Historia y Humanidades

Deficiency, disability, neurology and cinema

S. Collado-Vázquez, R. Cano-de-la-Cuerda, C. Jiménez-Antona [REV NEUROL 2010;51:757-763] PMID: 21157738 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33588/rn.5112.2010638

OPEN ACCESS

Volumen 51 | Number 12 | Nº of views of the article 9.048 | Nº of PDF downloads 1.828 | Article publication date 16/12/2010

Download PDF Castellano Citation Search in PubMed

Share in:

Go to another issue

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION Cinema has been defined in many different ways, but most of them agree that it should be considered both a technique and an art. Although films often depict fantasy stories, in many cases they also reflect day-to-day realities. In its earliest days cinema was already attracted to the world of health and sickness, and frequently addressed topics like medical practice, how patients lived with their illnesses, bioethical issues, the relationship between physician and patient or research.

AIM To review the presence of neurological pathologies in the cinema with a view to identifying the main neurological disorders that have been portrayed in films. Likewise it also intends to describe the medical praxis that is employed, the relationship between physician and patient, how the experiences of the patient and the family are represented, the adaptation to social and occupational situations, and the intervention of other health care professionals related with neurological patients. DEVELOPMENT. Some of the most significant films that have addressed these topics were reviewed and it was seen that in some of them the illness is dealt with in a very true-to-life manner, whereas others tend to include a greater number of inaccuracies and a larger degree of fiction.

CONCLUSIONS Cinema has helped to shape certain ways of thinking about the health care professionals who work with neurological patients, the importance of support from the family and the social role, among other things. This confirms that resorting to cinematographic productions is a fruitful tool for stimulating a critical interest in the past and present of medical practice. KeywordsCinema Disability Neurological pathology Physician-patient relationship Social context

FULL TEXT (solo disponible en lengua castellana / Only available in Spanish)

Acceso directo al último número

Último Podcast

Historia y Humanidades

Deficiency, disability, neurology and cinema