AIGAT YOUR BACK: The Fault in Our Media

SUSANNA AIGA
Opinions Editor

I understand that the media’s intent is not always to present us with reality. I know that it is inevitable that reality is often lost to cinematic effects or some other aesthetic appeal in the name of art. However, in terms of mental or physical illness, with which real people are struggling every day, doesn’t it seem rather insensitive that what we are labeling as “cancer,” “depression” or other various diagnoses rarely match the horrors of what these real people are seeing in the mirror?

Even the film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars seems as if it missed the mark in providing an apt representation of cancer patients. While Shailene Woodley’s Hazel seemed to have been immune to the side effects of her cancer treatment, I’m sure that is not the case for most cancer patients.

I am not asking the media to show us everything; it would understandably be very difficult to watch some poor soul experience the grim effects of cancer. However, it is disappointing that some filmmakers seem to see illnesses such as cancer as an “economical dramatic device,” according to Time magazine, rather than a serious condition plaguing various individuals.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Breaking Bad as much as, perhaps more than, the next person but when does romanticizing illness become excessive? The least we can do is be aware that what is portrayed on paper, screen or the Internet is not necessarily reality—that the sick do not exist for the sake of storytelling and that nobody’s suffering should ever be diminished.