A sombre shot of Sam Reid and John Leary as Dale Jennings and Murray Gallagher from No More Lies, as well as some others ❤️
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Next Thursday, it will have been three years since No More Lies first went to air on the ABC. It’s a funny feeling, seeing all these Season One episodes reach their third year anniversaries, as I have such strong vivid memories of watching this show as it first aired, whilst we were in lockdown. It truly doesn’t feel like that long ago, but according to time and mathematics, it is.
No More Lies really did strike a nerve. It’s brilliantly brave and searing storytelling around the plight of HIV and AIDS affected people and how the media represented - or rather, misrepresented - their stories and circumstances. This is why I love The Newsreader so dearly. It hasn’t portrayed the 1980s through rose-coloured glasses, and has sought to elevate the stories and perspectives that were either misrepresented or not represented at all during the time. It also demonstrates how easy it is to fall for misinformation, and I genuinely believe that this episode is a great lesson in media literacy. The whole show itself, but in particular this episode, should be used in schools and universities.
A part of my paternal family history is my Dad’s younger brother, who was a young gay man who contracted HIV during the 1990s. This was the decade in which medical treatment and antiretroviral therapies became available to significantly prolong the progression of the virus to AIDS in HIV-affected patients. He was thankfully able to benefit from these therapies and medications, which bought him two decades of life, longer than our Russ and Caroline would have lived for.
We sadly lost my paternal uncle Christmas 2012, when he was only forty years old. Through watching this episode with my Dad, it gave me the courage and the instigator for a discussion about my uncle’s condition, how people responded to it, and how it impacted his life. I’ll forever be grateful to No More Lies, and especially to Michael Lucas and Kim Ho, for giving me the opportunity to have this discussion with my Dad, which I had been hesitant to have for at that point nine years. Never underestimate the power of good media and the conversations and connections it can bring about. 💖🌟
