The Bucket List is a movie about two old codgers who are nothing like people, both suffering from cancer that is nothing like cancer, and setting off on adventures that are nothing like possible. I urgently advise hospitals: Do not make the DVD available to your patients; there may be an outbreak of bedpans thrown at TV screens.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Ebert criticizes the film for presenting an unrealistic and potentially harmful view of terminal illness and adventure.
- In plain terms
- The movie makes cancer look fun and easy to overcome.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid movies that give false hope to seriously ill patients.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What responsibilities do filmmakers have when depicting serious illness?
- Can entertainment safely distort medical realities?
Another view
The advice might be too extreme for patients who find comfort in fiction.
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