Etta Hulmes Contradictory AIDS Cartoon: 1980’s Dualities of Love and Hate The AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s stands as a haunting reminder of societal fear and discrimination. The 1980’s encompassed both cultural advancement and decline. Economically, advancement in technology has surpassed what people had predicted, with the rise of companies like Apple and Microsoft. Music diversified in the 1980’s with genres like pop and punk rock, influenced by icons such as Michael Jackson and Madonna. During this period, women encountered a complex environment where there was a pull between traditional caregivers and evolving workplace rights. A new class of people called “Yuppies” emerged who were a direct opposition to the 1960’s “Hippies” that focused on a materialistic, middle class world. Alongside this newfound …show more content…
He gained popularity after the Cold War, for his anti-communist values and following his free-market capitalism (''1980s”). The message portrayed in Etta Hulmes cartoon (Fig. 1) reflects Reagan's conservative viewpoints, illustrating how his administration fostered an unfriendly and hostile environment towards the AIDS population and specifically homosexuals. Similarly to Etta Hulmes cartoon, the Memorial Aids quilt cries a plea for active engagement and intervention during the AIDS crisis. Created in the mid-1980’s by Cleve Jones and inspired by a desire to remember those who have succumbed to the virus, the quilt has grown into a tapestry of grief and remembrance. With roughly 50,000 panels, each one serves as a personal memorial to an individual's life lost. The quilt's sheer size bears witness to the enormous number of lives affected in a short period. The quilt serves as a tangible embodiment of the message depicted in Hulmes’ cartoon, symbolizing the lives lost and the urgency for a collective