The more I read about The Dallas Buyers Club, the less I like it, which is too bad because I really like that movie.
First, I read the that film's portrayal of Ron Woodruff, the hard-bitten homophobe who gradually softens is wrong. Woodruff was, according to friends and family, comfortably bisexual. He never had to go through the transition you see in the film.
Then I read another article discrediting the major premise of the film--that the FDA's inflexibility blocked access to experimental drugs needed by HIV patients. Aids activists from that period sued the government and the drug industry loosened up pretty quickly on this score.
On the show today, critic Alyssa Rosenberg and I will talk about how much the fact-checking of popular culture really matters.
Also, do you get frustrated with the New York Times Op-Ed page? Probably not as much as one of our guests.
Leave your comments below, email us at colin@wnpr.org, or tweet us @wnprcolin.
GUESTS:
- Alyssa Rosenberg blogsabout pop culture for The Washington Post's opinions section
- Alex Pareene is a columnist for Salon.com, and is author of A Tea People’s History and The Rude Guide to Mitt
