Recently I found out that my granddad was diagnosed with lung cancer that was so far gone that not only is it inoperable, but he's currently not even being considered for any treatments to help, making it essentially a walking death sentence.
And so of course in the wake of this earth shattering news, I turned to something to help me escape. Just to help me cope a little during the initial shell-shock of the news so I may have the strength and resolve to be there through the latter stages.
Somewhat less obviously, I turned to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as my escape. In particular the episode "Charlie's Mom Has Cancer."
Now to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the gang (or even just the on-the-nose episode title) this must seem like the worst possible option - but it turned out to be the strength I needed.
Whereas most shows or films that dare to broach the subject of cancer do so with an air (or most likely smothering) of sincerity and emotional weight, Always Sunny treats it like shit. To the gang cancer is a subject like no other; a subject everyone seeks to exploit for their own ends. Hell, it isn't even the sole focus of the episode - wedged in with Frank's dementia and Dee's meetings with a psychic, so even in terms of simple plot synopsis, it's not given much weight.
Always Sunny robbed cancer of its gravitas by focusing on its uglier side. When Charlie's mom isn't 'convincing' enough, they decide to make her look more atypical, giving her a bald cap and adding lesions just to make her more sympathetic looking. Not to mention her heartfelt speech..
Sometimes we do need something sympathetic to touch us and remember the horrors of this world that we all fight for. But thank god for It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia for being that one show not afraid to pants any subject it feels like and make a mockery of it, letting us find a comfort zone in the darkest of places where before it felt like there was nothing.
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