This month, ESPN began running a documentary about Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his 1991 announcement that he was HIV-positive. The film is an excellent look back at the time when the Los Angeles Laker point guard shocked the world with his off-the-court announcment.
The Announcement, directed by Nelson George, is largely told from Johnson’s perspective as he describes his reactions to the diagnosis, including how one of the hardest things he ever had to do was to go home and tell his wife that he was HIV-positive. But while the film keeps a major focus throughout on Johnson, it also includes interviews with others who give their reactions, such as Johnson’s wife, Arsenio Hall, Pat Riley, and Karl Malone, the latter who had voiced concerns at the time Johnson returned to basketball.
The documentary also captures a time in America where many thought only certain groups became HIV-positive and the general public did not understand how it was transmitted. The film takes us back to that time period and shows how Johnson’s announcement and his work in later years helped educate a paranoid America about the disease and the necessity of using protection when having sex.
I remember the announcement and Johnson’s subsequent returns to basketball, and the movie made me realize how much that I knew about HIV came from Johnson’s struggles. At one point in the film, Arsenio Hall explains how the Magic Johnson you used to see on the court, smiling and joyously leading his team to victory, was the real guy. That is who he was all the time. And you get a sense from the film that Johnson is an all-around decent guy who admits his mistakes, forgives others, and has compassion for other people. The film tells us a lot about Johnson, but it also tells us a lot about ourselves.
What do you think of the film? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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