The Fault in Our Stars, the movie, is one of the essential artifacts in my project because of its fame and inspiration. The story was inspired by Esther Earl whom John Green met and wrote the New York Times best seller after.
Breaking Bad, the television show, is another major component in my project because of its fame. The main character Walter White is a chemistry teacher who is later diagnosed with lung cancer. He teams up with an old student of his to make methamphetamine and sell it so he can help his family financially when he passes.
This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl and her parents, Lori and Wayne Earl. She was the inspiration for The Fault in Our Star by John Green. The book is a composition of her thoughts about life and her general interests about her involvement with Nerdfighter.
TED talk by Wayne Earl, Esther Grace Earl's father. He discusses what it is like to live in the face of death and talks about Esther's story. Dying is inevitable: Living is not.
Esther Earl's Youtube channel filled with blogs on the last four years of her life. It allowed me to get to know the person who inspired this award winning film and book. In addition to learning about her experience with cancer and how it influenced her life and actions.
A Walk to Remember is a film from the 2002 about a high school couple falling in love. The only problem is that the girl in the relationship has cancer and she is dying. This reminds me of a somewhat older version of The Fault in Our Stars and brings about the same question of how is this film influencing the public about cancer. These films are looked at as great love stories but does the cancer reinforce their love or just make the story better. In addition to the question of what are viewers taking away from this film.
“We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up or fight like hell.” – Lance Armstrong
Different from the other films I have looked into 50/50 shines a positive, light hearted view on cancer. The story is about a young man finding out he has a tumor and trying to mentally cope with his disease with the help of his friends and family. I think too few movies about cancer patients really shed this comedic feel which I found to be somewhat more realistic from my point of view.
The Bucket List about two older men in a hospital room together both living with cancer decide to make a bucket list and do everything on it. The film addresses the idea of living life to the fullest, seizing the day. This source will be useful to see if that is the idea viewers take with them and how that relates to what influenced their thoughts about cancer.
Article on John Green's response to a middle school ban on his book The Fault in Our Stars.
An article written about the film 50/50 claiming that it mawks real cancer patients and is too humorous for the topic at hand. The article takes a part each line in the film.
Taylor Swift, an international pop/country star, recently released that her Mother has been diagnosed with cancer over her tumbler (picture below). This news was posted to CNN, The Huffington Post, over the radio, ABC news, The Washington Post, People magazine and many other distinguished publications. On Swift's tumbler posts she asks that people encourage their loved ones to get a check up if they haven't done so in order to put their mind at ease or start treating a potential illness.
Below is a quote from Loranne Yaun. She wrote an essay on how moves can effect people thinking and way of being which is what I am doing with my project but more centered around cancer films.
"If you are a certified fan of movies, it certainly had influenced you a lot in your decisions, thinking,
mood, views, and etc"
Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge talk about their experience with breast cancer to People magazine. The majority of the article is about how having cancer changed their life and how they lived it.