Doctors visiting living rooms? Dying alone? Falling down stairways? Sounds like a step backward to [him].

[him] moderator

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HIV misrepresented in movies: patients
Khin Myat
Myanmar Times
August 1 - 7, 2011

A DOCTOR stands in a patient’s living room and loudly declares that a blood test has revealed that the patient is HIV-positive.

Hearing the news, the patient runs to his bedroom in shame, cuts off all contact with his friends and dies alone.

When the patient’s grandmother hears the news about the positive blood test, she falls down a stairway in shock and dies on the spot.

These are some of the scenes depicted in a recent dramatic film titled Ah Chit Dan (Wounds from Love) that purports to show the consequences of HIV infection.

But some actual HIV patients, as well as experts who work with people living with HIV, have complained that film directors often seem to be grossly misinformed about the realities of living with HIV/AIDS, and therefore send inaccurate messages about the virus in their movies.

“Directors should not shoot movies depicting HIV if they lack sufficient knowledge about the virus,” said Ma Aye Aye, who is HIV-positive.

“Long ago people were afraid of people living with HIV, but this is no longer the case. But these movies revive these outdated fears, frighten the audience and lead to discrimination,” she said.

“Films that paint an inaccurate picture of HIV not only lead to discrimination, but also make it harder to reduce and prevent HIV,” she said.

Dr Sid Naing, the country director of NGO Marie Stopes International (Myanmar), agreed that such movies can do more harm than good.

“Several years ago I personally filed an objection about one such movie to MRTV. They had been showing Mount Ah Pyin Mount Ah Yin Gaa Lu every year for World AIDS Day and it had exaggerated fears that lead to stigma and discrimination,” he said.

He said he had visited an official at MRTV and explained that the movie sent an incorrect, even dangerous, message about HIV patients.

“They stopped showing the movie in 2006, but recently another similar movie has appeared,” Dr Naing said.

He added that in the past his organisation has provided HIV health education to novelists, movie directors, scriptwriters, song writers and others working in the creative arts, but the message did not seem to filter into their work.

Ko Phone Wai, a staff member at a media company in Yangon, said directors and scriptwriters should thoroughly familiarise themselves with topics they plan to deal with in their films.

“They’re part of the media and they should not give the public the wrong message. And if they spread misinformation, then we know the director has no knowledge about the subject,” he said.

He said it was understandable if movies made before 2005 were inaccurate because little information about HIV was available back then, but nowadays ignorance is inexcusable.

“If they shoot movie depicting HIV, they should consult with experts first. People are much more open about talking about the disease now,” Ko Phone Wai said.

A representative from Myanmar’s movie industry said the Video Censor Board was also responsible for making sure the wrong message was not sent concerning HIV.

“Filmmakers need to submit their scripts to the Video Censor Board before shooting their movies. There are people on the board from the health, education and other sectors,” she said.

“If a movie sends the wrong message to the public about HIV and leads to discrimination, it is also the responsibility of the Video Censor Board because they give permission to shoot the film.”

http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/timeout/586/timeout58605.html