ABSTRACT
New York in the 1980s. Within a short period of time, a relatively large number of men have died of an unknown disease. It is a merciless illness that reduces young men in the prime of their lives to shadows of themselves in just a few months. It appears to be an entirely new disease: AIDS. Amidst widespread fears of an epidemic, many countries launch major campaigns to highlight the risks of unprotected sex. Some opt to show the dangers in all their gruesome detail; commercials depicting melancholy gravestones in dark, autumnal landscapes and horribly emaciated young hospital patients are the norm. The assumption is that fear of the terrible effects of unsafe sex will make people think twice about – and change – their behaviour.
