From Illness Memoirs to Documentary: Expanding the Boundaries of Illness Narratives through My Beautiful Broken Brain

Abstract

Illness Memoirs and Autobiographies, holding self-narrated illness journey are two forms that played a significant role in transition of Illness Narratives and Medical Humanities from doctor centred to patient centred. Another popular and effective medium that helps in dissemination of illness experiences is Cinema (movies and films). Movies like Still Alice released in 2104 and Wit, an American Television film released in 2001 etc. have an immense role in showcasing how diseases effects and hamper the life of the patient and those surrounding him. Digital revolution, such as introduction of camera and smartphones introduced to us another strong and emerging medium in which a person records his or her illness, suffering and recovery phases. This opens a new gateway for the general public to understand the first hand experiences of a disease. This paper aims to critically analyse and close read the scenes, dialogues, film techniques of a Netflix documentary titled My Beautiful Broken Brain by Sophie Robinson and Lotje Sodderland. This paper argues that emerging trend of documentaries is a distinct form of illness narratives holding capacity to engage and influence the audience in a powerful way and extends the area of Traditional illness narratives.