jshlackman Review of The Other Side of AIDS

The Other Side of AIDS (2004)

thoughtful documentary that challenges establishment medicine

[7/10 · 16 April 2006]

This is a documentary that highlights the views and lives of what have become known as AIDS dissidents - those who have come to conclusions about HIV and AIDS which differ with those presented by government, mainstream medicine, and mainstream media. This documentary is not a science lesson, though there is some medical science in it - it attempts to look at the people involved and the politics of challenging dogma. It is easy for those offended by the theories proposed in this documentary to claim the film is one-sided - but in reality this film is merely sympathetic to the non-orthodox view and doesn't attempt to silence or hide the opposing viewpoint (which it couldn't anyway since the other view is the one that has been pounded into the public mind). Meanwhile, the establishment institutions do censor evidence and opinions which challenge their beliefs and practices. There are serious flaws in the HIV=AIDS theory and lots of evidence to show that a more holistic approach to AIDS care is desirable - one which uses pharmaceutical anti-viral drugs only as a last resort and healthy lifestyle and lack of fear as the first response to alleged HIV positive status. To prove that HIV causes AIDS medical scientists would need to show that a certain causal sequence occurs - namely that a person with a healthy immune system is exposed to HIV, the HIV is shown to be actively infecting immune system cells, and that the infection of those cells is causing an impairment in the functioning of the immune system. Instead, medical personnel have been programmed to screen people for HIV "positive" status and begin giving them toxic medicines whether or not there's evidence that HIV is actually present, actively infecting cells, and AIDS defining illness is present. Thus, the breakdown of immune function can be justifiably attributed to iatrogenic causes along with psychological and lifestyle factors. On a larger scale, the whole idea of microbial causality of illness is inadequate; the idea that the biological terrain and status of underlying subtle energy patterns is critical to whether or not one develops an illness is well substantiated. I would have liked to see the film go into more exploration of these issues in models of health and health care but I recognize that the film had a certain scope to focus on and I think it did a solid job in what it does present.