Life can be pretty serious and difficult at times. Occasionally, we can become caught up in a situation and convince ourselves that we will never see the light at the end of the tunnel. Depending on our tendency to dramatize every incident that comes our way, it can get quite intense. However, there are also those circumstances that no amount of positivity can brighten. Life-threatening illnesses and the death of a loved one are clearly at the top of that list.
Many movies have been made around such sad events: Beaches (1988) starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, is a major tearjerker; Stepmom (1998) with Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris, approaches the subject of terminal illness with a mix of comedy and drama. Most recently, director Jonathan Levine brought us (2011). This movie, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, takes a look at the life of a happy 20-something who learns that he has an even chance to survive cancer: a tough subject to tackle in a comedy.
Then you have authors who choose to write about their disease and brush with death with a funny twist. Actress Fran Drescher, a uterine cancer survivor, used her sense of humour to tell the story of her battle in her book Cancer Smancher. She’s not the only one, Gail Konop Baker, a talented writer, used the same approach in her book Cancer is a Bitch: (Or, I’d Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis).
I admire these people who can find the strength within the heart and soul to look for the funny side of things, even when it would be so easy (and totally acceptable) to feel sorry for themselves.
Is it okay for someone to make a comedy about such a tragic subject? Is it different when authors use laughter to talk about their battle because it is their own fight, in their own words? What do you think?
Laugh, it's fun! 