Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club is a cinematic brilliancy that is directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. The main character, Ron Woodroof, is displayed perfectly by Matthew McConaughey as a Texas bull rider caught up in women and drugs. After a freak accident with a woman, Woodroof has been informed by doctors he has HIV. He refuses to believe it at first, until he begins to acquire symptoms and goes back to the hospital for help. His HIV quickly goes south, and evolves into AIDS due to the toxins he was pumping into his body. Doctors began giving Woodroof a drug called AZT, as it had recently been legalized by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA.) Woodroof, who was definitely not a doctor, and not even perceived as very bright at the beginning of the movie realized this drug was only making things worse, so he turned to illegal supplements in order to save himself. He realized they worked, and started smuggling them into the U.S.A in order to sell them to others. This launched the beginning of the “Dallas Buyers Club.” Woodroof, alongside his business partner Rayon, would become a beacon of hope and desire for AIDS patients all across the country. This film showcases how the influence of one average man battles and exploits the medical industry, and even the government for their regulations.
There are multiple factors that interested me throughout the film. The first of these being, how this was actually a true story. If I were to watch this movie without any prior knowledge, I would assume it is a good fiction story, created in order to give the American people an unrealistic story of a man that finally fought back. However, the fact that this actually was a realistic scenario that occurred blew my mind. On top of that, the TYPE of character that exploited the medical field and pharmaceutical companies is almost laughable. As his character was described, Ron Woodroof is perhaps the last man I would have expected to take a stand. With that being said though, I believe that is what makes this such a great story. A “dumb redneck” as some would describe, Woodroof had no business being a key catalyst to help advance research and treatment for the AIDS epidemic, yet he did exactly that.
I think this was an excellent time to watch this movie considering what we have been discussing recently in this course. Just this week we read chapter 6 of The Seen, The Unseen, and the Unrealized by Professor Bylund, and it relates perfectly with this film. The chapter was over taxation and regulation, and the ins and outs of them both. As described in the book, the purpose of regulation is meant to “change completely or influence behavior in some specific way to thereby cause a different outcome of the production and activities that take place in the market.” We see this is exactly what is happening in this certain scenario with the government, and medical industry. We learned last week from Keith Smith how the medical industry isn’t just an open market for any supplier to try and join. Government regulations are put in place in order for these established medical industries to follow, which in turn support both sides. We see what happens with the Dallas Buyers Club whenever Woodroof tries operating his own business. The FDA raids him in an attempt to shut down the industry completely, in order to benefit the “top dog” companies who comply with the government's regulations on pharmaceutical drugs. Woodroof and his partners helped be a beacon of hope to many while battling major conflict, and eventually helped lay the foundation for development of new treatments in the AIDS pandemic.