Cancer in the Media

 WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE NEW SEASON OF DEAD TO ME AND THE MIDNIGHT CLUB BOTH STREAMING ON NETFLIX

I sincerely can't tell if there is more representation of cancer in the media these days, or if I'm only just noticing it more because I, myself, have it.

I'm watching the new and final season of Dead to Me, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, which just dropped today. By the end of the first episode, we learn that Linda Cardellini may have cancer.

In October, Mike Flanagan dropped his latest spooky series called The Midnight Club, which follows a troupe of terminally ill teenagers who've chosen to live out the rest of their lives in hospice care, together. Every night at midnight they sneak into the basement and tell stories over stolen wine and the glow of a raging fire. The first ten minutes of the series show a young girl receiving a cancer diagnosis.

If you know me, you know I dabble in the dark (humor) arts, and I certainly don't think that there's any kind of woo-woo spirits out there that can prevent or cure cancer. I appreciate positive thoughts and prayers for healing, but I don't think that if we all just believe it, that it will cure me. 

One thing I appreciate about the two shows I mentioned above, is that they both don't shy away from the cold, harsh reality of what cancer really is. 

In Dead to Me, Christina Applegate prays (maybe for the first time ever) in a church and asks for God to give Linda Cardellini good news. After her CT scan, Linda Cardellini notices the scan tech is wearing an Evil Eye, which the tech claims is meant to ward off bad luck, and that they sell them in the gift store downstairs. The scene jump cuts to Linda hanging an Evil Eye on her car's rearview mirror.

In The Midnight Club, the main character Ilonka discovers the history of the hospice center may have included a coven of witches who were able to cure the cancer of one of its former patients. Eager to help her dying roommate, Ilonka tries to recreate the ritual of the cult with the current members of The Midnight Club, and the founder of a health commune who lives nearby.

The one thing both of these shows has in common? None of these things work. Linda Cardellini still gets the call that she has cancer, despite the prayers and trinkets. Ilonka's roommate still dies, despite the ritual.

I found myself holding my breath every time a character began to speak about the benefits of holistic living, or whenever a character looked up and saw a cross in the distance, or something symbolic like that. I began to worry that the show was going to take the hyper-positive route and show that if you just eat better, or pray to God, that you, too can cure or prevent cancer! 

I'm glad that they didn't go down that road. And I wonder if anyone else felt this way, or if it's just me. 

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