Sick in Bed marathon

Tonight's marathon is dedicated to everyone whose sick and bedridden this week, and for all of those fighting terminal illnesses. Since I was unable to attend class or work today, I chose to pick three films from one of my favorite actors of all time that blend in well together and tackles issues such as physical impairment, fighting a horrible illness, and doing whatever a father can to get health coverage for his dying son after learning of his apparent heart failure. That great actor is named Denzel Washington. We have on our lineup for this evening:

          The Bone Collector 1999, Philadelphia 1993, and John Q 2002

Bone Collector has our hero bedridden as he lost his legs due to a terrible crime committed by a sadistic killer. He recruits the aid of Angelina Jolie's character to help with solving the case and to be his eyes and ears. This film qualifies as a medical health issue because it's about a man whose lost the will to live after a tragic accident, but agrees to help the police track down a serial killer. The next film Philadelphia, has Washington playing a homophobic lawyer who becomes conflicted when he witnesses Tom Hank's character named Andrew Beckett, experience discrimination for having AIDS and being an open homosexual. During the course of the film, Denzel begins to reevaluate his stance towards gays and realizes that his own prejudices are faulty. This was also Tom Hanks first Oscar winning role, and the one that brought him out of the realm of comedy to becoming one of our generation's most serious actors. We are grateful for having both Denzel and Tom Hanks on the big screen to deliver us one of the most powerful messages that can ever be captured on film. The message that no matter who you are, gay, straight, avatar, whether you're healthy or not. Everyone deserves to be remembered and one's life is precious and the loss of one is a tragedy. That is the message that Philadelphia drives home. The third and final film of the night is John Q, the film that brings it all together and drives the emotions home. In this film, Denzel is a loving father figure who is faced with a terrible reality. His son Mike has a heart condition and unless he gets treated, he will die. Denzel makes every legal attempt to get health coverage for his son but is denied access to any means that are beneficial. Like the tagline says: Give a father no options, you leave him with no choice.

This is the ideal marathon for those who have fallen ill and need a way to pass off a couple of hours without trying to fall asleep and you obviously can't. With these three movies, there is a powerful message behind them about the will to pull through and succeed when the odds are against you. Consider this a heartfelt tribute to everyone whose going through some kind of illness or cold, and a homage to one of the greatest actors of all time.