Larson’s New York
Larson set his musical in a neighborhood close to his own Lower Manhattan residence, known as Alphabet City. This suburb is located next to Manhattan’s East Village, bordered by 14th St to the north and Houston St to the south, and encompasses only a total of 30 blocks. Serving as a cultural center, this half-mile by half-mile New York niche has been known as a melting pot of ethnicities and traditions. In similarity to it’s surrounding aesthetically inclined neighborhoods, Alphabet City is known for it’s artists, musicians, and bohemian residents.
“La Vie Boheme”
The bohemian lifestyle is characterized by a free-spirited, unconventional way of living. Known as vagabonds or even gypsies, these usually wandering, unsettled people, created a permanent home in New York City. Impoverished artists, musicians, photographers, writers and actors collected in small communities, surrounded by like-minded people. Bohemian author Albert Parry recalls, “Any good mixer of convivial habits considers he has a right to be called a Bohemian. But that is not a valid claim. There are two elements, at least, that are essential to Bohemianism. The first is devotion or addiction to one or more of the Seven Arts; the other is poverty” (238). Their dedication to maintaining and distributing the aesthetic meant a common deplete in quality of life. Hunger, homelessness and even illness were commonly associated with the bohemian lifestyle.
HIV/ AIDS Epidemic
In 1981 HIV/AIDS first became a recognized illness in the United States. At the time it was strictly related to a diagnosed, small group of homosexual men. The original title for the new disease was “GRID” or “Gay-Related Immune Deficiency,” as it seemed to only be affecting homosexual men.
Immediately there was a backlash from society, and the already present issues with homosexuality took on a new face. The idea that this “unorthodox lifestyle” created and was spreading a life-threatening disease, became a common newspaper headline. Despite it’s relevancy in the public, American politics steered clear of addressing the issue, and offered no answers or help.
Over the course of the next two years, it would become apparent that this disease knew no gender, sexual preference, age, or race. In 1983, it was reported by the AIDS Activity Center for Infectious Diseases that, “the number of AIDS diagnoses reported in the USA had risen to 3,064 and of these people 1,292 had died.” As the numbers increased so did public outrage, and the United States government was forced to take action. In1985 they began funding pharmaceutical companies in hopes to create a more accurate way of testing for the disease, and by 1987 the first antiretroviral drug (AZT) was approved for treatment.
Despite advancements in medicinal treatments, there is no cure for HIV, and the numbers of infected people increase daily. CDC estimates that, “1,201,100 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 168,300 (14%) who are unaware of their infection” and that, “In 2013, an estimated 47,352 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. In that same year, an estimated 26,688 people were diagnosed with AIDS. Overall, an estimated 1,194,039 people in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS”. It is important to acknowledge these growing numbers, and the preventative and educational measures society needs to take in lieu of a cure for this horrific disease.
Works Cited
AIDS Activity Center for Infectious Diseases Centers for Disease Control (1983). Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrom (AIDS) weekly surevelleilance report-United States. Web. 13 April. 2015.
CDC. HIV Surveillance Report, 2013; Vol. 25. Web. 12 April. 2015
CDC.HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report, 2014; No. 3. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
Parry, Albert. Garretts & Pretenders: A History of Bohemianism in America. Print.
Created By: Elizabeth Harvey
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