Doctors in the Movies: Boil the Water and Just Say Aah

Myth, like denial, is central to human existence and no one has made myths better than Hollywood, shaping how we think about ourselves and those around us by reinforcing stereotypes or creating new ones. This book is about how Hollywood has portrayed medicine over the last sixty years, as seen through the eyes of a board-certified internist on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The author blends brief historical context with an in-depth discussion of more than seventy films that illustrate what the public has valued in doctoring, the changing attitudes towards science, and the evolution of issues that still confront and divide us. Assisted suicide, abortion, concerns about health care costs and impersonal high-tech medicine are all in evidence. Two chapters deal with the virtual invisibility of women and Black doctors in film. The book has an extensive filmography and bibliography inviting readers to explore the subject further.