End-of-Life Matters: Cultural Representations through the Entertainment Arts

In 1988, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation established a lecture series at the Institute of Medicine to bring to greater attention some of the critical health policy issues facing our country today.  



The 2012 Rosenthal Lecture will focus on how the language of the entertainment arts informs our cultural understanding of end-of-life care. It will be at 5:00 p.m., on December 12, 2012, at the National Academy of Sciences Building Auditorium, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418.



Through the screening of clips from the film Beginners and television medical dramas, and a live theatrical performance reading from Sophocles’ Philoctetes, the Rosenthal Lecture panelists will explore the various ways the entertainment arts can provide a platform for an engaging and compelling conversation about end-of-life. The panel will approach the conversation through the lens of the patient, the family, the provider, and the community.