Buy Sex Positive on DVD

Sex Positive

DVD

More Info

Usually ships in
5-10 days

$17.99 (10% off)
List Price: ~~$19.99~~

When new special editions or price reductions are announced.

Synopsis

Haunting, informative and emotional, this documentary about the early days of the AIDS epidemic and the controversial activist/S-and-M hustler Richard Berkowitz is essential in understanding our gay history.

Review

In late ‘70s New York City, a culture of personal and sexual exploration was raging in the gay community. This revolution would be stalled by an epidemic of fear and controversy. H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, would change the gay community and the medical field forever. Richard Berkowitz, an S-and-M hustler, along with Michael Callen, a singer-songwriter, struggled with the question of whether sexual freedom could still exist, stating, “Our lifestyle has created the present epidemic...We have remained silent because we have been unable or unwilling to accept responsibility for the role that our own excessiveness has played in our present health crisis.” They then began the safe sex movement and advocated for government intervention in the burgeoning epidemic. Sex Positive is a lively look at these and other viewpoints on the outbreak from the perspectives of the gay community, physicians and media. CNN footage of Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, Richard Berkowitz and Michael Callen, and interviews that present their personal stories, drive this powerful documentary. Filled with medical findings and a look at governmental progression from the first discovery of H.I.V. to the present day, Sex Positive is an indispensable examination of a critical part of our gay history.

-- Jayson Bucy

Product Format Information

DVD : $17.99

Availability: Usually ships in
5-10 days
Region Code: 1
UPC: 741952682790
Catalog #: DV2786642

Studio : Here!, Liberation Entertainment

Languages: English (Primary)
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen

Keywords

Biographical/Autobiographical, Documentary/Documentaries, Gay Male, Gay/Lesbian, GLBT Creator / Performer / Writer, History, HIV/AIDS, Homosexuality, Interview, Urban Lifestyle

Genres

Documentary, Here! TV

Customer Reviews

Activist Richard Berkowitz

Amos Lassen wrote on 03/09/2010:

“Sex Positive”

Activist Richard Berkowitz

Amos Lassen

Daryl Wein brings us a fantastic new documentary which is a portrait of Richard Berkowitz, a onetime AIDS activist who had once been a revolutionary S&M hustler. Berkowitz was instrumental in bringing the idea of safe sex to the fore and he finally gets the credit he deserves with this film. When the epidemic was at its high point he demanded a solution to what was going on. Today he is a poor man who lives alone and he tells us his story.
This is a sad movie that tries to wake us up and teaches those who do not practice safe sex about what the results of their actions could be. Berkowitz, along with Michael Callen and virologist Joseph Sonnabend were some of the first to speak out about protected sex and warn us about the dangers of promiscuity. From 1982-1985, there three men developed a theory that many partners, drugs and repeated sexually transmitted infections were what were crucial concerning HIV/AIDS. Today we do not hear much about AIDS and it seems to be forgotten.
Today Berkowitz is 55 years old but back in the late 80’s he was an AIDS activist but he led others even before that. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1995 and he hides nothing from us—from being a $100 an hour trick to having been quite promiscuous. Today he receives disability after having been addicted to crack. He is one of those who had gone unnoticed but is regarded today as one of the leaders who worked for the good of us. The movie reminds us all too well that today, three decades after AIDS was identified, the disease is not thought about by the gay community. Many do not practice safe sex and “bare backing” has become a part of gay culture. We know that infection still runs high in our community and we see that many have not learned from the past. Maybe this film will help change that.