Worth: $16.00
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Cast:
Cliff Morrison, Alison Moed Paolercio, David Denmark, Mary Magee
Intro:
...an act of human exceptionalism.
If you could mass-produce and force-feed the altruism expressed by the medical professionals who worked in Ward 5B of the San Francisco General Hospital during the AIDS crisis, you could bet your last dollar that malignant homophobia would be a thing of the past. The staff’s benevolence, illustrated by directors Paul Haggis (Crash, writer of Million Dollar Baby, etc) and Dan Krauss (The Kill Team) in grainy authenticity, is not motivated by a sense of duty, but by a shared commitment to extending the compassion that was denied to people suffering with an illness that is isolating and debilitating.
Where mainstream media and politicians propagated fear-mongering as a tool to disenfranchise the queer community – creating outrageous hysteria by perpetuating AIDS as an infectious ‘gay-cancer’ – the staff of 5B took to providing a loving environment that would debunk harmful perceptions that deprived AIDS patients of their humanity.
Treated with a level of empathy outside the norm of medical objectivity, the exemplary standard of care offered to patients living with AIDS in Ward 5B did just as much to mitigate pain as alleviating social stigma. From the comforting touch of a human hand, to fostering an environment that welcomed same-sex partners, the care expressed by the 5B staff, with an emphasis on the nurses, exists as an act of human exceptionalism.
Interviews conducted provide first-hand accounts of the goings-on inside 5B, with former staff sharing the profound impact that this ‘unique experiment in medical care’ had on their professional and personal selves. Haggis and Krauss intersect scenes involving the ward in present-day, now an empty station awaiting reassignment, to remark on the significant contribution these every day, lion-hearted individuals had on progressing queer rights.
As difficult as freedom is to obtain, it can just as easily be compromised, with 5B highlighting that despite the politicisation of the AIDS crisis, the hyperbole worsening the experience for many gay people, the persevering nature and strength of the queer community – allies included – held (and will continue to hold) firm against systemic discrimination.
