The Hollywood Triangle

The AIDS epidemic has always been closely connected to media representation, particularly with regard to the identification of AIDS as a gay problem, which the press established from the beginning. This equivalence heavily affected how AIDS would be perceived in popular culture. This article analyzes the dynamics governing a less investigated aspect of this intersection between AIDS and popular culture, that is, the triangle of 1950s Hollywood stars at the center of the mainstream narrative of the AIDS epidemic: Ronald Reagan, who held office during the worst years of the crisis, Rock Hudson, whose death in 1985 caused a shift in the visibility of the disease, and Elizabeth Taylor, who rapidly became the world’s best-known AIDS activist. While queer artists and activists did most of the heavy lifting (and of the suffering) when it comes to AIDS, this triangle of Hollywood stars managed to frame most of the mainstream narrative reaching those not directly affected, as their fame fed America’s interest in the epidemic. The article focuses on the dynamics at work that allowed the different aspects of American popular culture, mainly 1950s themes and anxieties surrounding sexuality and the Cold War, to intersect with AIDS media representation. Investigating the Hollywood triangle Taylor-Hudson-Reagan, the article highlights the discrepancies between the mainstream narrative and the underground queer narratives of the time, revealing how this tension shaped AIDS as the first pop culture epidemic.