The Cancer In Our Stars (Monika Gebavi)

Image from a scene in The Fault in our Stars when on a beautiful sunny day, Augustus and Hazel sit together talking on the swings.

Summary:

Based on John Green’s novel The Fault in our Stars, this romantic drama film depicts the journey that begins when a teenage girl with terminal lung cancer, Hazel Lancaster, meets a cancer survivor, Augustus Walters, at a support group. Augustus finds his way into Hazel’s guarded heart as they begin a journey together that inspires the viewer to live each day to its fullest. Hazel and Augustus’s adventure lead them to Amsterdam to meet Hazel’s favorite author – a dying wish to reconcile many unanswered questions. Throughout their short time together, many lessons are learned, and tears are shed. In a sad turn of events, Augustus finds himself at the mercy of cancer yet again, but this time with little hope for his future. Hazel is heart-broken as she is left once again facing the truth of the fragility of life that she already knows all too well.

Analysis:

A main theme traced throughout this entire movie is the presence and obstacle of cancer in various forms. Hazel’s cancer originally started as thyroid cancer which then spread to her lungs causing her to wheel around an oxygen tank wherever she goes. By the recommendation of her doctor, Hazel goes to a support group which consists of more cancer patients. There she befriends Augustus, who lost one of his legs to cancer but is in remission. However, by the end of the story, Augustus had cancer that spread throughout his entire body leading to his eventual death. Hazel and Augustus’s friend, Scott, had cancer in both of his eyes causing him to need both removed and become permanently blind. According to the American Disabilities Act, cancer is classified as a “physical or mental impairment” that qualifies as disability (“Americans with Disabilities Act”). However, through this film I realized that not only is the physical disease of cancer debilitating but so are the permanent disabling effects such as the loss of a leg or blindness that are demonstrated through the characters.

Before reading the ADA’s definition, I would never have thought of cancer as a disability. I simply viewed it as a disease that affected a person to various degrees depending on the type, stage, and treatment. After viewing The Fault in our Stars, however, I now understand why cancer is included. The definition states that “a physical or mental impairment [must] substantially limit one or more of the major life activities of [an] individual” (“Americans with Disabilities Act”). Throughout the movie, major life activities of each character are depicted as limited or altogether impossible. For example, Hazel did not attend high school but instead got her GED and is taking college classes at home. Her condition does not allow her to keep up with other students in the classroom. She needs to be at home where she can move at her own pace and be constantly watched by her parents. Additionally, Hazel is portrayed as physically weak when she walks up/down a flight of stairs and needs to sit down right away to catch her breath. The simple tasks of everyday life can be a struggle to Hazel due to the condition of her lungs and keep her from being able to perform regular life activities.

Due to the nature of cancer, I do not think it falls prey to the stereotypes and myths associated with disability quite as readily and obviously as other forms of disabilities. For example, in terms of the “Kill-or-Cure” myth that Dolmage presents in his book, cancer does require one of those two outcomes (39). Either a person undergoes treatment and is healed from the illness or the cancer overpowers the body and leads to death. The negative “Kill-or-Cure” notion that all disabled characters in a movie will either die or be cured does occur in this movie; however, I do not see any other way of portraying cancer due to the terms of the disease. However, the idea that the character must die or be cured because the disability makes his/her life terrible and not worth living can be disputed. In The Fault in our Stars, the writer does a good job using Hazel to show the viewers as well as other characters in the story that despite the difficulties she faces because of her cancer, life is still good. At the end of the movie when Augustus is dying and fearing being forgotten, Hazel reminds him of all the people he has in his life who love him. After her encouragement he concludes that, “It’s a good life, Hazel Grace” (The Fault). Despite all the pain and troubles cancer victims endure, their life still has meaning and is worth living.

The writer of The Fault in our Stars also touches on two other stereotypes/myths of disability: that life with a disabled person is terrible and that disabled people are an object of pity. At parts of the film it seems that the movie supports these two beliefs. The writer first presents these stereotypes through the actions of some characters; however, he later refutes them using other characters. For instance, in Laurie Block’s article “Stereotypes About People With Disabilities,” she explains that one stereotype is, “the burden of disability is unending: life with a disabled person is a life of constant sorrow, and the able-bodied stand under a continual obligation to help them” (Block). In the movie, I think that Hazel’s mother represents this stereotype. She is constantly running into the room if she thinks she hears Hazel call her name and is depicted as a sad, anxious person. Her entire life surrounds Hazel’s sickness, and she seems to have given up everything just to take care of Hazel and keep her comfortable and happy. Each time Hazel goes into the hospital for an emergency such as her lungs filling with fluid, Hazel’s mom is shown weeping and beside herself. If Hazel’s mother were the only example, it would be easy to fall into the stereotype that living with a person with a disability is filled with pain and a sense of responsibility to help them. However, in The Fault in our Stars, Hazel’s father juxtaposes the mother’s emotions. Hazel’s dad is a stability force and source of unconditional love within the family. One day when Hazel is talking about how she feels like a burden to other people, her dad quickly refutes what she is saying and assures her that she is very much loved and wanted. Again, later in the movie after Augustus dies, Hazel is grieving his death when her father walks in and reminds Hazel,  “. . . it was a privilege to love him” (The Fault). No matter the pain or sorrow that comes with loving someone with a disability, this movie clearly shows that every tear is worth it. For every tear and sad moment, there is an equally happy moment of laughter and love.

Another myth that is presented in Dolmage’s book is the idea that people with a “disability [are seen] as an object of pity and/or charity” (40). Similar to the last stereotype, this myth can be seen in parts of the film but is then later shown to be wrong. When Hazel and Augustus start to get to know each other, Hazel learns that Augustus is not a good driver, and after failing the driving exam three times, passed on his fourth attempt at the charity of the instructor. The instructor said, “’Your driving, while unpleasant, is not technically unsafe’” which Hazel and Augustus both admitted was “a cancer perk” (The Fault). The only reason Augustus was given his license was because the instructor felt bad for him. Later in the movie when Hazel and Augustus go to Amsterdam to meet the author, Peter Van Houten, he further vocalizes this myth stating that “[he] ‘refuse[s] to pity [Hazel] in the manner to which [she is] accustomed’” (The Fault). Hazel is taken aback by his words and quickly corrects him saying she certainly does not want or need his pity. Van Houten only gets louder and retorts, “’Of course you do! Like all sick kids, your existence depends on it’” (The Fault). At this remark Hazel gets extremely upset and goes off on Van Houten’s arrogance and rudeness. I think the writer is making a statement about the automatic assumptions of society on the disabled community when, in reality, pity is the last thought to cross a person with disabilities’ mind.

Overall, I think that the writer portrayed the difficulties of living with cancer well and gave a realistic view of the false beliefs that people have about disabilities. He used the characters to show different opinions that the public holds, but, ultimately, validated the life of a person with disabilities and gave the viewers an insight into the happiness, love, and loss that all human beings feel, regardless whether he/she has a disability.

Discussion Questions:

What are your thoughts about cancer being included in the formal definition of a disability? What were your views prior to learning that information, and do you think the ADA’s choice is correct?

If you have seen The Fault in our Stars, what were key themes that you took away from the movie? After viewing it, did you see cancer/disabilities in a more positive or negative light? Why?

Works Cited:

Block, Laurie. “Stereotypes About People With Disabilities.” Disability History Museum, www.disabilitymuseum.org/dhm/edu/essay.html?id=24

 

Dolmage, Jay. “An Archive and Anatomy of Disability Myths.” Disability Rhetoric, Syracuse University Press, 2014, pp. 31-49.

 

The Fault in Our Stars. Directed by Josh Boone, performances by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2014.

 

United States, Congress, “Americans with Disabilities Act.” Americans with Disabilities Act, United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 1990.