"It's My Life" Response

In the film “It’s My Life” I noticed a lot of repetition when it came to his career. He was constantly saying the same phrases and giving speeches on the same topics in relation to HIV and medication. Because of this I was a bit bored and tired of the documentary after about 30 minutes of it. They did not show anything other than his personal connection. I think with a topic like HIV and medication access you need to have more people documented. Other peoples' experiences with obtaining medicines would have been interesting and helped show the high importance for these changes to be made.

I think it was very brave of him to turn down medication for his own health problems in order to make a point. However, I think he took it too far when his health greatly declined. He was unable to work for days which let other people down who were counting on him. I do not think that people would think less of him if he took the medicines while trying to help everyone else. He would still be working towards their needs so that is what matters.

The people in charge of medical decisions were not fit for their positions. They did not realize how dire it was to provide these medicines. Africa is hit super hard by this disease and the medications would change so many peoples' lives. They deserved to lose in court but there were still not enough successes taking place. Everyone should have easy access for such a common deadly disease. The government knows how many people suffer so why not try to reduce that number? I was actually shocked at how unhelpful they were towards this particular cause.

As for the film itself I liked certain aspects such as the real life feeling you got watching it. The style of the film was so simple but completely realistic, it showed the good things in his life but also the bad. They showed his mood swings and his silly side in such a natural simple way. I do not think it was super high quality but documentaries are supposed to have a feeling of unplanned filming.

I was also impressed with how open he was about his own life. I was not expecting him to be so forthright because of his culture. It seems like a culture where certain things remain secret. He was entirely open about being gay and even mentioned flashbacks having to do with his sexual experiences or desires. Also, I was not surprised that he had his sister caring for him since their culture is very family oriented and they often live with immediate or extended family members throughout life.