Abstract

This essay discusses the emergence of the AIDS orphan as a central performative social figure in contemporary documentary.Just as charities involved in famine rescue often employ shocking images of starving children with emaciated bodies and decaying social lives, the image of the AIDS orphan can also become a commodity, and at the same time a point of conscience. This isolated and frail new documentary voice possesses an intimacy and an inherent emotional value which whilst it is powerful and useful, at the same time remains ethically questionable.