The Portrayals of Cancer in the Aforementioned Films - Essay Example

Hollywood Portrayal of Cancer School Hollywood Portrayal of Cancer Very often, Hollywood movies use cancer or other terminal diseases to enhance the drama and tragedy that would come at the end of the movie. This holds true for the movies Sweet November and Autumn in New York, both of which have their main protagonists suffering from cancer, and enjoying life to the fullest, knowing that they only have a little time to live. These films utilized the theme of cancer to bring to the audience the message of "seizing the day," but not necessarily to educate the audience about the realities of the illness. As will be seen in the analysis that will follow, much of the portrayals of cancer in the aforementioned films are executed with very little details about the illness and were incorporated into the story only as an ingredient to appeal to the emotions of the viewers, notwithstanding the inadequacies of the realism. Sweet November and Autumn in New York are both love stories that are centered on the appreciation of the beauty of life. In exploring this theme, the movies placed the main characters in a situation where one of them is terminally ill. Sweet November is a love story that revolves around Nelson Moss (played by Keanu Reeves) and Sara Deever (Charlize Theron). Deever took it as a mission to help Moss overcome his obsession with work and success, and thereby allowing him to appreciate and enjoy life. This mission would be achieved in just one month. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Deever is afflicted with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that is the main reason for Deever's decision to lead an unusual lifestyle of "curing" men of their misbehaviors towards women. The story ends tragically, with Deever ending her relationship with Moss and facing the consequences of her illness alone.. Autumn in New York is a love story between a womanizing older man and a young, vibrant woman. Early on the story, Charlotte Fielding (Winona Ryder) and Will Keane (Richard Gere) fell in love, and as Keane was ending the relationship in the same manner as he had ended his past relationships, Fielding agreed to the fact that they would have no future together because she was sick. The story ended in tragedy as Fielding dies of a rare disease after the last-resort surgical operation failed to save her life. There are many similarities in the two movies in the manner that cancer was portrayed. First, the illness was equated to the certainty of death. The drama in both films revolves around the fact that the women have little time left. Both protagonists also dealt with the disease in a similar manner - they gave up on medical treatments. In Autumn of New York, Charlotte Fielding even signed a directive that no surgery will be made on her. In one of their conversations, Fielding told Keane, "I don't want to give hope, when there is none" (Chen, 2000). The same attitude was somewhat projected by Sara Deever in Sweet November. She decided to take on a different course in life, away from the regular treatments usually provided by hospitals to cancer patients. Both films in a way concluded that there were no other options for the two cancer-afflicted characters, and that subjecting themselves to medical treatments and procedures would yield the same result, that is, eventual death. The character in Autumn in New York died at the end of the film, while in Sweet November, the character decided to come home and perhaps yield to medical cure for her illness, although the last scene seemed to indicate that she would be spending the rest of her life wilting away and succumbing to death. She left the viewers thinking that she would die, in the same way that her lover agreed to letting her go and face death. Both stories depict the dying characters, both of which were white women, still in flawless appearance. This would fall under what Comedienne Carol Burnett referred to as the Movie Star Disease (as cited in Lallanilla, 2005), where the ill character, typically a young, single and beautiful woman, suffers from a terminal disease such as cancer, but manages to remain flawless in appearance. There were no signs of weight loss, paleness, lumps, or any other physical symptoms that would indicate that they were suffering from cancer. In the last part of Sweet November, the character even told her lover that she wanted him to remember the two of them as "perfect." The sick characters appeared normal, except for some occasions when they fainted or felt severe headaches. Little details on the medical condition of the cancer patients were presented in the two movies. In Sweet November, it was mentioned that the female character was suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but that the only information provided. The usual symptoms associated with that type of cancer were not shown anywhere in the movie, even after the revelation of the disease. The only physical symptom presented were black circles around the eyes. In Autumn in New York, the doctor explained that the patient had neuroblastoma, but that "it is not cancer" (Chen, 2000). The film described the disease as rare, perhaps to dismiss the viewers' further speculation into the affliction. All throughout the movie, the character remained beautiful and healthy-looking. In revealing the diseases, the films expected the viewers to understand and believe that the characters are bound to die and have little time left. There were no lengthy explanations about other possibilities of cure, except to express that any attempt to treat the illness would still be futile. If there was a difference in how much symptoms were presented, this was shown in the number of times that the ill characters collapsed in the stories. Because the disease was revealed during the first part of the film in Autumn in New York, there were more occasions where the character collapsed, although this was the only symptom that was shown. She was not taking medications at all and did not appear to be ill overall. In Sweet November, the illness remained a mystery until the latter part of the film, so during the most part of the movie, there were no indications that the character was sick, except for the fact that she was leading a rather unusual way of life. When the movie was ready to reveal the illness, the character started to show symptoms such as severe migraines and pain. She responded to her pain by taking Advil for the migraine, and some other unknown medications that have been kept secretly hidden in her medicine cabinet. As with Autumn in New York, the character in Sweet November also collapsed, leading to her lover finding out about the cancer. The characters were also depicted as financially stable, so there was no portrayal of everyday worries such as making a living. The viewer would have to deduce that perhaps, because of their illnesses, their families were financially supporting them. They were free to choose the kind of lifestyle that they prefer and enjoy life much more than the regular individual. They appear to have so much financial stability that they dedicated their lives to their hobbies and to walks in the park or beaches. The cancer victims' families did not play vital roles in the two stories. They were supported for the most part by their friends. In Autumn in New York, the character only had her grandmother to look after her, but there were no signs of her grandmother encouraging her to pursue treatment for her illness. The character's family in Sweet November was only mentioned in the background. She alienated herself from her family, who wanted her to continue with cancer treatment, because she did not like the medical procedures being done on her. It was her friends who took care of her. In both cases, the characters were very much decided right from the start that there were no medical solutions to their illnesses. Even when the character in Sweet November finally chose to go back to her family, the attitude projected was to give in to the disease that meant death. The people around the characters with cancer also acted in a way that they were sure that the characters would die soon. If information about cancer would be based on these two films, viewers would think that all cancers are terminal and hopeless. Based on these two movies, having cancer would definitely be the same as facing certain death. These movies also lead people to believe that the illness usually affects white females, and that it would not affect the appearance of the victim dramatically. To the viewers, it would seem that cancer is a seriously mysterious disease that affects the internal body, but not the external appearance of the victim. In both films, the writers made it a point to make the diseases very mysterious and alien to ordinary viewers. In Autumn in New York, it was described as "rare," while in Sweet November, it was mentioned only once and was never discussed further. The tendency of these films to project cancer as untreatable could be misleading to viewers, especially those who are more or less ignorant of the disease. It also diminishes the credibility of physicians in dealing with the disease. While many do die from cancer, there have been cases where medical treatments for cancer were successful. This, or even the idea that there could be hope for a cure, was not presented in the films. Both characters believed that they were only dealing with false hopes if they subject themselves to medical cure. In the case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Sweet November, for instance, the hopelessness has been overplayed, especially as this type of cancer has become more common and more treatable in the last decades (Patlak, 1996). In the Hollywood films presented, cancer was incorporated to add drama to the story and to appeal to the emotions of the viewers. In the analysis, it can be seen that there was not much portrayal of the usual symptoms of the diseases that were being presented. Also, it can be said that the films similarly portrayed cancer to depict slow but certain death. Although the two stories are of different plots, the portrayal of cancer follows a similar pattern. It has been shown to be a deadly disease that will not, in anyway, affect the physical appearance of the affected individual. The two movies presented the idea to the viewers that there are no medical cures for cancer, and that medical procedures are only a meaningless process. Such analysis of performances would be important for society to know the reality behind the artistic presentation. If not, there is a danger of disseminating misinformation among the public, as well as promoting an exaggerated response such diseases as cancer. Analysis of the movies strengthens the fact that Hollywood movies are merely artistic representation of the facts, and should not be taken as an educational or as an information tool for explaining diseases. Much of the information presented regarding the diseases portrayed were not well researched, as can be seen from the lack of details in terms of physical symptoms and effects of medical treatments. This must have been done deliberately because the movie producers were selling movies and they need the actors to appear pleasing to the eyes. The analysis would show the viewers the reasons behind the artistic presentation and should forewarn them that a huge part of the movies, particularly the medical aspect, does not reflect the entire reality. The analysis also sheds light as to the need for more movies that could show successes in cancer treatments. This may be unlikely as this would damage the drama that cancer projects to the viewers, but this would also balance the presentation of facts in the movies. References Chen, J. (Director). (2000). Autumn in New York [Motion picture]. United States: MGM. Lallanilla, M. (2005, February 24). How should Hollywood portray disease ABC News. Retrieved March 7, 2006, from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/storyid=522548&page=1. O'Connor, P. (Director). (2001). Sweet November [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers. Patlak, M. (1996, December). Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma becomes more common, more treatable. FDA Consumer Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2006, from http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/096_nhl.html Read More