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This Is My Garden
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Audience:
Gay Men
Year:
1990
Speech Rate:
177 words/min
Large Words
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This video chronicles the experiences of five gay men who have lost their partners to AIDS. Using a combination of interview clips and still photographs, the documentary models methods of coping with the loss of a partner.
Part one, “Fear and Desire,” discusses how the partners initially met, what they came to love and admire about their late partner, and the emotional and spiritual growth that they gained through their relationships. The next section, “And When He Stopped Fighting,” addresses the effect of their partner’s AIDS diagnosis on the relationship. Several interviewees discuss fears that their partners had about disease progression. They recall the frustration of trying to allay the fears without devaluing their partner’s concern. The third part of the video, “This Is My Garden,” addresses the men’s attempts to come to terms with their partner’s deaths. The men are in different stages of the grieving process. Some are experiencing raw pain and anger, whereas others express calm sadness and pleasant memories. The final segment, “Moment To Moment,” explores the larger implications of the AIDS epidemic. Several men are dealing with ongoing loss of friends to AIDS. Some interviewees are themselves infected with HIV; they discuss their uncertain future and how living through their partner’s death has affected their feelings about their own death. The technical quality of the video is good, although some interview clips tend to stray from the stated topic. The participants are 20- to 40-year-old White gay males and the video will probably resonate best with viewers of similar background. Despite its subject matter, the video is not morose. Most of the men are at peace with death and express a greater understanding of life and love gained through their experiences. The title comes from the coping mechanism of one interviewee who uses his garden to help deal with the loss of his partner. |
Go to video listings for:
African Americans
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