Asthma in the movies – best and worst

The theme of this year’s Asthma UK Christmas party was Hollywood, which meant we played some movie games. One involved naming as many films as we could that featured asthma.

Sadly, it was a lot easier to name bad examples than good. In fact, quite a lot of film representations of asthma are wrong, misleading or just simply annoying. Has anyone seen a movie yet in which a character with asthma uses an inhaler correctly? Most of the examples I have seen involve someone taking a quick puff and holding their breath for at most a second or so. OK a second might be a long time in the movies, but won’t do much good for the airways or for improving understanding of asthma. Worse, many characters with asthma are stereotypes, reinforcing the notion that people with asthma are naturally deficient socially and physically.

Prize Movies
Che Guevara in Che parts 1 & 2 and the Motorcycle Diaries. Not much asthma in the films but good to have a revolutionary icon in the asthma camp, rather than the usual stereotypes.

Mixed Blessings
The Bond film Casino Royale was the first no-smoking Bond film to be made – a move welcomed by Asthma UK. During the film, however, the main villain Le Chiffre is shown using a silver inhaler – badly - on several occasions. Near miss.

No Stars
I could never admire a hero who wears his underpants outside his trousers but to make matters worse, Superman’s son in Superman: The Return has asthma and is clearly shown as a burden on his dad, only rescued by inheriting some superhuman powers. Clearly, he would have got nowhere on his own efforts. Thanks Hollywood.

We know we need to persuade people that asthma is serious but not at the extent of putting people in a protective bubble – which was one of the complaints young people voiced in our Missing Out report last May.

No prizes therefore for the following exchange from The Goonies:

Irene: Mikey, stay inside. Brand, if he has asthma, I don't want him in the rain.
Brand: He should be in a plastic bubble.
Irene: I'm serious. That's not funny. He takes one step outside, and you are in absolutely the deepest...
Brand: Shit, Ma.

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