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Selina has AIDS

Posted on 03/21/11 by User_image_bggedeon

User_image_bg gedeon View Profile
Member since 1 March 2011
  • 9 Posts
  • 7 Comments

Selina has AIDS, and she agreed to be filmed everyday for 90 days, so that her story might help others.

Please watch Selina's story, and help provide the treatment that can give someone a second chance.

For more information, please visit Topsy Foundation

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Comments

  • on 03/21/11, by madeleine:

    This is so scary to see. But sometimes we just need to see. What do you think about this type of campaign? Can it be considered shocking? Is shock a good 'awareness therapy'?

  • on 03/21/11, by nickjames:

    I think this was an exceptional campaign. Before and after effects are something that cannot be refuted and the effects that AIDS has on Selina are direct and make an immediate impression on the viewer. In this day and age, with so much media proliferation, shocking is sometimes the only thing that can get through to the hard to reach...

    • on 03/21/11, by gedeon:

      I totally agree with you. Shocking is sometimes the BEST way to raise awareness, especially for a disease like HIV/AIDS. Everyone seems to forget how demolishing it could be. And Selina reminds us that this could happen to all of us, with or without antiretrovirals.

      • on 03/22/11, by magne:

        I don't agree that shocking is the best way to raise awareness. I think this video finds a decent balance, as it also shows the image of a healthy person living with HIV. But I think the use of shocking images and campaigns, in the long run, desensitizes many people who would otherwise be interested in learning more, violates the dignity of the people portrayed, tends to oversimplify the causes and solutions to problems, and promotes an attitude that people in the developing world needs to be saved by the developed world.

  • on 03/21/11, by Sergeyevich:

    This video is in reverse chronological order, so she's actually getting BETTER! Nothing shocking about that, just proves the point that EVERYONE should have access to antiretrovirals!

    • on 03/21/11, by gedeon:

      What is shocking about this video is how HIV/AIDS can destroy one's life and body. And many times, people like you, seem to forget that. HIV/AIDS is not the disease from those far away. This could be you. Sometimes, this kind of images is the best way to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and make us all understand that we can help someone.

  • on 03/22/11, by MobileYouthInnovator:

    I would like to also bring up an issue called the Lazarus Effect. When Selina is brought back from the brink of death, there are a whole new list of issues she needs to deal with. She needs to stay nourished and continue to afford the medication needed to keep her healthy. Just providing her drugs for 90 days is not going to improve her life and instead might cause her prolonged suffering and heartache. So I would say yes, the shock video is a good way to get people to wake up to the issue, but since the video stops short of addressing Selina's needs into the future, it may create just irrational emotional response which wouldn't allow someone to come to a full understanding of what it means to live past those 90 days they showed. If you want to know more I suggest watching a video by Spike Lee on the Lazarus Effect: http://www.joinred.com/red/#impact_47

  • in the not-too-distant future, by a New User: