Commodification of AIDS drugs in mid-1980s US: the Dallas Buyers Club
The film based on a true story “Dallas Buyers Club” efficiently shows how money plays a role of abstract medium in the commodification of AIDS drugs in mid-1980s US. Similarly to the film documentary “Fire in the Blood”, Dallas Buyers club is a shocking exposé of how pharmaceutical companies use patent law to keep profits unconscionably high at the expense of peoples’ lives. Furthermore, Dallas Buyers Club has the merit to show us the other face of the coin: the story of how in the US pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to affordable AIDS drugs for their own citizens.
Ron Woodroof is shocked to learn that he has AIDS. He is soon ostracized by family and friends, gets fired from his job and is eventually evicted from his home. He meets Dr. Eve Saks, who tells him that at the local hospital they are testing a drug called zidovudine (AZT), an antiretroviral drug which is thought to prolong the life of AIDS patients. In the mid-1980s AZT is the only drug approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing on humans. Saks informs Woodroof that in the hospital half the patients receive the drug and the other half are given a placebo, in order to determine if the drug is working. Woodroof is refused the treatment with AZT and then he bribes a hospital worker to get him the drug. However, as soon as he begins taking it, he finds his health deteriorating and he finally smuggles in alternative therapies from Mexico where he met Dr. Vass. The doctor reveals Woodroof that the AZT is “poisonous” and “kills every cell it comes into contact with”. The doctor instead prescribes him ddC and the protein peptide T, which are not approved in the US. Three months later, Woodroof finds his health much improved. He then decides to make profit by importing the drugs and selling them to other HIV-positive patients. Meanwhile, Dr. Saks herself begins to notice the negative effects of AZT on her patients, but she is told by her supervisor Dr. Sevard that the cure cannot be discontinued because the hospital would loose its funding sources. Finally, Woodroof begins selling the drugs on the street and establishes with the transgender Rayon the “Dallas Buyers Club”, charging $400 per month for membership. It is the beginning of his striking battle against the system.
Further information:
On February 24, Tuesday Week 6 HT 2015, the film will be projected and discussed at Green Templeton College (GTC Medical Anthropology Film & Discussion Group for Interdisciplinary Audience; 4-5.30 pm, Barclay Room GTC; e-mail for more information: amy.mclennan@snthro.ox.ac.uk).
If you are interested in the true story behind the film, you might also appreciate this brief overview realized by the US National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/2013/11/01/242309799/the-dallas-cowboy-behind-the-real-buyers-club
Contributed by GiuliaCavicchioli on 26/01/2015
