Prelims

Half Title

Film

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ARTS FOR HEALTH

Series Editor: Paul Crawford, Professor of Health Humanities, University of Nottingham, UK

The Arts for Health series offers a ground-breaking set of books that guide the general public, carers and healthcare providers on how different arts can help people to stay healthy or improve their health and wellbeing.

Bringing together new information and resources underpinning the health humanities (that link health and social care disciplines with the arts and humanities), the books demonstrate the ways in which the arts offer people worldwide a kind of shadow health service – a non-clinical way to maintain or improve our health and wellbeing. The books are aimed at general readers along with interested arts practitioners seeking to explore the health benefits of their work, health and social care providers and clinicians wishing to learn about the application of the arts for health, educators in arts, health and social care and organizations, carers, and individuals engaged in public health or generating healthier environments. These easy-to-read, engaging short books help readers to understand the evidence about the value of arts for health and offer guidelines, case studies, and resources to make use of these non-clinical routes to a better life.

Other titles in the series:

Reading Philip Davis and Fiona Magee

Theatre Sydney Cheek-O’Donnell

Singing Yoon Irons and Grenville Hancox

Music Eugene Beresin

Painting Victoria Tischler

Dancing Sara Houston

Drawing Curie Scott

Storytelling Michael Wilson

Title Page

Dr Steven Schlozman

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2021

© 2021 Steven Schlozman.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83867-312-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83867-309-3 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83867-311-6 (Epub)

Dedication

This book is dedicated to George A. Romero for showing me that there is no better medicine than movies and a laugh.

Contents

Series Preface: Creative Public Health

The “Arts for Health” series aims to provide key information on how different arts and humanities practices can support, or even transform, health, and wellbeing. Each book introduces a particular creative activity or resource and outlines its place and value in society, the evidence for its use in advancing health and wellbeing, and cases of how this works. In addition, each book provides useful links and suggestions to readers for following-up on these quick reads. We can think of this series as a kind of shadow health service – encouraging the use of the arts and humanities alongside all the other resources on offer to keep us fit and well.

Creative practices in the arts and humanities offer a fantastic, non-medical, but medically relevant way to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. Intuitively, we know just how important creative activities are in maintaining or recovering our best possible lives. For example, imagine that we woke up tomorrow to find that all music, books, or films had to be destroyed, learn that singing, dancing, or theatre had been outlawed or that galleries, museums, and theaters had to close permanently; or, indeed, that every street had posters warning citizens of severe punishment for taking photographs, drawing, or writing. How would we feel? What would happen to our bodies and minds? How would we survive? Unfortunately, we have seen this kind of removal of creative activities from human society before and today many people remain terribly restricted in artistic expression and consumption.

I hope that this series adds a practical resource to the public. I hope people buy these little books as gifts for family and friends, or for hard-pressed healthcare professionals, to encourage them to revisit or to consider a creative path to living well. I hope that creative public health makes for a brighter future.

Professor Paul Crawford

Acknowledgments

Countless conversations, endless e-mails, single line quips from film and TV … this is the fodder from which I drew inspiration. But who created this fodder? My friends and family, of course. So, thank you, Ruta, Sofia, and Naomi. You’ve indulged me on both big and small screens alike. Thank you, Heather, for calling me with quotations every time you rewatch the Princess Bride. Thanks Mom and Dad, for letting the Wicked Witch of the West scare the pants off of me. And thanks Eric and Christina, for allowing me to wax almost poetic about campy stories. To Paul Crawford, who has tirelessly championed a good tale as the best kind of healing. To Larry Fessenden, for showing me that meaning is everywhere. To Adam Hart, for showing me that you can be scholarly about 1980s slasher films. To my buddy Peter, who introduced me to Jonah on SHH and who adores Terrence Malick. And to the students I’ve taught – for allowing me to see film through all of your eyes. Finally, to all of those who told their stories. May you never stop.