Movie/TV Show Being Reviewed:
The Big C

Reviewer:
Andrea Fifield

Genre:
Drama

Movies/TV Shows:
TV Show

Suggested Age Range:
Adults Only

Age Range Explained:
Occasional swearing and partial nudity; adult topics related to sexuality

Subject Headings:
Aging, Divorce, Family dynamics, Grief & loss, Relationships

Review:
In the Showtime drama, The Big C, Cathie Jameson struggles with the news that she has Stage 4 Melanoma. Her prognosis is a few months up to two years. Prior to this revelation, she and her husband separated, and her son has since become resentful and rebellious toward her. Upon learning that she has cancer, Cathie spends much of the first season hiding the news from her husband, son, and her mentally unstable brother. Several attempts to tell them are thwarted, either due to miscommunications or her desire to protect them from the bad news. In the meantime, as Cathie processes the knowledge of her impending death, she exhibits a wide range of behaviors, at times humorous, tragic, and even self-destructive.

The series serves as an excellent demonstration of family dynamics and the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. It provides ample opportunity to observe family communication and behavioral patterns, alliances, triangulation, and multigenerational themes. At the same time, even though Cathie is still living with her cancer, we see her very clearly move through the stages of grief; particularly denial, anger, bargaining, and at times, depression, in season one. As her family members eventually find out about her condition, we can see them experiencing the stages of grief as well. Watching how the characters cope with this knowledge adds a new layer to the family dynamics as well. This series is a great way to provide counseling students with believable characters to which they may apply what they are learning.