Facing Death is a compelling documentary on, oftentimes, the final journey patients and their families will venture through together in life. The documentary seeks to capture how the patients and their families respond to the inevitability of death. The film includes families who respond to the issue by allowing their family member, the patient, to pass through the door of death without aggressive care, while there are yet other families who insist on everything being done to delay the moment of death. This topic of fighting death is attributed with producing much debate. On one hand are those who do not see the point of fighting death, however, on the other hand, there are those who believe that delaying death and staying alive is what ought to be done. Personally, from what I understand of either party, I think that I am a part of the later party. In addition, this issue naturally delves into what one believes occurs after death, as it is an issue dealing directly with death. This also compels me to view this topic from the viewpoint of the later party. One philosophy that people may take on the topic of delaying the moment of death is that it is pointless and should not be delayed beyond reason. From what I have observed, people of this philosophy do not protest against emergency care. Rather, I think that they would only disapprove of the aggressive care that may lessen quality of life in the patients. For example, if a patient is being sustained by a respirator, but
1968 was the year that North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive against the United States and South Vietnam, the year that Martin Luther King JR and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, the year that started student protests and riots, the year that Black Power salute occurred and finally, the year that Night of the Living Dead came out. You may be wondering why a film would have anything to do with these historic events that occurred in 1968. Well, Night of the Living Dead is a zombie horror film directed by George A. Romero, this film that Romero created was a game changer for the film industry it lead to something bigger than purely entertainment. Romero’s goal behind his low budget black and white film was to construct subtext about social issues such as the Vietnam War and many other issues that went on during 1968. Romero’s zombie film’s present a sense of the failure of human co-operation.
Craig Bowron broaches the subject matter sensitively as much as possible striking a balance between the interests of individuals opposing his notions while at the same time emboldening the resolve of the many that support his idea. He, however, uses raw statements that are likely to irk the audience in some instances. Statements such as “once you have shoved some guy’s guts back into his stomach” can be rather upsetting to conservative audience that would rather be spared such graphic details. The next statement “everyone wants to grow old and die... but the truth is that most of us will die in pieces” also may rub readers in the wrong way. The author fails to capture the sensitivity of death as perceived by a number of people or cultures. The author acknowledges opposing argument by citing that the desire to have loved ones around would go to great lengths to use medication and technology. This goes to show that the writer understands that his opinion need not be paramount on the audience’s decisions and understanding of the article subject matter.
Death is a difficult topic for most people to discuss. Even those in the medical profession, such as doctors and surgeons, have a tough time discussing the prospect of death with patients. In Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Gawande delves into what really matters as life comes to an end, new ways of helping the elderly enjoy their waning days, and the role of doctors and medicine in curing diseases and dealing with patients. Sheri Fink, a reporter for the New York Times, reviewed this book on November 6, 2014 for The New York Times Sunday Book Review in “Atul Gawande’s ‘Being Mortal’”. She thinks Being Mortal is a “valuable contribution to the growing literature on aging, death, and dying”, and does a good job of introducing the topic of
Although the author and I agree that the life expectancy has greatly increased in the past 1000 years and medicine has changed, our old ways of viewing death have not. The author discusses how death is perceived, in which she concludes, “Therefore death in itself is associated with a bad act, a frightening happening, something that in itself calls for retribution and punishment”(220). Kubler-Ross analyzed how people viewed death and determined that it is never depicted positively in most circumstances. She felt people never found peace with death itself, typically finding something to blame to make death seem
By biological logic, we human beings will face death sooner or later in our life and death has its very own ways to approach us - a sudden deadly strike, a critical sickness, a tragic accident, a prolonged endurance of brutal treatment, or just an aging biological end. To deal with the prospect of death come different passive or active reactions; some may be scared and anxious to see death, some try to run away from it, and some by their own choice make death come faster. But Viktor Frankl, through his work Man’s Search for Meaning, and Bryan Doyle; in his essay “His Last Game” show us choices to confront the death, bring it to our deepest feelings, meaningful satisfaction. To me, the spirit of the prisoners at deadly concentration camps, Frankl’s Logotherapy theory of “. . . striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.” (99), as well as the calmness of Doyle’s brother on his last ride, like an awaken bell, remind us of how precious life is, how we should find the significance in every act of living, determine to live a meaningful life at any circumstances; hence, when death comes, we can accept it without anxiety nor regrets.
Dennis P. Kimbo once said, “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” Despite the numerous obstacles of life, people can choose how they react. Today, many people are faced with the obstacle of life threatening diseases. By some diseases being incurable, the cloud of only having so much longer to live hangs over them. As a result, some may choose the option of euthanasia if it is available. In the contrasting pieces of writing, Kara Tippetts use of ethos about euthanasia is more convincing than Brittany Maynard use of logos.
Death is one of the most avoided topics because of the finality that comes with it and the fear of the unknown after death. However, there are quite a number of authors such as AtulGawande, Elisabeth Kubler-ross and Ira Byock who have attempted to go ahead and deal with death as a topic and other connected topics.Each of these authors have delved into one of the most revered topics that is death including related topics that come with it such as the dying process itself. Ira Byock’s Dying well: Peace and possibilities at the end of life is a book that looks at the moment prior to death when an individual is terminally sick and is at the point of death. A
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-born psychiatrist who spent two years of her professional career gathering information from terminally ill patients to create the premise for On Death and Dying. “It is not meant to be a textbook on how to manage dying patients, nor is it intended as a complete study of the psychology of dying.” (Kübler-Ross, 1969). This book was written as a call-to-action; to raise awareness of the voice of the dying. Not only is there stigma surrounding the topic, but also numerous misconceptions concerning the emotional journey of the terminally ill. The Kübler-Ross Model creates a framework for those interacting with dying persons, to help caretakers better understand the transitions that are taking place, resulting in higher-quality care. This model is comprised of five stages, which can be experienced in a variety of combinations. Prior to the first stage, the patient must be delivered the news of their illness or the severity of their illness, which usually results in shock. Denial is the first stage noted by Kübler-Ross. Denial and isolation are normal responses to overwhelming emotions and serve as a temporary response until the individual is ready to accept reality. Although this defense mechanism is normative, it is important to note that it isn’t necessarily healthy, and that some never move past this stage. As reality sets in, pain beings to emerge and manifests itself in the next stage: anger. Rationality takes a
As mentioned in a Frontline interview with Gawande about Being Mortal, life’s two ‘unfixables’ are aging ang dying ("Dr. Atul Gawande On Aging, Dying And "Being Mortal"). Despite this well-known fact, most physicians and patients alike are overwhelmed by the concept of death. Moreover, in times of medical crisis, terminally ill patients allow themselves to be given “the medical equivalent of lottery tickets” in the hopes of making a miraculous recovery (Gawande 171). The allowance of end-of-life decisions to be controlled by the concepts of medicine or technology is a dangerous path which shows a lack in pragmatism regarding death (Sinclair). Although the overall avoidance of the
A person who is dying of a terminal illness is faced with only one certainty; they will die from this disease. A doctor can say roughly the amount of time that a patient has, but they exact date and level of pain is hard to determine. Many may look to a physician for the answer on if they should/shouldn’t choose PAS, however, the only role a physician plays is giving the medical diagnosis and working with the patient to get what the patient feels is the best option. Therefore, the decision the patient makes doesn’t make the physician a moral guide, but rather a person doing their job. The last big decision people who are terminally ill have is when/how to die and it has to be their own and it has to be respected.
Low angle shot, where a camera points upwards from below, generally make people or things look bigger, more courageous and important. However, same angle shots sometimes will be chosen to emphasize different effects in one film. In the movie “Night of the Living Dead,” the director George A. Romero uses low angles for different purposes.
When faced with the inevitable fate of death, the reaction of the population is very different because of their relation to life. Some men did not stop for death; they “hurried to and from” grinding their teeth in anger, which indicated their frustration in their inability to change the inevitable. Some “hid their eyes and wept” because of their unwillingness to accept the end while others rested “Their chins upon their clinched hands.” The latter watched their world fall apart bravely and smiled at their fate.
According to Ullmann-Margalit (51) while dealing with the subject the agony of doubt deliberates that it is among the most confusing issues to deal with. Most people do not want to die, at least not now, and the debate of holding on to the inevitable and that of letting go heats up. Questions arise concerning the social, religious and ethical factors that have to be taken into play while considering end-of-life or right-to-die and thus bringing complexity to an otherwise easy decision. But the most crucial question to ask is: are those in support of the right-to-die justified in their movement? This will be the question that will be addressed in this argumentative essay.
Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their
We are all aware of death, and we know it will come to us all. To many of us death brings a chill down our spine ridden with fear, but to others it is ridden with strength and satisfaction of accomplishment. Fortunately or unfortunately we are all condemned to death. However no one knows when exactly the inevitable will approach, but we all know it is inescapable. But what makes death seem more realistic to us and those in denial of it is the lucid pictures of people suffering, in pain and those on their death bed before many of us can be rationale and accept the truth. Someone once said, “Life is about 50-70 years of pain. One is born through the mother’s pain and die leaving others in pain.'; How do we accept and