corrollary to 'on illness movies'

These are additional thoughts related to this post on illness movies b/c some things eat at me the more I consider them.

An artist doesn't have to experience everything in life to be able to present it in her art. That's why she's an artist. The ability to empathize and synthesize and repackage and repurpose. The key is really the emotional authenticity and the vocabulary/craft to express it, no matter the particulars of the narrative. So maybe you aren't a certified brain tumor participant but that doesn't mean you don't have the facility to express it artistically. I don't think any but the most crass/dim would set out to make a film about terminal illness with misguided intent.  There is a giant pool of darkness in the world and a million rivers that feed into it. You only need to understand one river to get how they all function, where they all end.

What I was really pursuing in my post, was the false usage of said trauma as cheap device, as punchline, as taking place of the actual artistic expression, or as a device to propel the plot. There are abundant examples of this in book, tv, film.

The other part of this, implied but not stated is that due to my experience, I can't handle watching these things either b/c a) they are poorly hewn or false and cheap b) they are true and resound in my bones and absolutely shatter me.

if you agree or disagree don't be shy.