Shilts Publishes And the Band Played On
"And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic" is a seminal book by journalist Randy Shilts, published in 1987. It chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, drawing from over a thousand interviews and five years of extensive research. The book addresses the widespread fear and misunderstanding surrounding AIDS, particularly its initial association with the gay male community, and highlights the societal panic that led to discrimination against those affected by the disease.
Shilts critically examines the role of public figures, especially President Ronald Reagan, in the government's delayed response to the crisis, which included a lack of funding for research and inadequate public health initiatives. The work is notable for its exploration of various perspectives, including those of activists, scientists, and individuals affected by AIDS, although it has sparked controversy for its portrayal of certain characters, such as the so-called "patient zero," Gaëtan Dugas.
Despite its flaws and contentious interpretations, "And the Band Played On" gained immense popularity and has been influential in shaping public discourse around AIDS. It not only informed the mainstream American audience but also helped galvanize AIDS activism, leading to significant advancements in treatment and awareness. The book remains a critical resource for understanding the complexities of the AIDS epidemic and its impact on society.
On this Page
Shilts Publishes And the Band Played On
Randy Shilts, in his groundbreaking book And the Band Played On, documented the beginning of the AIDS epidemic with a critical view of the U.S. government, gay community leaders, and American mass media. The book was the first report on the epidemic to reach a wide, general readership.
Date 1987
Locale New York, New York; San Francisco, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, D.C.
Key Figures
Randy Shilts (1952-1994), reporter for theSan Francisco Chronicle and author of three books on gay and lesbian issuesRonald Reagan (1911-2004), president of the United States, 1981-1989, in office during the first eight years of the AIDS epidemicGaëtan Dugas (1952/1953-1984), Québécois flight attendant whom Shilts claimed was “patient zero” in the epidemic
Summary of Event
Randy Shilts’s book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, based on more than one thousand interviews and research spanning five years, provided a chronicle of the early years of the AIDS epidemic to everyday Americans. In the years immediately preceding its 1987 publication, much of the country had little understanding of this new disease, which in the early years had appeared mostly among homosexual men. Panic over the containment and prevention of AIDS gripped the country. People with AIDS or suspected to have AIDS found themselves turned away from hospitals, evicted from apartments, and even barred from public swimming pools with increasing frequency during this panic.
And the Band Played On, initially rejected for publication by more than one dozen potential publishers, offered an explanation of the early AIDS crisis and a cast of characters responsible for its spread in the United States. Climbing to the top of best-seller lists in 1987, Shilts’s easy to read and engagingly written book educated and calmed mainstream America. And the Band Played On was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction and won Shilts the American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Author Award in 1988. In 1993, Hollywood adapted And the Band Played On into a television movie that initially aired on the Home Box Office network.
The book was as much about chronicling the early AIDS crisis as it was about assigning responsibility for the unchecked spread of the disease. Shilts placed President Ronald Reagan at the center of government inaction and showed Reagan’s unwillingness to discuss the epidemic in public. He also explored the administration’s tactic of ignoring the growing public health problems of the early 1980’s. Reagan’s homophobia and indifference, according to Shilts, resulted in government delays in granting research funding, education, and drug approval. In And the Band Played On, Reagan was as much the villain of the early 1980’s as the AIDS virus itself.
However, in And the Band Played On, Reagan and the federal government did not work alone; Shilts also indicted a full cast of scientific researchers, bathhouse owners, gay activists, and even some people with AIDS. Throughout the book, Shilts suggested that AIDS was somehow a result of the overt sexuality of 1970’s gay liberation, an interpretation that drew much criticism from the gay community. One of the most controversial members of Shilts’s cast was Québécois flight attendant Gaëtan Dugas, whom Shilts dubbed “patient zero.” According to Shilts, Dugas was almost single-handedly responsible for the introduction and spread of HIV to numerous gay communities around the world. Epidemiologists, many of whom Shilts chronicles in the book, disavowed the notion of a patient zero upon the release of the book and pointed to more complicated explanations for the spread of HIV.
While controversial and flawed in places, And the Band Played On arguably served as the most influential book about AIDS in the 1980’s. No other book matched its accessibility or popularity in mainstream America.
Upon handing in the final version of the book manuscript, Shilts tested positive for HIV antibodies, the virus that causes AIDS. He kept his HIV status secret until 1993, when he became very ill; keeping his HIV status secret was a decision which drew criticism from the gay community. Shilts died of complications of AIDS in 1994.
Significance
Randy Shilts’s interpretation of events surrounding the early AIDS epidemic spawned a number of controversies and debates among activists, scientists, gay and lesbian community leaders, and, later, historians. While informed by facts and interviews, And the Band Played On reflects the anger and politics brewing in the gay community in the mid-1980’s as well as the scientific unknowns about HIV-AIDS.
Many who bore the brunt of blame in And the Band Played On also faced the rage and protests of groups like AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and Lesbian Avengers. These groups, which had formed around the same time as the book’s release, gained momentum as the book became popular, and in the years following 1987 witnessed some of the largest victories for AIDS activists. Using civil disobedience and lobbying, activists fought for and won fast-track approval for AIDS medications, increased research funding, protective legislation, and education. Ronald Reagan had left office in 1988; he would be the only AIDS-era president not to have an AIDS platform.
While not directly responsible for all of these advancements, And the Band Played On publicized the issues surrounding AIDS and heightened awareness and understanding of the disease among everyday people. This increased awareness resulted as much from Shilts’s public presence as it did from the book itself: Upon the book’s release, Shilts toured the country, giving numerous speeches, appearing on morning television talk shows, and giving interviews that broadcast over radio. While AIDS, by 1987, had made the cover of many national publications such as Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times, Shilts’s book was the first journalistic work of such magnitude written for a wide audience.
Bibliography
Berkowitz, Richard. Stayin’ Alive: The Invention of Safe Sex. Cambridge, Mass.: Westview Press, 2003.
Crimp, Douglas. Melancholia and Moralism: Essays On AIDS and Queer Politics. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗, ed. AIDS: Cultural Analysis, Cultural Activism. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988.
Shilts, Randy. And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Patient Zero: The Man Who Brought the AIDS Epidemic to California.” California 12, no. 10 (October, 1987): 96-99, 149-151, 160.