The Doctor in Hollywood Film
Date
2010-5
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The Doctor in Hollywood Film explores the role of the medical doctor in film from the 1920‟s to the present day - the time period under scrutiny being limited due to the availability and quality of films made before 1920. There are many different categories of doctor types; in my study I pinpoint these different stereotypical roles and explain why they have evolved in such a way, using historical evidence and critical analysis. Overall, the pattern that has emerged resembles a bell curve. From 1920 to mid-century, film presented the doctor as a quack, a savior, and a villain – and sometimes all three at once. He was shown (notice the purposeful omission of a pronoun suggesting the presence of female physicians during this time frame) as infallible and heroic during the middle part of the century. From the late 1960‟s onward s/he has become a figure open to public criticism and doubt, stripped of much power and subject to civil suits and the whims of insurance companies. Specifically, the doctor‟s relationship with his/her colleagues and his/her patients is examined, with special concern paid to the trust present within these bonds. This project also evaluates the doctor's methods, how they have been affected by technology, law, and the pharmaceutical companies, and how these institutions have affected the doctor-patient relationship. This thesis analyzes the parallels between societal changes, the changing role of the medical doctor, and the reflection of this phenomenon in film.