Charles Kalmar charles.kalmar@ tulsacc.edu
ENGL 1213, 290
22 April 2013
Research Essay
John’s Relentless Pursuit In the movie John Q, written by James Kearns and directed byy Nick Cassavetes, many forces are at play and propel the main character John to act irrationally and go beyond society’s acceptable threshold of direct action to save his beloved son. The film is made during a time of national health care crisis in the United States. The story reflects the experience of Nick Cassavetes real life dilemma with his daughter’s congenital heart disease. In the movie, John Archibald, his wife Denise, and their son Michael live in poverty and the household financial needs require both of the parents to work. Part of the financial burden is brought on by John’s company reducing their workforce needs. To complicate things more, his company has restructured his health benefits as part of the financial overhaul of the company. Coupled with the health care changes, the family is introduced to the horrifying reality of coverage restrictions by their health care provider. The family is forced into a corner and pushed to choose between a defensive reaction of fighting for what they need or giving up and hoping for the best. Throughout the movie John Q, multiple dynamics lead to the climax of the story and John’s son getting a second chance at life. The feelings parents have for their child is uncompromising and capable of withstanding life’s many challenges. Children are a direct extension of their parents and elicit deep attachment of the parent to the child. The media is constantly flooded with stories about the lengths to which a parent goes to provide security for their child. In the movie John Q, the father John, sacrifices all he is to get what is needed to protect his son Michael ensuring he will have a chance to grow up and experience life and all it has to offer. Parents have laid down their lives so that their children can live. Mr. Archibald boasts in John Q, “I am not going to bury my son. My son is going to bury me.” A statement such as this is powerful and lends to the extent in which a parent is willing to go in order to protect their child’s future. (2 or 3 more sentences needed) Families living in poverty are subject to increased stress and anxiety over financial responsibilities. Household poverty can create levels of stress that are neither healthy nor ideal for any family. Parents often engage in conflicts over finances and the arguments create a temporary hostile environment for the kids. In some instances, the stress leads to the separation of the parents and causes the child to grow up in a broken home. Other side effects include a decline in health. As stated by Eugene Lewit, “Income seems to be strongly related to children's physical health, cognitive ability, and school achievement in the early grades even after controlling for a number of other parental characteristics, and these effects of income are most pronounced for children who experience persistent and extreme poverty” (9). The film portrays a level of poverty that is neither a recent occurrence nor lends to the thought it would be short lived. This is true for many families experiencing financial hardships. The added stress a sick family member can create is an added financial pull on the household budget. Eugene explains, “Families with seriously impaired adults or children often incur high medical and other costs, and adults in these families may face special barriers to employment, self-sufficiency, and participation in training and other work related activities because of their own limitations or the need to provide special care for their children” (15). The high medical costs associated with the dependent care of someone with special needs or considerations keeps poverty level households from gaining financial independency. John and his poverty stricken family have to go so far as to sell all of their household appliances in an attempt to