And the Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA… goes to… is a phrase that exemplifies the prestigious professional and public recognition of achievement in television and film production. Each year, the various academies' annual awards ceremonies identify, reward, celebrate and commemorate the best contributions to both the big and small screen industries, often with glittering and theatrical stage shows and occasional celebrity controversy.
Coverage of the pomp and pageantry of accolade events can often be as captivating as the box office hits or television productions being nominated. However, the actual content—whether factual or fictional—while fascinating, enthralling and undeniably entertaining (if not always educational), often presents a more inaccurate portrayal or misleading impression of the experiences depicted than reality itself. The American scholar, author, activist and social critic Bell Hooks suggested that ‘movies do not just mirror the culture of any given time; they also create it.’ When it comes to cancer, palliative and end-of-life care, these portrayals are often more fanciful and dramatic than factual or true to reality.
Serrone et al (2018) found that the long-standing medical drama Grey's Anatomy misrepresented trauma outcomes, noting higher mortality rates, exaggerated surgical interventions, faster recoveries and discharges, and fewer patients being referred to or requiring long-term institutional care and recovery. They noted that such depictions could present unreasonable and unrealistic perceptions and expectations in the viewing public.
A qualitative content analysis of how movies depicted cancer pain management found that while patients were portrayed in a sympathetic way, the milieu and manner of care was not necessarily agreeable to holistic care (Mukhida et al, 2022). In movies, nurses were portrayed both positively—as being more responsive to patients' needs compared to their more indifferent medical colleagues—and negatively, as being too busy to provide adequate care. The authors noted that exposure to such portrayals can shape public perceptions of nursing, influencing expectations of care and potentially affecting recruitment and professional identity. Benjamin et al (2024) reviewed more than 100 English language movies describing a decade's worth of cancer-related plots. They found that the heterogeneous and complex nature of cancer and its treatments were often overlooked, giving the impression that cancer was a singular disease, with rarer cancers—such as brain cancer—being depicted as more prominent and prevalent. Similarly, the prognosis for patients portrayed was typically bleak and incurable, which contrasts with the growing certainty of improved survival rates and advancements in supportive care. The authors found that palliative care was rarely depicted as a care option, suggesting that this lack of consideration of the opportunities offered by palliative and end-of-life care may impair awareness and acceptance of such services.
Cinemeducation—the use of audiovisual tools such as films, clips, or TV episodes as a teaching methodology—effectively promotes knowledge and understanding of the complexities of the human condition. It serves as a creative way to demonstrate, model or discuss medical and nursing topics (Alexander et al, 2005; Di Bartolo and Seldombridge, 2009). The analysis of complex conditions and circumstances can similarly develop the reflexivity and insight of practitioners into the intricacies and intimacies of health and social care (Cambra-Badii et al, 2024).
Regardless of whether this form of media is formalised as a pedagogical approach to healthcare education, its pervasive and persuasive impact cannot be ignored. Our identification with, assimilation of, or understanding of silver or flat-screen narratives can both inspire and negatively influence us.
Media portrayals can be impactful and instrumental means of influencing attitudes, opinions and behaviours (Röhm et al, 2017; Kubrak, 2020; Gogoi, 2022), therefore being cognisant of how care is (mis)represented is important as it may need to be addressed in practice.