Joidan Romes
S. Shahjahan
English 1321
Film Analysis
12 March 2014
Health Care Issues Presented in the Movie: John Q
The movie John Q is filled with ethical and moral dilemmas throughout the film. This is a very outstanding dramatic movie because it catches the exact issues present in today’s society. John Q (2002), directed by Nick Cassavetes, is about more than a father determined to get his son a heart replacement, but about the hardships of social issues present in the health care industry.
Denzel Washington, starring John Quincy Archibald, does all he can to obtain money for his son’s operation after collapsing at a baseball game. The doctors and health insurance policy failed to be concerned about the extremes he had to go through to get the $75,000. He sold everything from valuable household items to his only means of transportation, and even his wedding ring. After all of that John Q was only able to raise about one third of the necessary payment. John Q is then faced with a dilemma to accept fate and prepare for his son’s funeral as the hospital administrator suggest, or continue to raise funds for the cardiac operation. Eventually, the doctors get tired of waiting and decide to release the son. Unwilling to let his child die, John Q walks into the ER with a handgun, gathers hostages and demands that his son be placed on the donors list.
“My son is dying, and I'm broke. If I don't qualify for Medicare, who the hell does? (John Q).” This statement by John Q demands answers from the unjust health care industry. One would wonder why a hospital would refuse to offer a free operation to save the life of a twelve year old boy. Well unlike public administrations, Hope Memorial Hospital (HMH) is a private establishment, and private corporations were established with the main goal of making a profit. Rebecca Payne, HMH administrator, feels that helping John Q’s son with a free treatment would only hurt the society due to the millions facing the same...