The AIDS Chronicles Here to Represent Movie Review

The AIDS Chronicles Here to Represent - Movie Review Example The major threat that AIDS poses is that of the isolation that is faced by those who are HIV positive. The stigma that is associated with the disease is sometimes compounded by the edicts that are a part of religion that only makes the lives of those that are affected miserable. This leads to a fear among those who are affected. The fear in turn, leads to a certain amount of reluctance on the part of the affected and their families to talk about it. This in turn, leads one to analyse the need for awareness among common people. Very few among the communities that are affected in a major way are aware of the pitfalls that are associated with substance abuse and unsafe sex. These lead to unhealthy and reckless practices during periods of people’s lives when they are unable to take decisions that are sound. Unfortunately, these decisions threaten the health of the person till a very long time and the threat of poor health that AIDS once posed is still very much there. The need for medication is often not addressed. Even people who are aware do not take proper care because of the fact that specialized medical care is not ubiquitous. Deepening the financial divides in the community is another problem that is caused by AIDS. The financial problems that are faced by poor African Americans are compounded by the problems that they face due to AIDS. Poor financial conditions are almost always synonymous with lesser awareness as is seen from the large number of infections among African Americans. The threat that this poses to the integrity of the nation cannot be ignored. There are many ways in which education can be provided to vulnerable sections of the society, making them aware of the problems that are associated with AIDS. This is important since it would be important not only for people who are affected but also for those who aren’t. This would not only reduce the risk of infections but also enable the

Maya Angelou Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Maya Angelou - Essay Example The author believes that the sense of displacement is stronger than the racial prejudice alone (Neubauer): "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." Essentially this work is interlaced with themes such as â€Å"self-acceptance, race, men, work, separation, sexuality, motherhood† that can be seen as glued together by the central theme of racism (Lupton). Racism continues not just as a theme in ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ but rather as the underlying fabric on which Angelou’s tale is woven. On the other hand, the theme of motherhood emerges strongly late in the work with the birth of Guy, Angelou’s son. However, subtle references to motherhood remain scattered throughout the work. The connection between Momma Henderson and the author is essentially about motherhood where the older woman serves as Angelou’s link to her social and racial identit y. Angelou’s work dwells on the use of metaphor to propagate her point of view. The author has adeptly blended racist undertones and overtones with the metaphor of a caged bird. The utilization of the caged bird stems from Dunbar’s poem titled ‘Sympathy’ where a caged bird is shown singing in order that its prayers for freedom be realized. Angelou likens herself and her community to the caged bird that can see the world around it but remains restricted by the cage from freedom of exploration (McMurry). The African Americans had been emancipated, but socio economic liberties remained few and far in between. The situation in Angelou’s case was exacerbated by a rural community and her female gender. While Dunbar’s caged bird keeps singing in frustration, Angelou is seen as transforming her frustration to her self-acceptance while still being caged by society at large (McMurry). The author has demarcated the cage in the metaphor as social roles t hat have become so well entrenched that no flexibility or hope for change exists anymore. In Angelou’s tale of self realization and development, society’s roles and statuses serve analogous to the bars of a cage. Among other metaphors, Angelou tends to transform Momma Henderson metaphorically to preserve her image as the community leader. Momma Henderson provides Angelou with a submissive method to deal with life but the author feels that this is not the life for her. Since Momma Henderson is her ideal, Angelou does her best to transform the older woman to preserve her own sense of dignity. Angelou’s metaphorical transformation of Momma Henderson reveals both a desire for gaining respect and the fear of being disrespected (Lupton): "... did an excellent job of sagging from her waist down, but from the waist up she seemed to be pulling for the top of the oak tree across the road." Angelou’s mastery of the pen is also evident in her poetic collections such as ‘And Still I Rise’ where a defiant Angelou is seen fighting against overwhelming odds. The recurrent theme of the collection is emergence from defeat where Angelou keeps repeating that she keeps rising no matter how doleful and discouraging the defeat (Neubauer). The theme of self definition tends to emerge in this work as in other works by Angelou and keeps recurring throughout the entire piece. The author’s use of â€Å"I† in her constant reminder of â€Å"I rise†