One of the great misrepresentations conveyed in television and film is the portrayal of death. It is not uncommon for a viewer to witness a skilled medical team routinely resuscitate someone from the precipice of oblivion. In a study from 2015 from the journal Resuscitation, researchers observed a CPR success rate of nearly 70% on two major medical dramas. The rate in real life, however, is about half as good.

Why does this matter? Because how death is portrayed on our screens in some immeasurable way prepares us for how it occurs in reality. If the culture is telling people that the odds of surviving a myocardial infarction, a pulmonary embolism, or a massive stroke is very high, then those people when patients (but more commonly, as family members of patients) are besotted with unreasonable expectations when the catastrophic event finally arrives. Odd, then, that these medical dramas strive for such a high degree of fidelity, yet fail to faithfully portray the most challenging moment of our lives.

Read More