting, song, film, dance, play, or any other form, art communicates many different ideas. Works of art also affect those who experience them in different ways.

What about the artists who create them? Artists find inspiration in many places, and HIV/AIDS has been a source for many works of art. The disease has caused untold suffering, and art can be one way to help cope with suffering. Below, you can learn about some prominent works of art that were inspired by HIV/AIDS, including Keith Haring’s Silence = Death, panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Salt-n-Pepa’s “Let’s Talk About AIDS,” Philadelphia, and Angels in America.

Keith Haring Silence = Death (1989)
AIDS killed Keith Haring in 1990, but before his death, he left the world many incredible works of art in his distinctive style. One of the more memorable works is Silence = Death, the phrase made famous by ACT UP.

• How do the figures painted throughout the piece relate to the expression “See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil”?


• How do those figures relate to the title of the piece?


• How does the title relate to HIV/AIDS?


• Immediately before and during WWII, the pink triangle was a symbol that the Nazis made suspected homosexuals display. Why do you think that the pink triangle would be used as a symbol of pride?

• Which symbols and images stick out to you? Why?


• How are the panels personalized? For example, what do you think Tom Rudich enjoyed doing?


• Folk art is generally considered art created by “common” people: people who are not professional artists. Do you think folk art like the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels can affect people more powerfully because it comes from “common” people?


• How difficult do you think it would be to memorialize someone in this way?

Salt-n-Pepa “Let’s Talk About AIDS” (1994)
How many times have you been able to remember the lyrics to a song but can’t memorize the words to a poem assigned to you in class? Even if the poem proved to be no problem, there is something about a song that makes it easier to stay in your brain. Salt-n-Pepa wanted to spread word on AIDS, so they adapted their song “Let’s Talk About Sex” to be specific to AIDS. Their art made a huge impact.

• Early in the song, it mentions the “unconcerned and uninformed.” Do you think the song is directed toward those who are “unconcerned and uninformed” about AIDS?


• Which lyrics stand out to you?


• Do you think that teenagers would be influenced by this song today? Why or why not?


• Do you think that the song was more successful because it plays off the familiar “Let’s Talk About Sex”? Do you think that a work of art has something familiar to those who experience it?

Philadelphia (1993)
At a time when many of the AIDS victims (real and fictional) who received national attention were not homosexual, along came Philadelphia. AIDS is at the heart of Jonathan Demme’s film, but so is homosexuality and homophobia. Huge numbers of people experienced the award-winning film in which Tom Hanks plays a gay character with AIDS who is fired from his law firm. He hires Denzel Washington’s character to represent him in court, and he is a character who initially shows his distaste and fear of homosexuality and AIDS.

• Do you think that many audience members share the feelings toward AIDS and homosexuality that Denzel Washington’s character expresses? Do you think that the fact that his character reevaluates his views on those topics encourages audience members to reflect on their own feelings?


• At the time of the movie, Tom Hanks was one of the better-known actors in Hollywood. Do you think that it was important for an actor of his stature to play the role in Philadelphia?


• How important do you think it is that Philadelphia shows the way in which AIDS victims suffer?

Angels in America (1993 and 1994)
Angels in America is Tony Kushner’s two-part epic play that examines AIDS and homosexuality in the U.S. in the 1980s. In 1993, Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The next year, Angels in America Part II: Perestroika won the Tony for Best Play. The epic play weaves in social, political, and personal themes and experiences with AIDS as a central theme. In the final (and very powerful!) scene in Millennium Approaches, an angel crashes through the ceiling to visit a character who is dying of AIDS, and Perestroika picks up the story from that climatic scene. The play was adapted into a miniseries in 2003.

• Do you think that a play has the ability to connect with its audience more than a movie? If so, why do you think that is the case?


• Between the two parts of the play, there are about six hours of drama. Would you prefer to see all six hours together or would you prefer to break it up?


• The play includes the character Roy Cohn, a real person who worked closely with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and died of AIDS 1986. Under Hoover, the FBI was very hostile toward homosexuality, even spying on suspected homosexuals. Do you think using a public figure who was homosexual, who died of AIDS, and who had a history of anti-homosexual practices makes a powerful political statement? Do you think that using such a character takes away from the drama?

These materials are provided through a partnership with Cable Positive. This curriculum was created in collaboration with Cable Positive, Cable in the Classroom and Topics Education.