Alternative Gay Universe

With all the recent hype of "Alternative Facts" that are now apparently present in the world, my curiosity was piqued by an article that is looking at the Alternative Universe of a life without an AIDS epidemic. For a moment, think about where some of our icons would be 35 years later if nearly an entire generation of victims had not succumbed to an incredible tragedy. What would Rock Hudson look like in his twilight years? What art exhibits would Mapplethorpe be working on? What music projects would Freddie Mercury be collaborating on and in what genre?

Film maker Leo Herrara hopes to tackle this enigma in a combined art/ faux documentary project called Fathers. If these lost pioneers were still alive, what wisdom and perspective could they offer as mentors to a younger generation that quickly seems to have lost a sense of the history that was earned for them? Using technology much like forensics, he plans to hypothesize what they might look like. And by drawing on historical sources of family, relationships and other survivors he hopes to create a maze of possibilities in the present. Think of it as a Time Machine that skipped a few horrible blips in the calendar of humanity. It is only in the crowd sourcing phase, but I can't imagine that handfuls of philanthropic gay men would not be lining up in droves to rally the troupes. It will be set in three worlds of New York, San Francisco and New Orleans where the effects of the AIDS crisis rippled the most. Imagine! The world of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray takes an unusual spin.