Overview
Camcorder AIDS activism is a prime example of a new form of political expression-an outburst of committed, low-budget, community-produced, political video work made possible by new accessible technologies. As Alexandra Juhasz looks at this phenomenon-why and how video has become the medium for so much AIDS activism-she also tries to make sense of the bigger picture: How is this work different from mainstream television? How does it alter what we think of the media's form and function? The result is an eloquent and vital assessment of the role media activism plays in the development of community identity and self-empowerment. An AIDS videomaker herself, Juhasz writes from the standpoint of an AIDS activist and blends feminist film critique with her own experience. She offers a detailed description of alternative AIDS video, including her own work on the Women's AIDS Video Enterprise (WAVE). Along with WAVE, Juhasz discusses amateur video tapes of ACT UP demonstrations, safer sex videos produced by Gay Men's Health Crisis, public access programming, and PBS documentaries, as well as network television productions. From its close-up look at camcorder AIDS activism to its critical account of mainstream representations, AIDS TV offers a better understanding of the media, politics, identity, and community in the face of AIDS. It will challenge and encourage those who hope to change the course of this crisis both in the `real world' and in the world of representation.
Full Product Details
Author: Alexandra Juhasz
Publisher: Duke University Press
Imprint: Duke University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 22.90cm
, Height: 3.10cm
, Length: 15.20cm
Weight: 0.771kg
ISBN: 9780822316831
ISBN 10: 0822316838
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 14 November 1995
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
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Reviews
The most powerful section of the text is an auto-ethnographic account of the Women's AIDS Video Project (WAVE). Through beautifully honest self-reflection and analysis of the group's dynamics and products, Juhasz illustrates the value of community-focused education initiatives and presents powerful evidence for the need to change the one-size-fits-all approach of public HIV/AIDS education policy. . . . [ AIDS TV ] ought to be required reading for all students of the politics of sexuality, reproductive freedom, and community-based education. <br>--Harry C. Denny, Signs
Juhasz s perspective as an academic, activist, and videomaker produces an analysis that combines broad social analysis and a culturally informed feminist politics with the work of producing AIDS video. AIDS TV challenges the standard disciplinary compartmentalizing of AIDS scholarship and service work and brings a welcome critical focus on a body of work often treated as purely educational, but not as art. Paula Treichler, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign
"Juhasz’s perspective as an academic, activist, and videomaker produces an analysis that combines broad social analysis and a culturally informed feminist politics with the work of producing AIDS video. AIDS TV challenges the standard disciplinary compartmentalizing of AIDS scholarship and service work and brings a welcome critical focus on a body of work often treated as purely educational, but not as art."—Paula Treichler, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign
Author Information
Alexandra Juhasz is Assistant Professor of Film/Video at Pitzer College.
