The UCLA Library’s digital collection of AIDS posters gives us an understanding of the international response to the AIDS crisis. Through this database we are able to construct how different countries educated people about AIDS and constructed campaigns on how to promote safe sex. We can also see the tactics used to reach out to different groups of people and how to change the stigma attached to the disease. For example, there is a poster geared towards black families urging them to take pride in getting tested and educate themselves about the disease.
Some posters are vague and simply have a slogan to promote protection, others give a lot of information. Posters also educate people on how the virus is spread, advising to stop share needles. Each poster gives us a description of the poster and the country it is from, in addition, some posters have the event the poster was created for. This archive also shows us the different marketing techniques used throughout history, as well as which countries allowed more provocative imagery. We can see the different tactics used in combating AIDS, some posters use scare tactics and other s use a positive, educational strategies. From this we can start to gather which countries and organizations stigmatized the virus and which took a more informative progressive approach.
What this database does not allow us to see is the response to these AIDS posters. Were the campaigns successful? We have no idea how many people the posters reached or where they were posted. It would be nice if they incorporated personal stories or info about the organizations that created the password. It would be interesting to see if there was any pushback or regulation regarding the production and distribution of these posters. While you can browse by a variety of different filters, coverage only shows you the country the poster is from. It would be helpful to see that countries stance on AIDS, how many people were infected, and how they dealt with the virus. It would also be helpful if the database showed what the statistics were for condom use or the shift is instances of AIDS that correspond with the different campaigns. I think that an interactive map as well as a timeline would be helpful in gleaning a clear view of how many posters were being produced at the time and how the graphics and information changed over time. In addition, input from the organizations that made the posters or people who interacted with the posters.