Trevon Jones
Professor Byland
EEE-2083
26 October 2022
Discussion Paper: Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club is a film about a man named Ron Woodroof. Ron discovers he has AIDS which at the time was an untreatable STD. He then wants to find alternative therapies for the disease. I want to see and analyze the entrepreneurial aspect through the film. Furthermore, I want to see what makes these aspects interesting. I also wish to analyze the relationship and interactions between the Entrepreneur and society.
The film starts with Ron at a rodeo and gambling on riders. He goes up to the bull rider to encourage him to stay on as long as possible so he wins the bet. Ron sadly doesn't stay on long enough to win so Ron decided to run out on his bet. Once he gets to work he has to help with an accident that happened at his place of work. When trying to help with the accident he gets shocked by electricity from the breaker and has to get sent to the hospital as well. Here he finds out he only has 30 days left due to becoming positive for AIDS. After this, we cut to a meeting about the future trials of treatment for AIDS called AZT. The head of the meeting is letting people know they are planning to fast-tracking the research. A member at the meeting doesn't think this a good idea due to past studies but the CDC approved it. This is an example of an interaction between the entrepreneur and society. It goes to show that even though it might not be time for this product to be released because of past failures but the demand for treatment it is causing the entrepreneur to rush the product. Society is the people who are needing treatment and the entrepreneur is the hospital that is looking for a solution. This also ties into the entrepreneurial aspects we are looking to analyze. The female doctor in the meeting was genuinely trying to help the sick but big pharma was obviously in it to make a profit. This aspect goes to show that even though you have good intentions in your market you will still run into people who aren't trying to solve society's problems just profit from them. Another aspect of the film is when Ron wants to get medicines that aren't FDA approved to help treat him. I find this aspect interesting because it shows what kind of risk an entrepreneur can take. I don't advise taking risks as Ron did in the film but it shows the high-risk, high-reward aspect of being an entrepreneur. I feel that Dallas Buyers Club has an entrepreneurial aspect but I feel it isn't a good movie to look for entrepreneurial aspects. Furthermore, the aspect of Bigger corporations strictly wanting to make a profit and the relationship between the hospital and Big Pharma. Even though this film has an entrepreneurial aspect I wouldn't consider this an entrepreneurial film.
