Covid has meant that Tracey and I watch a lot more movies than we used to. That’s probably something that most of you have experienced as well. One thing you may not have noticed is that almost every movie has at least one reference to Cancer, and many have Cancer as a pivotal element to the script.
It’s so common that whenever we are watching a movie and we hear the reference we simply say ‘yup, another one’. Obviously it’s an indication of how prevalent Cancer is in our society, but it’s also an powerful tool for film makers to elevate emotions and create powerful scenes.
When Cancer was new in our world these moments really impacted both of us. Often causing tears simply when we saw a family having to deal with the emotional impact of the disease. But these days it’s become more like a game of ‘spot the cancer plot-line.’
Try the game yourself, listen with intent and I bet you will notice how prevalent Cancer appears. Then ask yourself if it’s a reflection of the volume of Cancer in our society or if it’s simply a great emotive tool used by the filmmaker.
Again, there are ones that focus on Cancer, I’m also bringing to your attention films that simply mention it as an element, these are everywhere. But if you want to see some films that have Cancer as their focal point I googled Cancer Lists in Film and there were endless lists. Here is one that seems to hit some of the bigs.