"House of Numbers"

Have I ever mentioned that I really, really like to watch documentaries? That's more of a rhetorical question at this point if you've read this blog very long!

Taking into consideration my avid interest in the documentary art form, it's no wonder that next to blogger.com, facebook and checking my e-mail, TopDocumentaries.com is my favorite website. Yes, it even surpasses Netflix.

What I like best is getting the "other" side. These are movies that for the most part are not funded by big money, old money or those who hold the seats of power. Of course, the filmmakers set out to prove their point...so they aren't completely unbiased, but having a background in broadcast journalism myself...I believe this is the type of reporting network news should be doing...but can't...mostly, because they are owned by big money themselves. [Disembarking from soapbox!]

Back to the film at hand...House of Numbers is a balanced, fair look at the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And I have to be honest, I've read the huge (650+ pages) book And the Band Played On; I remember following this story with great interest as it broke in the 1980's; I lived in the state where Ryan White lived...we were inundated with information from the news media; but I've never heard the information like this.

I hesitate to put too much of my opinion out here because it can be misconstrued easily when you're talking about such a volatile issue like HIV/AIDS. Let's just say that I find it interesting that the French virologist, Luc Montagnier, who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) said that if a person's immune system were healthy enough, you could be exposed to HIV and not contract it. Also, when asked if a person had the virus and their immune system were boosted, could they fight off the virus...his answer was , "Yes."
Interesting, huh? We've never been told that in the popular media...yet, it completely rings true with what I've already learned about our immune systems and disease as The Gerson Therapy teaches.

And when discussing the question, 'Then why have millions of people died from AIDS if it's just the simple matter of healing damaged immune systems (I'm paraphrasing)?' The one thing the filmmaker keeps coming back to is that many of the deceased already had very compromised immune systems, either through illicit drug use, chronic antibiotic use from recurring STDs, "huffing" toxic chemicals and those who live in absolute squalor...as is the case where AIDS is flourishing...Africa and Southeast Asia. When you don't even have access to clean drinking water, how can your body fight off a deadly virus? This doesn't even take into consideration poor diet. You can't begin to address that issue when you live in filth.

Once again, our world's extreme poor are reaping the devastating consequences of a deadly disease, simply because of uneven wealth distribution. One South African who tested positive for HIV many years ago, chose not to take the "drug cocktail" which has sometimes proven to be just as deadly. She  points out, what if instead of lining the pharmaceutical companies' pockets with billions of dollars every year, we took that money and invested it into countries that need improvements in sanitation, clean drinking water and nutritional assistance?

Hmmm? That's a good question. Watch it for yourself and see what you think.

House of Numbers