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“The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies” – New Edited Collection from OUP

posted on February 4, 2025

Research Summary: The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies

Category: Educational Resource / Biomedical Ethics Teaching Tool
Content Scope: Approximately 80 brief essays by international experts analyzing single film scenes through medical ethics frameworks
Publisher & Year: Oxford University Press, 2011
Editors: Henri Colt, Silvia Quadrelli, Friedman Lester
Target Audience: Medical students and educators seeking film-based case studies in biomedical ethics
Film Selection: Spans both explicit medical narratives (Million Dollar Baby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and unconventional choices (Pan's Labyrinth, As Good as it Gets)
Structural Features: Introductory chapters to major sections, complete filmography, and cross-indexed ethical issue guide for reader navigation
Pedagogical Approach: Uses cinema as accessible vehicle for exploring medical ethics through narrative and visual analysis in clinical education

The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies
Edited by Henri Colt, Silvia Quadrelli and Friedman Lester
New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

From the OUP web site: “Film and literature have long been mined for interesting examples and case studies in order to teach biomedical ethics to students. This volume presents a collection of about 80 very brief, accessible essays written by international experts from medicine, social sciences, and the humanities, all of whom have experience using film in their teaching of medical ethics. Each essay focuses on a single scene and the ethical issues it raises, and the volume editors have provided strict guidelines for what each essay must do, while also allowing for some creative freedom. While some of the films are obvious candidates with medical themes — “Million Dollar Baby”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” — some are novel choices, such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” or “As Good as it Gets”. The book will contain several general introductory chapters to major sections, and a complete filmography and cross-index at the end of the book where readers can look up individual films or ethical issues.”

Download The Picture of Health Preface and Table of Contents

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