(In)visibility matters

Abstract Existing scholarship demonstrates that international films portraying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) often distort the realities and social values of people living with HIV or AIDS (PLHAs) through stigmatizing representations. I used semiotic analysis to examine how the HIV and AIDS trope is presented in two Filipino media texts from the past decade: Kalel, 15 (2019) and Positive (2013). My research draws on Barthes’s rhetorical strategies as a theoretical framework to analyze how the sampled texts, functioning as a double-edged sword, legitimize or deconstruct hegemonic narratives such as pangmamata (stigma) and pagsasantabi (discrimination). I propose two additional strategies (i.e., antagonization and dissension) that emphasize explicit and confrontational portrayals intended to incite negative emotions toward minorities or even fellow viewers, in contrast to Barthes’s subtler mechanisms. The paper concludes by unpacking the significations embedded in the sampled texts and reappropriating HIV destigmatization through the lens of indigenous Filipino values, particularly kapwa (shared identity) and hiya (sense of propriety). Importantly, this research’s findings highlight the need for a collective commitment to inclusive, equitable, and decolonized understanding of PLHAs in popular media.