The Ryan White Story

I was in this movie as an extra at South Iredell High School when they were filming. I got to meet Ryan and found that he truly was an inspiration of courage and determination. This movie reflects that. It shows the struggles he goes through and the fierceness with which he and his mother used to overcome the stereotypical impression of AIDS victims during those days. The actors portrayed the characters brilliantly and got a message across that we all need to learn. I came away from this experience with a new sense of values that we are not judges. The things that we fear the most are things we are most ignorant about. I highly recommend this movie not only to learn about the person, but to learn a very important aspect of life. That each person is a human no matter what the situation and deserves the dignity of such.

Lukas Haas stars as Ryan White, the young boy who became the poster child for young AIDS victims.. the movie tells the story of his life and its ups and downs as he struggles with the disease and ignorance of the people around him. 8 of 10

Ryan White was an absolutely amazing boy. It's incredible that for such a young kid to be hit with everything he was, that he could so many wonderful things and touch the hearts of so many people. This movie tells the story of Ryan first contracting AIDS and what the city of Kokomo, Indiana put him through when he attempted to return to school. Thankfully he was able to escape most of the prejudice and live out the remainder of his life surrounded by people who loved him and cared about him. He was my hero. I named my son after him. If you don't know who he is, I highly recommend watching this movie.

I had to watch The Ryan White Story in health class this week. It has movie of the week written all over it. The movie does not get into any medical or scientific discussion of AIDS and I don't expect it to. Its not a movie I would choose to show in health class, but as any student at Grant High School would know, ANYTHING is better than listening to a certain health teacher (I won't say his name) talk. The Ryan White Story is also not the worst movie Mr. Jacobs showed in his class (oops!).

Because I lived during the era when HIV/AIDS was a HUGE worry, I remember pretty clearly the sad case of Ryan White. The boy contracted AIDS as a result of his treatments for Hemophilia...and folks in his community were so scared of the illness. After all, not a lot was known about the illness at that time. The school board responded by expelling Ryan...and the boy was the center of a media frenzy. It was a sad story...especially when so much of the rhetoric surrounding this was hateful by the folks in his community and the White family was treated abominably. Because of this, I basically spent much of the film in tears...and I think this is going to be the case with most viewers. It's a sad, awful story...no matter how it's told. This film is a made for TV movie that came out a year before Ryan's death.

So is the story well done? Yes. I am not sure how much they changed facts to make the story more cinematic...but it is very effective in presenting the story. Well acted as well...and well worth seeing.