The American Cowboy may seem like something from fairytale land, but the story of Ron Woodroof shows that the righteous Han Solo smuggler-outlaw is still something of a very real force in America. Woodroof's story was retold last year by Jean-Marc Vallee with the Focus Feature film of the Dallas Buyers Club.
In the early days of the AIDS crisis fear and homophobia was the prevailing mood of the media and public mind. In this ugly fear hyped climate the story of Dallas Buyers Club played out in the life of a straight shooting Texan Cowboy who contracted the disease through heterosexual means, Ron Woodroof in 1985.
Woodroof smuggled medicine through unconventional and illegal means from Mexico and brazenly stretched the truth, fearless of the unjust laws of his time. Of vexillological value are the flags that appear in this work of art that has a highest of high levels of truthiness. Texans love their flags and it appears many times in the film. 
Often the Texas flag can be found a flying next to the Confederate Flag in any kind of Texan Saloon in the South. Here Matthew McConaughey stars as Ron Woodroof back in 1985.
Even on a mundane medical announcement board you can see the flag of Texas. The state flag of Texas is one of the most charming and beautiful flags in the Union.
Here, Ron fights against the Establishment that wants his Buyers Club out of business. But Ron's alternative methods surely extended and positively impacted the lives of thousands of HIV patients in Texas during the 1980s. 
No comments:
Post a Comment