TWISTING THE NARRATIVE: HOW NETFLIX'S THE MIDNIGHT CLUB AND THE CONVENTIONS OF HORROR CAPTURE THE UNSPOKEN SIDE OF CANCER PDF Free Download
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TWISTING THE NARRATIVE: HOW NETFLIX’S THE MIDNIGHT CLUB
AND THE CONVENTIONS OF HORROR CAPTURE THE UNSPOKEN
SIDE OF CANCER
by
Laney Blevins
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of
Master of Art in Professional Communication
Department of Communication at Purdue Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
May 2024
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THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL
STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE APPROVAL
Dr. Assem Nasr, Chair
Department of Communication
Dr. Steve Carr
Department of Communication
Dr. Wei Luo
Department of Communication
Approved by:
Dr. Steven A. Carr
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Everything I do is dedicated to my mom, dad, and sister. Thank you for supporting me and
cheering me on in every endeavor. None of this would be possible without you.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the head of my committee, Dr. Assem Nasr.
Without his guidance, kindness, and continuous support, I fear I would have succumbed to the
imposter syndrome. Another sincere thank you to Dr. Wei Luo and Dr. Steve Carr, whose
invaluable knowledge, feedback, and experience helped bring this paper to life. With everything I
am and everything I will become, thank you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 7
1. CHAPTER ONE: USING FICTION TO MAKE SENSE OF THE REAL ............................... 8
1.1 The Uniqueness of The Midnight Club .......................................................................... 11
1.2 Cancer Narratives and Cancer in Popular Culture ......................................................... 12
Theories & Method to Understand The Midnight Club ............................................................. 17
1.3 What’s Ahead: Preview of Chapters .............................................................................. 20
2. CHAPTER TWO: REVIEWING LITERATURE .................................................................... 22
2.1 Cancer Narratives ........................................................................................................... 23
2.1.1 The Quest Narrative ................................................................................................ 23
2.1.2 The Restitution Narrative ........................................................................................ 25
2.1.3 The Chaos Narrative ................................................................................................ 26
2.2 Cancer On Screen ........................................................................................................... 27
2.3 The Horror Genre & Fear ............................................................................................... 29
2.4 The Gap in Literature ..................................................................................................... 33
3. CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGIES & FRAMEWORK ............................................... 35
3.1 Method: Narrative Analysis ........................................................................................... 35
3.2 The Midnight Club ......................................................................................................... 36
3.3 The Narrative Paradigm ................................................................................................. 36
3.4 Television As Cultural Forum ........................................................................................ 38
3.5 Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 39
4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE MIDNIGHT CLUB .......................................................................... 41
4.1 The Midnight Club: Synopsis & Stories ........................................................................ 41
4.2 Analyzing Stories Through the Narrative Paradigm ...................................................... 46
4.2.1 Anya’s Story ............................................................................................................ 47
4.2.2 Kevin’s Story ........................................................................................................... 48
4.2.3 Ilonka’s Story .......................................................................................................... 50
4.2.4 Natsuki’s Story ........................................................................................................ 52
4.3 The Midnight Club as a Cultural Forum ........................................................................ 55
5. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 58
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ABSTRACT
When diagnosed with cancer, it is not uncommon for patients to turn to narratives—both
fiction and non—looking for comfort or a way to make sense of their situation. When it comes to
cancer on screen, we often see a romanticized version of cancer diagnosis: young sick kids falling
in love, messages of going on to do amazing things after treatment, or visuals of glamorized
sickness. This is not reflective of the dark thoughts that often find homes in the minds of cancer
patients. And yet, little media exists to resonate with these darker narratives. Netflix’s The
Midnight Club, a horror show catered toward young adults, helps to twist the pre-existing
narratives surrounding cancer by utilizing the conventions of the horror genre to explore the darker
sides of cancer diagnosis through storytelling. Though often uncomfortable, the show’s ability to
discuss thoughts of mortality, pain, and loss in wake of terminal diagnosis is one important of
discussion, as is done in this paper.
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1. CHAPTER ONE: USING FICTION TO MAKE SENSE OF THE REAL
An estimated 2 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States
(National Cancer Institute, 2020). Of these 2 million, approximately 9,000 diagnosed with cancer
are adolescents (American Cancer Society, 2020) and an additional 80,000 diagnosed with cancer
are young adults (American Cancer Society, 2020). In this unique age group of Adolescent and
Young Adults, deemed AYAs, often comes identity struggles and feelings of isolation, leaving
patients to seek out outlets that aid them with their feelings. Though they may struggle with sharing
their own stories (Parker-Fuller, 1995), they may seek out narratives in fiction to help them with
what they are facing (Davis & Warren-Findlow, 2011).
However, despite the research focusing on how young adults with cancer struggle to tell
their stories or how seeking out fictional narratives have helped them make sense of their diagnosis,
scholars have overlooked the ways in which this demographic use forms of popular culture such
as shows on Netflix to perform this sense-making as well. Scholars have also failed to look at the
ways in which the genre of horror is able to create visuals and narratives that young adults with
cancer find themselves represented in, something further elaborated on in chapter two’s literature
review. Netflix’s The Midnight Club, a fictional horror show following terminally ill adolescents
and young adults, may just offer aid in the form of narratives catering to the issues faced by those
diagnosed.
This paper, broadly, aims to emphasize the importance of realistic cancer narratives and
how Netflix’s The Midnight Club is able to create representations that better match the experiences
and thoughts young adults with cancer might feel because of the conventions of the horror genre
that allow for the creation of scary stories in an acceptable setting (ie.: in a horror show where
scary stories fit rather than in a different genre where they wouldn’t make sense). This chapter in
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particular introduces the importance of fictional narratives, the common cancer narratives, and
how cancer narratives have not often been applied to horror settings or examined in such ways.
Additionally, the chapter introduces the questions at hand and the frameworks that can be applied
to an analysis of The Midnight Club in an attempt to answer those questions. Cancer narratives,
horror, and how the two intertwine, of course, will be further outlined and developed in later
chapters that will be discussed.
Though works of fiction are fabricated stories frequently utilized for the purpose of
entertainment, we often find valuable messages and meanings in the narratives constructed. Some
of these messages are positive, creating an uplifting meaning or promoting productive messages
and empowerment. For example, some might think highly of films such as The Fault in Our Stars
and how it promotes making the most out of our imperfect lives, cancer be damned. While the
movie ends tragically, with one of the main characters passing away, it provides the empowering
message to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and enjoy our time on this earth while we can. It
encourages us to open ourselves up to the world, even when it seems our fate is sealed in darkness.
In terms of horror, we could think of Don’t Breathe and the ways the film comments on society’s
tendency to see a person’s disability and underestimating their abilities.
However, some of these messages and representations are much more negative. Though
The Fault in Our Stars may have a positive take away for some, others might find the typical
cancer narratives to be harmful. The main character, Hazel Grace, is critiqued for her negativity
about her situation, something many young adults with cancer feel. Rather than validate Hazel and
her feelings, she’s instead encouraged to think positive despite her situation and being terminally
ill. This caters to the narrative that cancer patients need to be something greater than the disease
that may be killing them, instead of allowing them to process what it is they are going through. In
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the realm of horror, we can see negative representation in many of the classic slasher franchises,
such as Friday the 13th. Often, these franchises push a negative narrative about disabled people,
making the killer an evil villain seeking out revenge on those that shunned them or neglected them
because of their disability. Whether there be some magical abilities involved or not, the narrative
remains the same: people run away from those that are different from them.
When considering works of fiction tied heavily to representations of cancer and cancer
narratives, such as the previously mentioned The Fault in Our Stars, we find that depictions of
cancer are not always accurate and are often romanticized (Pavisic et al., 2014). Cancer on screen
is often “nice looking” and fails to involve surgeries, disfigurements, and messy anatomies
(Verhoeven, 2005). Furthermore, cancer is typically represented on screen in genres of romance
or drama. When it comes to entertainment, this seeming romanticization of cancer narratives could
be argued as favorable for the sake of creating tear-jerking stories. However, it fails to consider
how the narratives may lack representation of real young adults with cancer. Instead of feeling
validated in their thoughts and experiences when turning to media that contains cancer narratives,
they may struggle to identify with what is being presented and therefore, may continue to struggle
to make sense of their own situations. Netflix’s The Midnight Club, the subject of this study,
potentially offers a different kind of representation of cancer on screen. Being a horror show,
standards for the genre allow for grittier and darker elements often associated with the realities of
cancer that cannot be seen in Verhoeven’s (2005) “cinema cancer.” In fact, rather than glamorize
or soften cancer and the experiences of cancer, the genre of horror can act as a medium to visualize
the scary truths of illness.
So we ask, then, what is the issue? The issue at hand, is when it comes to cancer, there is
no narrative that represents everybody as no two people have the same experience or feel the same
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way, a sentiment coming from my own experiences with cancer and conversations with other
cancer patients/survivors. Where one person’s viewing of a piece of media may help them make
sense of their own diagnosis, it may evoke further feelings of isolation in somebody else. In
addition to this, when cancer is presented on screen, it often caters to positive messages of staying
strong or making the best of the situation. While this could be good for some, others may find they
would benefit from the ability to express negative feelings and thoughts surrounding their
diagnosis, which is not common when representing cancer narratives on screen.
1.1 The Uniqueness of The Midnight Club
Where existing literature on cancer in the media focuses on non-fiction, patient reactions
to works of fiction, or specific films within romantic genres (Anderson & Martin, 2003; Davis &
Warren, 2011; Ellingson & Buzzanell, 1999; Verhoeven, 2005) , there is almost no literature on
cancer in horror. The Midnight Club itself doesn’t appear anywhere in scholarly literature, despite
the popularity surrounding the series and the show’s creators. Rather, literature on cancer in horror
doesn’t directly discuss cancer, instead focusing on bodily mutilations and elements of disease.
However, these notions are still worthy of discussion and will be further delved into in a following
chapter.
If Netflix’s collection of horror is discussed in scholarly works, these discussions often
surround similar shows such as The Haunting of Hill House, possibly because The Midnight Club
is aimed toward a younger audience and, much like the AYA cancer patient demographic, often
gets pushed to the sideline. However, when considering the number of young adults and children
diagnosed with cancer each year, it is important to consider the messages being catered to them as
well. This paper aims to fill this research gap by analyzing The Midnight Club, a popular and
relevant horror series on Netflix. The results of this paper will be a timely and demanded addition
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to scholarship surrounding the horror genre as well as fictional cancer narratives on screen by
providing a unique view through a genre that is seldom explored when it comes to representing
cancer. Analysis of this show is important not only because of its relevance in popular culture, but
also because of the focus on adolescents and young adults, an age group often left neglected in
discussions of cancer narratives.
Netflix's The Midnight Club focuses heavily on the notion of narratives, with the show's
premise revolving around storytelling. The show follows a group of terminally ill teenagers,
presumably living out the remainder of their days in a hospice where they are encouraged to step
off the battlefield in regard to their illness. Every night, the teenagers meet in the hospice’s library
to tell scary stories, all of which contain elements of their own fears, especially as they pertain to
their illness and experiences because of their illness. Given that the genre of horror is one
predominantly concerned with death (Wells, 2019), it somehow feels fitting for a horror show to
follow a group whose individual members are coming to terms with their own ends and all the
difficult thoughts that come along with it.
1.2 Cancer Narratives and Cancer in Popular Culture
When works of fiction focus on groups of people that are already burdened with
circumstances that leave them carrying a heavy weight, it is important to look at the ways in which
they are represented in forms of fictional media. With an interest in analyzing media representation
of cancer narratives and cancer patients, this is an opportunity to analyze the way it is portrayed in
fictional media, particularly within the horror genre, an area lacking in scholarship on cancer
narratives. Cancer is often used as a plot device for story tellers when they need their character to
find motivation to partake in desperate solution-seeking actions, when they need their character to
have an obstacle to overcome, or often, just for the sake of tragedy and drama.
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Narratives surrounding cancer often cater to a quest narrative, a portrayal of patients
meeting their illness head on and using it to grow stronger from the experience of fighting through
their diagnosis (Frank, 1998), which will be further discussed in the next chapter. Narrators
choosing to utilize the quest narrative sometimes characterize patient experiences as a battle in
which the patients act as heroic warriors in a determined battle against the villain: the cancer in
their bodies (Anderson & Martin, 2003). When diagnosed with an illness as serious as cancer, it is
common for patients to find themselves struggling with their identities. For example, diagnosis
and treatment often leaves somebody with cancer in positions where they are unable to do things
their pre-cancer self was doing. Tolling treatment daunts the workaholics or students, often making
their ability to keep up with the workload difficult or seemingly impossible.
Further, patients undergoing chemotherapy as treatment may find themselves looking
different than they did prior to their diagnosis. This physical difference, especially the loss of hair,
may spark identity struggles as they fail to recognize the person in the mirror (Williams &
Solbraekke, 2018). Often in film, wigs and hair become symbolic of identity and what is ordinary.
That is to say, people with hair couldn’t possibly be sick, a common misrepresentation found in
film portrayals of cancer. In film, wigs tend to represent being a person beyond diagnosis and push
the narrative that following illness, there needs to be growth for the person (Williams & Solbraekke,
2018). Narratives surrounding cancer and elements of identity come up frequently in scholarly
research about cancer from a communication perspective. Though the literature tends to focus on
real life and people, these elements can be applied to characters in fiction and the audience taking
in fictional works. Because of this, this literature will be further reviewed to gain a better
understanding of already existing cancer narratives.
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In the case of the quest narrative, many patients feel as though they struggle to identify
with the hope associated with these brave quests being applied to them (Iannarino, 2018). This
notion of a battle narrative is often applied to a person diagnosed with cancer, seen not only in the
lives of real people with cancer, but fictional characters with cancer. Though the latter are fictional,
real people consuming the media they are in may find themselves relating to these characters and
the experiences they have may be comparable to their own.
In fact, fictional narratives are often used to help people cope with trauma regarding their
illness (Davis & Warren-Findlow, 2011). Through fiction, people can reinvent themselves and
take control of their situation where they otherwise feel powerless. Narratives allow people to find
their voice and gain a better understanding of their illness and the experiences associated with it
(Ellingson & Buzzanell, 1999). When works of fiction focus on groups of people already burdened
with circumstances that leave them carrying a heavy weight, it is important to look at the ways in
which they, and the narratives surrounding their illness experiences, are represented in fictional
media. Knowing that fictional narratives are utilized to help patients make sense of their diagnosis
and feelings, it’s important that we look at the narratives being presented. Though some literature
looks at cancer on screen in general, there is little to nothing about the cancer narratives and
representation in horror. This paper seeks to play a role in closing the gap between literature
regarding cancer narratives and the horror genre in an analysis of Netflix’s The Midnight Club.
The Midnight Club is not the first work of horror tied to cancer and disease, though the
pool for horror media about cancer, as previously mentioned, is shallow. Recently, James Wan’s
Malignant has allegorized cancer in a slasher horror featuring a parasitic brutal killer infecting the
life of the main character until it consumes her (Hicks, 2022). The film paints cancer as evil, with
a focus on the vulnerabilities of the person with cancer. Let us not forget the Saw franchise, which
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features a terminal cancer patient antagonist that creates twisted games and puzzles often resulting
in death in an attempt to make others appreciate the life they are lucky enough to have. Additionally,
David Cronenberg’s The Fly is often referred to in discourse involving horror and disease, namely
cancer and AIDs, because of its connections between violent invasions of the body and the role of
the body in society (Mathijs, 2003).
Saint-Cyr (2011), regarding horror and the success of the genre, argues we are attracted to
the anxieties we fear the most. When applying this notion to cancer patients and the narratives
applied to them, it makes sense that people fighting disease may be attracted to the concept of The
Midnight Club. In a society that encourages patients to fight and places the battle narrative on them,
the concept of being encouraged to let that narrative go and let that hope of recovery go is one that
is scary, but potentially relieving. Additionally, patients may see the appeal in seeing others,
though fictional, make sense of their own cancer experiences through storytelling or see the appeal
in putting a visual to their own concerns. The genre of horror may be noteworthy for this
demographic because of the way it allows for their own scary thoughts to be represented in a way
that allows them to process why it is they feel that way.
Whereas most films with cancer and terminal illness as its center tend to focus on audience
takeaways and emotions through melodrama and heartbreak, The Midnight Club and its roots in
horror focus on themes that may be deemed too dark for films that want to pull on heartstrings.
The horror genre allows for the exploration of darker themes surrounding cancer, including the
scary parts of facing mortality that films outside of the genre may romanticize. Where drama films
such as The Fault In Our Stars (2014), A Walk to Remember (2002), or Me, Earl, and the Dying
Girl (2015) have themes of loss, love, and living life to its fullest until the end, cancer on screen
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in the horror genre allows for the exploration of straying away from these seemingly romantic
elements intertwined with cancer narratives in typical cancer-films.
Mathijs (2003) argues that film criticism relies on references to cultural reality to enforce
arguments about the texts. A film/text cannot be relevant if it is not linked to issues in society.
Hirsch and Newcomb (1983) reinforce this argument with their argument that cultural basis is the
bridge between communication and television. In the context of cancer narratives and horror, this
is relevant when we consider the associations already in existence, namely the quest narratives so
heavily tied to cancer.
Cancer is commonly surrounded with “quest” or “battle” terms. Go Fund Me pages read
“help this patient in their fight against cancer!” Memorial posts honor somebody who has fallen
with rhetoric of “losing their battle against the dreaded c-word.” Celebrations of being in remission
or cancer free come with messages of winning or coming out on top. The quest narrative is one
that is familiar, one that seems innocent and encouraging. Hirsch & Newcomb (1983) argue that
television should maintain an audience with reference to the known and recognized but move into
something new that makes the show distinguishable. Utilizing television as a cultural forum allows
for the exploration of difficult themes and discussions through a medium that is familiar. In the
case of The Midnight Club, that battle narrative so commonly applied to cancer patients is familiar
and known.
Anybody that has been diagnosed with cancer or knows somebody that has is familiar with
the rhetoric of the battle narrative. What distinguishes the show is the ways in which it steps beyond
that narrative by not only rejecting the narrative, but encouraging those who wish to step off the
battlefield to do so, something that is negatively stigmatized in our real world. Though initially,
the plan was to find ways to criticize The Midnight Club and the portrayals of disease in the horror
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genre, it seems it is more important to discuss the ways in which this show aids in creating an
outlet with the potential to help lift the burdens of chronic illnesses like cancer and the ways it
challenges the narratives commonly associated with cancer through structures of the horror genre,
while also providing a place to express narratives related to cancer that often go undiscussed.
Additionally, television and streaming allow for an outlet pertaining to difficult issues in
society (Hirsch & Newcomb, 1983). Cancer, like many serious illnesses, is one that is often
uncomfortable to address. The Midnight Club in its dark and gritty horror genre, creates the
opportunity to address the scary and heavier themes surrounding cancer diagnosis that often goes
untouched by other genres. Because of the importance of the horror genre to this study, the
conventions of the genre will be further explored by looking at literature regarding the way it
allows for the discussion of significant and often uncomfortable issues.
Theories & Method to Understand The Midnight Club
Though the show is aimed toward young adults and is overall much milder compared to
director Mike Flanagan’s previous horror series such as The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight
Mass, or The Haunting of Bly Manor, the show is full of classic horror tropes that add to the scare.
Characters poke around in dark places, experience unnerving flashbacks and visions of ghastly
supernatural beings, and invoke general anxiety over fears of the unknown. The first episode alone
set the Guinness world record for the most jump scares in one episode of television. Uniquely, The
Midnight Club utilizes these horror tropes to visualize the narratives and fears of the characters
about their own health and mortality.
Instead of criticizing The Midnight Club for the way it may trivialize cancer and all that
may come with diagnosis, the series can be analyzed in a way that shows how narratives, even the
scariest narratives, can help cope with the potential calamities of diagnosis. Where other works of
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fiction, such as Margaret Edson’s Wit may show how humor and language help patients cope with
tragedy (Keaveney, 2004), it could be argued that other patients may prefer something darker to
aid them. In addition to this, cancer is often depicted in ways that are aesthetically pleasing or
focused on audience entertainment over accuracy (Pavisic et al., 2014), but it has been argued by
scholars such as Iannarino (2018) that patients prefer gritty narratives over those that sugar coat
experiences.
Another issue, then, is that though these patients prefer the gritty narratives and darker
elements that better represent their feelings as they face their diagnosis, their media options and
representation of these feelings often go unaddressed in popular works of on-screen fiction. Rather
than focus on the darker aspects of diagnosis, television and film write stories of romance or
hopeful greater purpose. Patients, then, struggling to tell their own stories or articulate their own
feelings (Parker-Fuller, 1995) continue to go without representation of their true feelings. The
Midnight Club offers the potential to be more accurately representative of these darker feelings
because of its standing in horror and thus poses the following questions:
RQ1: How does Midnight Club use character-driven perspectives to represent cancer
narratives?
RQ2: How does the genre of horror allow for television to act as a cultural forum to discuss
difficult topics regarding cancer in The Midnight Club?
While works of fiction are just fabricated stories often used for the purpose of
entertainment, valuable messages and meanings can be derived from these fictional narratives.
Further, these narratives are used for much more than entertainment as many who have received
serious medical diagnoses turn to works of fiction to help themselves acquire and transmit
information, as well as learn to cope with their medical situation (Iannarino, 2018; Radley, 1999)
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This paper aims to view Netflix’s The Midnight Club through Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm
to speak on the ways it utilizes and, potentially, alters the narratives surrounding cancer and the
presentation of cancer. Fisher’s (1984) Narrative Paradigm suggests humans are natural story
tellers able to make cohesive arguments to combat issues through their stories and follow two
principles: coherence and fidelity.
By viewing The Midnight Club through this paradigm, I aim to analyze the narratives being
told within the show by the characters and how the other characters accept or reject the narratives
based on their own experiences with terminal illness and the experiences of those in the hospice
center. Further, the Narrative Paradigm comes with the notion that stories allow people to make
sense of their situations and struggles in ways that other means of communication do not. Thus, in
The Midnight Club (and other works of fiction telling a story), the stories being told on screen
allow for patients to better express the darker elements of their feelings surrounding their diagnosis
that are often too uncomfortable to be addressed elsewhere. When paired with Newcomb &
Hirsch’s (1983) television as a cultural forum, the elements of storytelling through television allow
for a better understanding of the difficult topics being dealt with, for patients and others alike.
Allowing for this understanding creates the opportunity to open doors for communication and
better understanding of the struggles being faced by patients. Thus, potentially, understanding the
meaning of these narratives and what they display can increase the quality of life for patients who
haven’t been able to express their struggles in other ways.
In viewing The Midnight Club, this paper aims to look at the ways the characters within
the show not only make sense of the stories being told but how reliable they believe those stories
to be based on their own experiences. Beyond the analysis of the way the characters analyze the
stories within the show, I also want to approach the show from the perspective of myself as a
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cancer survivor viewer and the ways in which the show’s narratives uphold or challenge narratives
commonly applied to people with cancer.
1.3 What’s Ahead: Preview of Chapters
Chapter two of this paper will delve further into pre-existing literature, with a focus on
cancer narratives, the horror genre, the importance of television narratives, and the ways in which
cancer has been represented. In addition to this, the lack of scholarly literature will be addressed,
such as the huge gap in scholarship regarding cancer narratives in a horror setting.
Chapter three will be devoted to the methodology and theoretical framework in which The
Midnight Club is being analyzed. More specifically, chapter three will discuss Hirsch & Newcomb
(1983) Television as Cultural Forum and Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm more in depth.
Hirsch & Newcomb’s (1983) Television as Cultural Forum offers insight into how to view
television as a cultural forum to deal with difficult issues. When it comes to cancer narratives on
screen, the duo’s work offers a framework for why the genre of horror may be successful in
discussing terminal illness and the narratives surrounding cancer, especially in comparison to the
narratives typically used in other genres of film and television where cancer is represented. Walter
Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm adds to this by providing a framework in which to analyze the
narratives being told by the characters. Where they may not be able to make arguments for their
experiences and feelings while facing a cancer diagnosis, the characters create stories that
represent what they are feeling. In the horror genre, these narratives often highlight the scary parts
of diagnosis that may be harder to articulate in other ways.
Chapter four will be a discussion of my findings within Netflix’s The Midnight Club. This
chapter will provide a synopsis of the show in addition to showcasing and highlighting the ways
the characters’ narratives are represented within the show, as well as how the show itself acts as a
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cultural forum to deal with the difficulties that often go unspoken when it comes to facing a cancer
diagnosis. Finally, chapter five will act as a conclusion to summarize everything discussed as well
as provide an opportunity for self-reflection. This chapter will also discuss limitations, such as my
own biases as a cancer survivor and how my own story may influence my interpretation of the
show’s events. In addition, chapter five will discuss what this study suggests for future scholarship
and research, especially regarding cancer in horror.
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2. CHAPTER TWO: REVIEWING LITERATURE
When diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, it is not uncommon for the
patient to seek out resources to guide them as they navigate this new unknown in their life (Kanter
et al., 2019). Resources sought out vary from patient to patient, but often the patients will seek out
narratives, fictional and nonfictional, to help them find their voices and address their concerns.
Though many would believe fictional film and television to be an unreliable narrative, the
reality is that even these works of fiction aid patients in grasping a better understanding of their
situations and finding their voice (Ellingson et al., 1999). Davis and Warren-Findlow (2011)
support this notion of coping with trauma and taking control of the narrative by telling the story
through fictional means. Sometimes, it’s easier to make sense of a situation by telling the story in
a way that is fictional but still holds all of the real trauma and experiences behind the allegories.
Many patients don’t like to admit their situations to themselves so fictionalizing their experiences
allows them to express themselves while simultaneously making sense of what they are going
through (Davis and Warren-Findlow, 2011). Having been critiqued and denied publication for their
fictional narrative about cancer, the authors claim that fictional stories allow for people struggling
with illness to not only tell their stories and what they are going through, but to also gain a better
understanding of the stories themselves.
Rather than reject the notion of fictional narratives being unreliable, we should take into
consideration the findings of narratives being used to cope with trauma, gain control over situations
that seem out of the storyteller’s hands, tie experiences together into a cohesive story, and create
opportunity for connections to be built so people can heal together (Iannarino, 2018). However, to
acknowledge the benefits of fictional narratives crafted by patients (or characters representing
patients), we must also delve into narrative structures that already exist surrounding cancer.
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2.1 Cancer Narratives
When speaking of cancer and cancer patients, there are common narratives surrounding the
illness and the processes of treatment. In an article by Iannarino (2018), three common forms of
narratives are highlighted, originally created by Arthur Frank (1995): Restitution narratives, Chaos
narratives, and Quest narratives. Restitution narratives focus on health professionals in discussions
of symptoms, treatment, suffering, then, eventually health. These narratives make the cancer
patient the narrator speaking about their doctors, rather than the main character of their own story.
Chaos narratives highlight illness as something random and uncontrolled, with no guarantee of
health at the end of the story (Frank, 1995). Finally, Iannarino (2018) emphasizes the Quest
narrative, a narrative portraying illness as opportunity where patients grow strong and fight against
their enemy: the cancer in their bodies.
2.1.1 The Quest Narrative
As previously discussed, the Quest narrative is one of the most common narratives applied
to cancer. It comes in a variety of forms but ultimately comes down to pitting the patient against
their own body to fight a battle they didn’t ask to join with the quest of attaining some form of
victory, when simply surviving should be enough (Iannarino, 2018). Radley (1999), in a study
focusing on first person accounts of illness and how dark the narratives are in comparison to what
is seen, claimed that quest narratives conjure up notions of romance instead of focusing on what
the patient may be going through. Rather than focus on the experiences of the patient medically,
quest narratives brush the struggles away and paint the patient in a way that makes diagnosis,
treatment, prognoses, and everything that comes with illness to be some miniscule or simply a
stepping stone in a greater journey.
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The quest narrative, when applied to a patient, often places the person with the cancer in
the position of a victim or a survivor (Sontag, 1977). However, in interviews conducted by Miller
(2015), many people who had gone through cancer treatment disclosed not wanting “survivor” to
be part of their identity and felt frustrated when that narrative was forced upon them. With a cancer
diagnosis comes a lot of uncertainty, including uncertainty in one’s identity. When patients already
feel powerless and as though their life is out of their control, they grow frustrated when who they
are also falls out of their hands. They often resent terms like “survivor” because of the way it erases
everything else about them. For instance, a patient may endure physical changes upon undergoing
treatment that keep them from looking the way they have their entire lives (Sontag, 1977). Rather
than see the person as they had been, outsiders may see these physical changes and reduce them
down to their illness instead of viewing their illness as a part of their story. This same notion may
apply to people who resent being called a “survivor” because they feel as though their entire lives
and identities are being reduced to their cancer rather than everything else that makes them who
they are (Sontag, 1977; Miller, 2015).
Similar to the quest narrative, but not quite part of the three narratives Iannarino (2018)
delved into, is the common narrative that cancer diagnosis often comes with learning valuable
lessons. Often in films surrounding cancer or terminal illness, is a push toward cancer acting as a
method of self-discovery or redemption (Verhoeven, 2005). Cancer patients in films with these
narratives, are expected to live enhanced lives with a deeper appreciation for life because of what
they experienced through diagnosis and treatment. This is an echo of Sontag’s notion of fatal
illness being viewed as a test of moral character and becoming virtuous when they seem to be
approaching death but want to redeem their “mediocre” lives (Sontag, 1978). This narrative is a
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common one in works of film or television, in which the cancer having person is expected to go
on to do great things after “winning their battle” against their disease.
While some patients may find comfort in this narrative of going on to do greater things
upon their diagnosis or feel empowered by the notion of “fighting to survive”, many other patients
prefer to hear stories that are cynical and frank to help them cope with what they are going through
(Iannarino, 2018). However, when presenting narratives, especially on screen, these darker stories
often go unexplored. This, of course, does not invalidate patients who find value in these narratives,
but we should also consider those that struggle to identify with these narratives and long to see a
representation of their own cynical feelings in the characters on screen.
2.1.2 The Restitution Narrative
Though quest narratives are most commonly applied to cancer patients, restitution
narratives are argued to be the most preferred illness narrative because of how easy they are to
engage with (Weingarten, 1999). Restitution narratives allow the patient to tell the details of their
illness from a diagnosis and treatment perspective including the processes of what has been done
and what may be done if the treatment fails. However, restitution narratives are often difficult for
people with illnesses that are not commonly understood. For example, if somebody is diagnosed
with a rare cancer that doesn’t have a common treatment regimen, their restitution narrative would
be difficult to form because of all the unknowns of their disease, such as atypical treatment
protocols or even statistics surrounding their disease. Though restitution narratives are cut and dry
for common diagnoses, they are less common when dealing with complex diseases due to the
inability to convey how complex the process is compared to more “standard” cancers.
Arthur Frank (1995) argues that restitution narratives have the goal of restoring people
back to their life before their illness: a person is living their life engaging with different activities,
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they receive a diagnosis and go through treatment, then when treatment is done they return to the
activities they were previously engaging with. These narratives have appeal because they
guarantee a “happy” ending of health and returning to life before illness. However, these narratives
are oppressive when patients are unable to tell a restitution narrative about their illness.
2.1.3 The Chaos Narrative
Chaos narratives, unlike restitution and quest narratives, have no structure (Frank, 1995).
Within them, one thing happens after another to the patient, but nothing leads to anything else,
leaving the narrative with no resolution. Rather than create the hopeful narratives of lessons
learned or return to health, chaos narratives focus on the ways in which a patient’s life is derailed
while nothing can be done about it. Frank (1995) argues that the person living in the real life chaos
narrative is defeated by life and as they try to tell their story, those listening and involved come to
feel defeated too.
Frank (1995) also continues to argue that the person living in the chaos narrative of their
illness has a dark fantasy of their own destruction. Because of this, it is often important for health
professionals to step in to show the patient that they can exist in the chaos without being destroyed
by it. However, when considering illnesses like terminal cancer, as depicted in The Midnight Club,
we must also consider that patients may be beyond those feelings of hope regarding going
unbroken by the chaos. Some patients, especially those with aggressive or terminal cancers with
grueling treatment regimens, don’t have the belief that there is a life “after cancer” for them.
Instead, the chaos of their situation breaks them–they stop fighting the fact that they don’t have
control of what happens to them anymore. They endure the chaos of treatment, the twists and turns
that a cancer diagnosis create in life, and live their lives day by day rather than trying to plan ahead
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for a future they may not have. While many patients are fortunate enough to make it through their
illness and build something from it, others are left feeling defeated as they face their mortality.
2.2 Cancer On Screen
Literature about cancer on screen in a fictional sense is not in abundance. Rather, most
research looking at cancer in media tends to focus on non-fiction: opting to study advertisements
and the presentation of cancer in the news instead (Jensen et al., 2014; Simon et al., 2011;
MacKenzie et al., 2010). However, in the literature that does exist surrounding cancer on screen
in fictional works, we can gain a better understanding of how cancer has been represented and how
it differs from the needs of adolescent and young adult cancer patients.
When represented, cancer is often used as a plot device or as a core piece of a story in
fictional media. However, the on screen representation often falls short of the genuine experiences
people with cancer tend to go through. Verhoeven (2005) critiques films for their use of what she
deemed “cinema cancer,” which unlike real cancer, is nice looking and comes without the surgeries,
disfigurements, and messy anatomies. This seems to be an evolution and, in a way, a contrast, of
Susan Sontag’s (1977) claims that cancer is a disease that seems unimaginable to aestheticize.
Because while this may be true in some aspects, it is clear in the abundant use of cancers like
leukemia, breast cancer, or brain tumors in films (Pavisic et al., 2014), that some cancers are able
to be romanticized in a way that others cannot be.
Further, rather than represent cancer and narratives of cancer in ways that better reflect the
genuine experience of patients, film tends to value entertainment and audience attention more. For
instance, in a study of various cancer films and shows, Pavisic et al., (2014) found that 66% of
cancer patients depicted on screen passed away in their stories, despite showing little to no sign of
having been sick or even gone through treatment. This is problematic when we consider the
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advances in actual cancer treatment regimens, as often, the cancer being depicted on screen has
come to be quite treatable in comparison to others. However, where reality would show this
progress and better prognoses, films care more for evoking emotion out of their audiences, even if
that means excluding the experiences of cancer patients that struggle to identify with the narratives
being presented.
In addition to representing cancer in a way that shows little evidence of being sick, we
often see cancer coming with “valuable lessons” in movies. There seems to consistently be a push
toward cancer acting as a method of self-discovery and redemption (Verhoeven, 2005). Cancer
patients in these films, if written in a way that allows them to survive the story, are expected to
live enhanced lives with a deeper appreciation for life because of what they went through with
their diagnosis. Like the quest narrative, these valuable lesson tropes undermine the cancer
experience by expecting patients to come out of treatment with a new look on life and living a new
life beyond cancer (Verhoeven, 2005).
The reality of cancer, however, is that survivorship is just as hard and comes with a new
set of anxieties and fears that make it hard to live up to grand expectations. This is commonly
portrayed through the use of wigs in films (Williams et al., 2018). With hair being an important
part of our identity, something I heard from my own oncologist when getting ready to start
chemotherapy, we find that wigs play a role in films that allow for the patient to live a life beyond
their cancer diagnosis. Hair and wigs become symbolic in film because of the association of
baldness with being sick. Therefore, if a person has hair or a wig, they can live that enhanced life
they are expected to because they are somebody beyond their illness with the hair (Williams et al.,
2018). Often, people with cancer feel reduced to their illness upon disclosing their diagnosis,
something that becomes more evident when the physical signs of their illness and treatment are
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shown on their bodies. Being bald is a signifier of being ill and becomes a symbol for illness,
whereas having hair (or even wearing wigs) makes it harder to identify the patient as being sick at
all and thus allows them to live their lives “as normal.” Or rather, it allows them to live the
“enhanced” life they were to live before being diagnosed with cancer (Williams et al., 2018).
In an analysis of a film called Mum’s List, Kennedy (2017) discusses that marketing cancer
films is not easy to do for a studio because the audience is demanding something with purpose and
something that can evoke emotions within them. But when the wellbeing of real cancer patients
and survivors is at risk, are the creative liberties taken to create a heartbreaking and inaccurate
story worth it? Though this aestheticized version of cancer and the narratives surrounding cancer
may make for heartwarming or tear-jerking stories, it is important to consider what real cancer
patients, especially young adult cancer patients, may think when seeing these stories on screen.
Afterall, are these young adults going to be thinking about romance or how their illness
could be aestheticized? Will these narratives found in cheesy dramas or romance movies reflect
their own feelings? Or, like Iannarino (2018) found, will they struggle to identify with this hope
being displayed? Instead, they may prefer an outlet to express their fears and the gritty truths of
their diagnosis (Iannarino, 2018). These darker and grittier elements are better explored in the
genre of horror, where fear inducing and darkness takes precedence over romanticized aesthetics
and hope.
2.3 The Horror Genre & Fear
The genre of horror is one that is predominantly concerned with death, the fear of death,
and how untimely it can be (Wells, 2000). However, it is also a genre that discusses established
systems of culture, interrogates deep-seated effects of change, and explores the internal struggles
we face that manifest into “monsters” we fear (Wells, 2000). Though other genres can tackle these
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subjects and ideals, horror is different in the sense that much of its impact relates to the attitude
toward these struggles and monsters being depicted (Carroll, 1987). Can genres outside of horror
depict the difficult struggles of cancer diagnosis? Yes, of course. It’s been done before and it will
be done again.
Where horror is different, however, is it allows for these struggles to be explored through
a lens of fear and darkness. If cancer is a monster, the genres in which this monster is being
depicted is important to the messages and narratives being portrayed. In a drama movie, the cancer
is something feared but the narrative does not focus on that fear. However, if cancer is the monster
in a horror film, being frightened becomes the focus. Carroll (1987) argues that the monster is only
in the horror genre if the characters show that they are being frightened by the danger it presents.
Though in our everyday lives “monsters” are not typically demons or scary figures, horror films
allow us to see the “monsters” of our lives take on frightening forms (Petridis, 2021).
Frank (1995) argues that the dark side of scary stories is that they can entrap us in our fears
and imagination, therefore it’s important for those telling the story to be able to get out of the story.
However, there is a paradox in the sense that to get out of the story, it’s usually important to tell
the story and allow the fear they are feeling to be expressed. Often, the fears being expressed in
the narrative need to be validated as something truly fearful before the horror can be diffused and
evolved into a new story. The Midnight Club in particular does a great job of showcasing how
fears, particularly around illness, can be expressed and validated by others feeling similar things,
and how others can relate to those fears, something that will be further delved into in a future
chapter.
Though frightening, horror is something enjoyable to many viewers. Stephen King argues
that horror, for some, fuels something psychological that they need–something they feel or
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acknowledge about themselves or the world but don’t have the means of expressing (Wells, 2000).
In the case of cancer patients, depictions of cancer in horror could allow them to explore the darker
elements and scary parts of diagnosis that are dismissed or taboo to discuss otherwise. With a
cancer diagnosis often comes with people facing their mortality and the dark thoughts that come
with a potentially fatal disease residing in their bodies. Depictions of cancer in horror could allow
for patients to make sense of these feelings, fears, and experiences.
For example, a terminally ill cancer patient may find themselves struggling with empathy
for those around them because of their diagnosis. To them, everything seems trivial in comparison
to their own situation where death is imminent. While this isn’t a monster with a physical presence,
it is one in their mind. The genre of horror, in the form of the Saw franchise, would allow them to
see this lack of empathy as a physical monster in the form of John Kramer, a terminally ill man
putting healthy others with problems of their own to the test through gruesome puzzles that lead
to death. While the real patient would never commit the same atrocities as John Kramer, the
narrative of Saw allows them to take away that their feelings of resentment toward those that are
healthy with trivial issues is something that they can feel affirmed in. This narrative, something
darker and uncomfortable, is best represented in horror, where the constructs of the genre are held
to a different standard than another genre that wouldn’t dare touch the darker thoughts of the
patient.
Additionally, where films outside of the horror genre aestheticize cancer or often showcase
unrealistic depictions of bodies with cancer, horror allows for even hyperbolic depictions of the
same diseases that go romanticized. Bodies in horror are often mutated and disfigured. Cancer
treatment often includes surgeries and procedures that leave the patient looking different than they
once did. This is often a fear of the patient that is uncomfortable to address but can be easily
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addressed in horror where monsters, viruses, or even colors as depicted in Color Out of Space, can
allegorize cancer and disfigure the bodies of once healthy people.
In a film review, Patrick Koske-McBride (2019) argues Annihilation perfectly allegorizes
the adolescent and young adult cancer experience through the use of mutant aliens and body horror
that captures the sense of betrayal cancer patients feel when they realize their own body is killing
them. The film depicts a man’s own intestines mutating after contact with an alien body and thus
trying to strangle him from the inside out - a vulgar display of betrayal by his own body.
Additionally, David Cronenberg’s The Fly is often referred to in discourse involving horror and
disease, namely cancer and AIDs, because of its connections between violent invasions of the body
and the role of the body in society (Mathijs, 2003). Though hyperbolic and frightening, cancer
patients may see these displays of betrayal and feel validated in their own experiences as cancer
survivors, just as Koske-Mcbride did.
The genre of horror is also unique in the sense that it allows for those consuming the content
to confront their fears, especially fears regarding death. When considering the fear of cancer, it
was found that the fear comes from viewing cancer as something unpredictable and indestructible
with no way to ensure that it is kept at bay, the social implications that come with a cancer
diagnosis, and, of course, dying from cancer (Vrinten et al., 2016). Knowing this, it would do well
to study how the genre of horror and its conventions could allow for its audience to safely engage
with these fears. The horror content is all fiction, telling a story with a beginning and end. Those
consuming the content can find ease in taking in the story knowing that, eventually, it will come
to a conclusion and thus allowing them to face their fears without feeling stuck in the story.
Additionally, people who deal with anxiety are often drawn to horror because it allows them to
find a new focal point for their worries (Wenner Moyer, 2022). Many people suffering with anxiety
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cannot pinpoint the root of said anxiety. It instead remains an unknown that is frustrating as they
live in a type of fear they feel the need to overcome. Horror allows for people with anxiety to take
in the story and the scares within the story and pinpoint a source of fear. They are drawn to the
genre of horror because they can distinguish what is scaring them in the films or shows instead of
the ominous feelings of anxiety that they have in their real lives that aren’t easily identified
(Wenner Moyer, 2022).
2.4 The Gap in Literature
Despite keying together every combination of keywords that came to mind, it was difficult
to find scholarly literature on cancer in the horror genre. What did exist was shallow in information,
opting to focus on other diseases rather than cancer. Even commentary on cancer and horror
outside of the scholarly setting was difficult to come by. Luckily, there are individuals out there
posting film reviews and commentary that helped to inform this literature review.
However, most literature reviewed has consisted of cancer narratives, their structures, the
ways cancer was represented on screen outside of horror, and the conventions of the horror genre,
as well as how the horror genre allows people to confront their fears. This information, of course,
is vastly important and allows us to see what has been looked at previously, but also allows us to
see what needs further exploration. In this case, there is a severe lack of research that ties cancer
narratives and the genre of horror together. In investigating the horror genre and its approach to
disease and cancer, we can expand the cancer narratives being presented by delving into other
ways for narratives surrounding cancer to be expressed.
This sentiment is ironic when we consider that often, people will refer to a cancer diagnosis
or living with cancer as a real life “horror story.” With this being the case, why is it so difficult to
find research linking the two? Perhaps, it could be argued that the dark contents of horror are
34
difficult for people to navigate or deemed taboo to discuss. Though horror is notorious for pushing
the limits of what is socially and culturally acceptable to discuss and presenting it in ways that
make bold comments, the experience of cancer may just be too sensitive for people to confront.
Fiction or not, narratives are crucial to helping people make meaning and understanding of
what they are going through. When burdened with the weight of a cancer diagnosis, it makes sense
that patients would want to find ways to cope with what they are going through. For some, this
may mean seeking out support groups or information. Others, however, may find value in stories
and narratives, particularly through television or film, that help through their difficult time with
their illness.
This being said, it’s important to acknowledge that though the dark feelings, thoughts, and
experiences that come with a cancer diagnosis often go unaddressed because of the discomfort and
stigmas surrounding them, these morbidities exist. No two cancer patients have the exact same
experience. Where one person may benefit from the readily available content available during the
present day, another person may need a different way to cope with what they are going through. It
is because of these people that the need for research that ties horror and cancer together is so crucial.
Because if it can help somebody make sense of what they are going through and aid them in their
struggles, it's a notable cause.
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3. CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGIES & FRAMEWORK
3.1 Method: Narrative Analysis
In discussing narratives, it seems appropriate that my methods involved conducting a
narrative analysis. Specifically, given my own experiences with cancer diagnosis, I have conducted
narrative analysis to read the stories being told in The Midnight Club influenced by my
positionality as a researcher. In doing so, I was able to examine the content and context of the
narratives within The Midnight Club to find themes, symbols, and make meaning of the stories
being shared. Specifically, I conducted a discourse narrative analysis to focus on the social and
cultural contexts of cancer narratives within the show. This method is a qualitative research method
used to gain a deeper understanding of experiences, thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. In this
case, it is being used to analyze the thoughts and feelings and experiences of terminally ill cancer
patients being expressed through scary stories. Narrative analysis also allows for a better
understanding of the social phenomena, such as identity, a key ideal when discussing cancer
patients.
Additionally, narrative analysis can be used to examine representation of certain groups.
In this paper, I specifically focus on the representation of cancer patients and the representation of
cancer in general. In conducting a narrative analysis, I can also address social problems
surrounding cancer narratives as displayed in The Midnight Club. A narrative analysis is ideal for
this study as it allows for the exploration of meanings attached to experiences. As a researcher, I
can gain helpful insight into how individuals, in this case cancer patients, make sense of their
experiences and how the horror genre allows for this meaning-making to occur.
Through an interpretive approach, I can identify subjects and themes being expressed in
the characters’s stories and how these themes relay the experiences and emotions of the characters.
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Additionally, because this study is subjective in nature, a narrative analysis is ideal because of its
reflexivity. As a researcher, I can reflect my own assumptions and biases in the way I interpret the
narratives compared to how others may interpret the narratives.
3.2 The Midnight Club
Netflix's The Midnight Club is a site for investigation as it presents the issue of cancer,
cancer narratives, and representation in the horror genre. The show is ten episodes long, averaging
an hour in length per episode, and available on Netflix’s streaming platform. In viewing the show,
I took notes on all things cancer related, paying particular attention to the stories the characters
told to look for themes and meaning about their cancer experiences. Keeping Frank’s (1995)
narratives in mind, I also noted how the show played into the restitution, chaos, and quest
narratives. Or, alternatively, I noted closely how the show challenged the narratives, especially
how the show challenged the quest narrative.
The show has a heavy focus on storytelling as a means of coping. The characters depicted
in the show utilize scary stories to make sense of their feelings and share them in a way the others
may find relatable. With that, I focused on noting how these stories displayed some of the darker
thoughts and feelings Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer patients had previously
discussed feeling. Because this paper also focuses on the genre of horror, I took note of the way
“monsters” were depicted, as well as how the conventions of the genre allowed for darker stories
to be told by the characters.
3.3 The Narrative Paradigm
Walter Fisher’s (1989) Narrative Paradigm was developed from storytelling as a form of
communication. Fisher claimed that all meaningful communication is in the form of storytelling.
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He defines narrative as any verbal or nonverbal interpretation which is arranged logically to
generate a meaning. This process of communication is influenced by the experiences of the
storytellers and upholds the notion that communication happens between the narrator and the
listener. In the case of The Midnight Club, there are two variations of this: character narrators
telling stories to character listeners within the show, and character narrators telling stories to real
people viewing the show.
The narrative paradigm functions on two principles: coherence and fidelity. Coherence
involves making sense of the narrative while fidelity defines the credibility of the story. The
fidelity of the story is greatly influenced by the listener and whether they choose to accept the
narrator and the story they tell or not.
Though the Narrative Paradigm has been critiqued for being a very broad concept, the
guidelines of the paradigm will be useful in analyzing the stories told within The Midnight Club.
The Narrative Paradigm helped me conduct my narrative analysis by providing the
guidelines of coherence and fidelity. In other words, when analyzing the narratives presented in
The Midnight Club, I was able to ask myself, as a viewer with cancer experiences, how do I make
sense of the stories being shared by the characters and are the narratives being presented in a way
that is credible to me as a viewer?
Stories aid in forming our understanding of the world. They’re used to express our values
and beliefs, criticize systems in place, make sense of our situations, or share our ideals (Bilandzic
et al., 2008). Meanwhile, the audience of such stories are equipped to learn from stories being
shared because of a narrative's tendency to be more easily comprehended than other methods of
presenting information (Schank & Abelson, 1995). The Narrative Paradigm may critique this
notion under the principle that coherence of a story is not something guaranteed and is influenced
38
by the audience's ability to make sense of the story. What may come with perfect clarity to one
person may be entirely foreign to the next.
This is a tricky ideal in discussions of cancer narratives considering no two people
experience cancer in the exact same way. Netflix’s The Midnight Club is composed of many stories
from various characters with cancer and within the show, they all seem to be understanding of the
struggles and fears being presented within their stories. However, this same understanding is not
guaranteed among viewers of the show that have also had their own cancer experiences. This, of
course, does not invalidate their own experiences, thoughts, and fears, but it is important to keep
in mind that narratives are often subjective and up for interpretation.
3.4 Television As Cultural Forum
Hirsch & Newcomb (1983) argue that television programs, and by extension, streaming
programs, serve as a cultural forum in the sense that television brings up cultural topics where
viewers interpret the content and respond to the issues being discussed. The researchers further
argue that all media texts are encoded with messages by producers and decoded by the audiences,
who may agree or disagree with the intended meaning. When a show raises a question in the minds
of viewers, their answers to that question may change depending on their experiences, but the
question itself will remain the same. This concept is important when we consider my previous
concern with audience members having different takeaways from narratives as it supports the
argument that the issue at hand is still present, but we may perceive it in different ways.
Television as a cultural forum allows for the presentation of cultural and social issues.
Through fictional television, shows are able to comment on social issues and present them to large
audiences in ways that allow them to make sense of the narratives themselves. Viewers consuming
the televised media may find representations of their own experiences, or ideals that challenge
39
what they have gone through. Television may provide an audience with reference to what they
know, but delve into areas that challenge their ideals for the success and distinction of the show
(Hirsch & Newcomb, 1983).
In presenting an outlet for cancer patients to express their concerns and fears through the
makings of the horror genre, Hirsch and Newcomb’s understanding of television as cultural forum
can aid in bridging the gaps between the struggles patients deal with and communicating them.
Likewise, patients viewing a show such as The Midnight Club may find themselves making sense
of their own situation in their consumption of the narratives being broadcast, thus giving them the
ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings as they interpret the content and connect it to
their own experience.
3.5 Evaluation
In speaking of media, audiences often evaluate the content to make their opinions on its
quality known. Personal preference, however, does not deem media good or bad. Through our own
experiences through life, our preferences in the media we consume influences our opinions. These
opinions, however, are no more valid or invalid in comparison to others’. As previously discussed,
no two cancer patients have the same experience through their diagnosis. Because of this, patients
may have different opinions on different pieces of media.
Where one cancer patient may heavily resonate with the narratives being discussed in The
Midnight Club, another may find they couldn’t relate to the characters’ experiences at all. Though
narratives are subjective, we can aid in the objectivity of analysis, as suggested by Bordwell and
Thompson (2020) through the utilization of specific criteria for analysis.
There are various types of criteria such as coherence, originality, and complexity. Works
can fall into different places on the criterion spectrums. Perhaps a show is engaging on a variety
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of levels to be complex and evoke feelings, but lacks coherence and originality. By utilizing a
specific set of criteria, we can gain a better understanding of the media being analyzed (Bordwell
& Thompson, 2020). I intend to evaluate The Midnight Club with the criterions of coherence in
mind, as this ties well with the Narrative Paradigm and the sense-making involved with the viewers.
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4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE MIDNIGHT CLUB
4.1 The Midnight Club: Synopsis & Stories
The Midnight Club (2022) is a television show following eight terminally ill young adults
at a hospice manor created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong for Netflix, inspired by a novel of
the same title by Christopher Pike. The show follows these eight young adults as they gather in the
manor’s library each night at midnight to tell scary stories in a group they deem The Midnight
Club. The Midnight Club, as a group, is dedicated to telling sinister stories that reflect their own
beliefs and concerns about their diagnoses and the experiences they have because of their illness,
as well as seeking out signs from beyond of the members that have passed away in an attempt to
find hope in there being more beyond the life they are living.
The key focus of this analysis within the show is the aspect of the scary stories told by the
group as they meet in the library each night. These narratives told by the characters, though
subplots of the overall show, deep dive into the experiences of each character as they navigate life
with terminal cancer. These narratives serve to showcase how the characters make sense of their
situations, their illness, and their feelings about having cancer. Additionally, the narratives
showcase how utilizing scary stories allows the characters to express the scary thoughts they have
that would otherwise be taboo to speak on. The narratives deal with difficult and dark topics of
facing mortality, feeling like their illness is a time bomb going to hurt everyone they love, guilt,
blame, and low mental health. The key takeaway from the characters’ stories is not just the scary
story they tell as it is on the surface. But rather, a focus on the meaning of the narratives as they
relate to cancer, based on literature and my own experiences as a cancer survivor.
The show begins with an introduction to Ilonka, who has terminal thyroid cancer. Ilonka
was destined for success at college, having been salutatorian in high school and accepted into
42
Stanford to study English Literature. The odds of her diagnosis are against her, but she proclaims
that she’s good with beating the odds. When chemotherapy starts to be ineffective, Ilonka does
research of her own and begins to have visions of Brightcliffe Hospice Care for Teenagers, where
decades prior, another teenager named Julia Jayne was supposedly cured of the same cancer killing
Ilonka.
At Brightcliffe, Ilonka meets Kevin, who is diagnosed with terminal leukemia, Anya, who
is diagnosed with bone cancer, Sandra, who has terminal lymphoma, Spencer, who has AIDS,
Cheri, who has an unnamed terminal cancer, Natsuki, who has terminal ovarian cancer, and
Amesh, who has glioblastoma. All members of The Midnight Club, save for Spencer and Amesh,
have been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The Midnight Club gathers nightly to tell scary stories, all of which contain elements of
their own personalities and fears. When the group listens to each other, they learn a little bit more
about what each member of the group has gone through and, most evidently, what their fears are
as they navigate their diagnosis. For the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing solely on the
stories told by those with a cancer diagnosis and the narratives being explored through horror.
In episode one, as part of her initiation into The Midnight Club, Ilonka tells a partly
fictionalized story about Julia Jayne, her inspiration for coming to Brightcliffe. In the story, Julia
is a young woman cursed with the knowledge of the day she will die. She doesn’t speak save for
the repetition of the series of numbers that essentially spell out her passing. One day, Julia goes
missing, unable to be found for two weeks. When she is found, she claims to have never left the
house. Something else is different for Julia - the dates she repeats. Now, when she interacts with
somebody, the numbers change. Instead of knowing her own “expiration date,” as Ilonka puts it,
she is cursed to know when others will die instead. Even so, Julia leaves the hospice center, having
43
been cured with no explanation after her disappearance. As Julia predicted, those she spoke to,
died on the days she found herself repeating.
Episode two’s story is told by Anya. Anya is a feisty member of the midnight club with a
hard exterior because of the experiences she had prior to arriving at Brightcliffe. She relies on a
wheelchair for mobility because she lost her leg to bone cancer. Anya tells the story of a young
girl named Dana, a smart and driven girl that longs to be in two places at once because of the
immense amount of pressure on her to be perfect. When the devil approaches her, promising that
ability to her, Dana takes the deal and thus a duplicate of herself is created. Dana can see, feel, and
experience everything that her duplicate can - good or bad. The first thing Dana wants to do is
send her duplicate to a party while she stays home to study. Though this seemed simple enough, it
proved to be difficult once Dana Two arrived at the party because everything she did, including
drinking and dancing, impacted original Dana’s ability to focus because of the shared connection
between the bodies.
As time goes on, Dana Two grows more and more out of control. She doesn’t return home,
opting instead to venture out into shady situations where she is partying, drinking, and using drugs.
Their lives are at odds with one another and because of this, the two Danas decide that only one
gets to survive. Because of their connection, this plan is no secret to either of them and when they
show up to face one another, they are both prepared with weapons. The two argue over which
Dana came first and who gets to survive, then, the Danas pull the triggers on their guns. The next
scene is one of the Danas waking up in a hospital bed with a missing leg and no recollection of
which Dana she was.
The next story belongs to Kevin, who was diagnosed with terminal Leukemia. Kevins’s
story is different from many of the others in the sense that he doesn’t finish it in one night. Instead,
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he tells it over the course of three different meetings of The Midnight Club. When he leaves the
story on a cliffhanger, he encourages the others to stay alive long enough to find out the ending.
Kevin’s story follows a young teenager named Dusty, who is a serial killer haunted by the ghosts
of the women he kills and the voice of his sickly mother compelling him to murder said women.
After being compelled to kill his classmate, Nancy, Dusty meets Sheila, Nancy’s best friend who
is convinced something awful has happened to Nancy.
Dusty and Sheila grow closer as they try to “solve” the mystery of Nancy’s death together
and begin to date. Just as Dusty starts to care for Sheila, his mother invades his mind to compel
him to kill his next victim: Sheila. Because he cannot escape the voices in his head or find a way
out, Dusty invites Sheila over to kill her just as the voices command. When Sheila arrives, she is
able to piece together that Dusty, or somebody closely related to Dusty, is behind the murder of
her friend Nancy. Dusty tries to explain the situation to Sheila: that his mother infects his mind
and that before this, his grandfather had done the same thing to his mom.
When he refuses to kill Sheila, Dusty’s mother crawls into the room on the ceiling and
attacks her to finish the job herself. When she attacks Dusty, Dusty defends himself and kills his
mother with the hammer he had used on the other women. In her death, Dusty’s mother is free
from the evil that was consuming her and compelling her to doom her son to a life of murder.
However, the evil flees her body and claims Dusty’s. Dusty begs Sheila to kill him, but instead she
knocks him out and takes him to a mental institution where he is destined to live the rest of his life
alone because of his curse to kill or harm anybody around him.
Ilonka’s story is next, following a young modern-day witch called Imani who wants to use
her magic to help her friends. Imani, like her mother who we see die in an attempt to heal a young
patient, has the ability to see glimpses of the future. However, she cannot do much to change it.
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Imani’s mother had warned her not to use these abilities at night, because the visions grow more
sinister. In her grief after her mother’s death, though, Imani utilizes the ability and sees a young
man get shot and killed. While she was able to prevent his death this time, it came with the
consequence of one of her other friends getting shot instead.
Though Imani was able to alter the boy’s fate temporarily, she knew that the universe would
find a way to make it happen. There comes another incident when the boy’s fate is brought upon
him and Imani watches as he dies after being shot. Imani comes to terms with the fact that she
messed with fate and wants to fix the things she messed up, especially for her friend that was shot.
Imani visits her friend, who is in a coma in the hospital, and begins to use her healing abilities on
her. While healing her, Imani begins to have visions of her deceased mother, who lets her know
that she will not be strong enough to heal the girl on her own without dying. Imani knows this, and
is prepared to sacrifice herself to save her friend. She wants to make things right and reunite with
her mother.
Ilonka finds herself unable to finish the story, getting emotional as it comes to an end. The
other members of The Midnight Club help her out by bringing in characters from their own stories
in a heartwarming moment. Ilonka’s story speaks of death, sacrifice, and leaving loved ones
behind, something all members of the group could relate to.
After an incident involving a ritual in the hidden basement of the manor, The Midnight
Club is locked out of the library and unable to meet. Natsuki and Amesh, now romantically
involved, meet in her bedroom. Natsuki tells Amesh the story she planned to share at the meeting.
Natsuku’s story follows a young girl named Theresa. Theresa needs to think and get away for a
while so she goes for a drive with no destination in mind. While driving, she stumbles along a pair
of hitchhikers and hesitantly agrees to give them a ride. As they drive, Theresa begins to see weird
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and scary things on the road. She drives in circles, stopping at the same gas station multiple times,
all while her car starts to fill with a weird smell.
The man she picked up pushes her to stay in the car and do dangerous things, while the
woman in the backseat tells her to trust herself and not to listen to him. At the end of the story, we
learn this man and woman are meant to represent Theresa’s conscience, with the man representing
her depression and dark thoughts. Natsuki reveals that Theresa never left the garage and has been
slowly suffocating from carbon monoxide. Theresa lives, though, exiting the car and managing to
open the garage door to save herself.
These stories, though all works of fiction created by the characters, represent the
characters’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences as they navigate the struggles they have faced prior
to, during, and after their cancer diagnoses. The sinister nature of the stories shared at The
Midnight Club allows them to confront and reveal the dark thoughts consuming them about their
experiences, where it might be uncomfortable elsewhere.
4.2 Analyzing Stories Through the Narrative Paradigm
As clarified previously, Walter Fisher’s (1989) Narrative Paradigm functions on two
principles: coherence and fidelity. In other words, it asks what the audience takes away from the
story and how they make meaning of the story, in addition to whether or not the audience deems
the narrator as credible. Both of these concepts are subjective with a heavy reliance on the listener
and their own experiences.
In the case of The Midnight Club, I’ll be looking at the narratives from two different
perspectives. First, I will discuss the narratives from my interpretation of the perspectives of the
characters within the show. In doing so, I will dive into the deeper meanings of their stories and
what the horror of them represents. In using Fisher’s (1989) principles of coherence and fidelity, I
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look at the ways in which the characters react with the stories being told, how they identify (or do
not identify) with the messages, and whether or not they feel the storyteller is credible in their
discussions. After doing so, I will look at the narratives from my own perspectives as a cancer
survivor and viewer of the show, as well as how the horror elements of the show allow for the
expression of darker experiences and thoughts that often come with a cancer diagnosis.
4.2.1 Anya’s Story
Anya is a character that, though spicy, is hard not to love. She often has an attitude and is
brash in her comments. But despite everything, she is loving and protective. Her story of the two
Danas revealed a lot about herself. Before her cancer diagnosis, she was a dancer at a prestigious
ballet academy. She was talented and her family believed in her success enough to emigrate to the
United States from Ireland to support her. Her life seemed perfect: until it wasn’t.
Anya found herself living a double life, allegorized in her story by the two Danas. By day,
she was a hardworking ballerina. By night, she was living a life of partying and drinking. One
night while out partying for too long, her parents grew concerned and went out looking for her.
Unfortunately, their car hit a spot of black ice and caused an accident that would kill them both.
Blaming herself, Anya began to spiral worse than before and compromised her position in the
ballet academy for a life of drug addiction. Just as Anya started to get clean and try to make amends
with her life before addiction, she was diagnosed with bone cancer and lost one of her legs.
Anya’s story of the two Danas was a clear allegory for her own life and struggles. She
expressed how hard it was for her to find balance in her life and how, when things got bad, she
lost sight of who she was and all that was important to her. By the time she was able to figure out
what she needed to do to make things right, her life was turned upside down once more with a
cancer diagnosis.
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The other characters not only pick up on the clues Anya left in her story about her own life,
but also feel validated in their own experiences with cancer. Just as it seemed everything was
turning around for them, they received a diagnosis that threw them off course all over again. Anya
was able to create a story to share the dark thoughts she had about the pressure to be perfect and
how easy it was to fall down into a spiral. She showcased that she was not a perfect person. She
did a lot of bad things and made a lot of mistakes. Part of her felt as though she deserved her
diagnosis because of the path she found herself walking down. However, she was also able to
express that even as she cleaned up and got herself back together again, she was still doomed for
that negative path.
A common narrative tied to cancer is one that deems the illness as a penance of sorts for a
person’s actions (Meluch, 2018). Often, when diagnosed, people ask why or what they had done
to deserve this. Cancer is not always something that can be explained and because of the mystery
of cancer, patients often find themselves in positions to blame themselves for their diagnosis. This
blame could be literal: was it their diet that gave them cancer? Their genetics? Some other variable
that they had control of? Or, more spiritually, do they blame their diagnosis on themselves because
they feel as though they need to be punished for their actions, thoughts, or even beliefs? (Khokar
et al., 2022; Meluch, 2018)
4.2.2 Kevin’s Story
Kevin is a loveable character that wants the best for everybody in his life. Though he is
dying of terminal leukemia and dealing with the exhaustion and ailments that come with such a
diagnosis, he tries to put on a brave face for his loved ones, especially those outside of Brightcliffe.
Once a popular athlete at his high school, Kevin seemed to have everything going for him: good
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grades, great athletic performance, beautiful girlfriend, and a bright future. His leukemia diagnosis
turned everything around for him, a sentiment he shared with the others at Brightcliffe.
Kevin’s story of Dusty the teenage serial killer puts a huge focus on Kevin’s fear of hurting
those he loves. Even at the end of the story, when Dusty is locked away, the fear of hurting another
person is an evident concern for Kevin. In sharing this story, Kevin is disclosing how he is afraid
his loved ones will be left with negative memories of him after he is gone. He is afraid for the
inevitable pain his diagnosis and his death are going to cause those he cares for.
This is a fear he cannot share with those he loves because he doesn’t want to make them
uncomfortable. When his family and girlfriend visit, he instead opts to plaster on a smile and try
to pretend things are normal, despite their presence in a hospice facility. Kevin is often masking
his real feelings.
In his story, Dusty’s mother, the looming presence that compels Dusty to kill, acts as a
representation of Kevin’s cancer. Both are forces that cannot be stopped and will cause hurt along
the way. In placing Dusty in a solitary cell at the end, Kevin is trying to suggest that he was hopeful
being alone at the hospice facility would keep him from hurting his loved ones any further. If he
was out of sight, he wouldn’t be able to do further damage because they wouldn’t see him as his
health declined.
Most of the other characters validated Kevin’s story, understanding how hard it is to face
family and friends and maintain relationships when your death is impending. Ilonka, however,
doesn’t like the way Kevin’s story ends. She expresses that he shouldn’t feel the need to isolate
himself or mask himself out of fear of hurting the others because the hurt will happen anyway.
Ilonka encourages Kevin to be true to himself and do what he feels is best for himself, that those
who love him will understand. She encourages him to let his walls down.
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As a cancer survivor, Kevin’s story felt representative of my own concerns about how my
cancer was impacting others. Which is ironic, considering the others in question (ie. my loved
ones, friends, etc.) weren’t the ones with cancer. However, with cancer diagnosis often comes a
fear of uncertainty and hurt. Unsure of how to express the thoughts going through their mind or if
those around them will “get it,” cancer patients are apprehensive about how to communicate what
is going on. As a result, they keep it to themselves, seen in the way Dusty is locked away in a
solitary cell to avoid hurting others. This becomes clear when analyzing Kevin’s character and
how he is hesitant to be around his loved ones on family days or does not feel free to express what
he is going through or feeling to his family or girlfriend. Instead, he expresses that it’s easier to
keep it to himself because at least they think he is doing well and have a positive image of him in
their minds–it’s easier to uphold that image and keep from hurting them while he’s away.
Additionally, conversations of cancer are uncomfortable, especially when closely
associated with narratives of having hope that the patient may struggle to identify with. When
everybody around you is telling you to stay positive and “keep fighting” it might be hard to disclose
the struggles you’re facing about how hard it is to put on that mask (Kanter et a., 2019; Parker-
Fuller, 1995). Through the conventions of horror The Midnight Club is able to create a brutal visual
for how it feels to be haunted by a cancer diagnosis and the pain it causes not only to the patient,
but those around it. Crying and screaming women represent those cancer patients fear hurting,
Dusty’s mother represents the pressure to be positive, and Dusty’s anguish and standoffish
character shows perfectly just how uncomfortable it is to mask under that pressure.
4.2.3 Ilonka’s Story
Ilonka could be deemed the main character of The Midnight Club. She is driven, intelligent,
and self-proclaimed to be “good with odds.” When treatment for her terminal thyroid cancer
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stopped working, she did research of her own to find a way to be cured, leading her to Brightcliffe
with the others. At Brightcliffe, she studies an old, seemingly magic, organization known as the
Paragon and the rituals they did in the basement of the manor that she believed cured Julia Jayne,
a patient at Brightcliffe many years prior to Ilonka’s arrival. In the end, we find that Julia Jayne
was never actually terminal - that her doctors were wrong about her diagnosis and that was why
she was able to go home and continue on with her life.
Ilonka’s story focuses a bit on that magic she was hoping to find at Brightcliffe, with her
witch character Imani hoping to change the predetermined fate for many of the people she loved.
Ilonka was hoping she could alter the course of not only her life, but the lives of all her friends at
Brightcliffe in her research of the Paragon and the rituals done. The character of Imani, however,
soon realizes that no matter what she does, even if she does delay the inevitable, she is doing
exactly that: delaying. Imani cannot save her friends just as Ilonka can’t save hers.
In the end of her story, Ilonka’s character Imani ends up sacrificing herself to reverse the
damage she has done to one of her friends. After Imani passes, she finds herself reunited with her
mother in a field of fireflies where she isn’t afraid. And, eventually, all of her friends are there too.
Ilonka’s own mother had died and this bit of Ilonka’s story represents coming to peace with her
own death because she’ll be able to reunite with her mom. And when she does cross to that other
side, she won’t be afraid and she won’t be alone.
Ilonka’s story resonated with many members of The Midnight Club because of the
sentiment that comes with leaving behind our loved ones when it’s our time to go. But they find
comfort in the belief of there being something beyond their disease-ridden bodies where they can
find peace and one day reunite with each other. When Ilonka finds herself emotional and struggling
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to end the story, the others validate the story by explaining all the ways they find one another in
their mortal lives and how it continues on after they’ve died.
Ilonka’s story, to myself as a cancer survivor, resonated with the notion of being forced to
face my mortality. Sometimes, we cannot change where our lives are leading. Many cancer patients
are lucky enough for their treatment regimen to work for them but many others are not. When one
source of treatment fails, they’ll try something else. Sometimes, when their medical options run
out, they’ll turn to natural “remedies” or anything that might give them a chance. However, it
eventually becomes a matter of living a quality life for the remainder of their days and accepting
that their cancer is not treatable.
There is a common ritual of sorts for cancer patients that, when finishing their treatment
regimen and being deemed in remission, they ring a bell in their treatment center to signify that
this part of their life is over and they get to go on and live beyond it. However, for many patients,
ringing the bell is not something they ever get to do. Ilonka’s story is for those that struggle to
make peace with the fact that a life without cancer is not something they will get to acquire.
Ilonka’s story is for those that have come into beliefs of spirituality and something beyond this
mortal life, as many cancer patients do upon diagnosis.
4.2.4 Natsuki’s Story
Natsuki is a character with a huge focus on mental health. She deals with depression and
anxiety, both of which make her pull away from the others, sometimes even physically locking
herself away in her room. These mental health diagnoses came before her cancer diagnosis, but,
of course, the diagnosis did not do her any favors when it came to working on her mental health.
Depression is a tough illness in her life that she struggles with, but she manages as well as she can
given the circumstances of her life.
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Natsuki’s story is a story that revealed a lot about her character prior to her arrival at
Brightcliffe. She didn’t get to share it with everybody in The Midnight Club after they were locked
out of the library, but did share it with her boyfriend, Amesh. Natsuki’s story of Theresa, the girl
who just needed to get away and go on a drive to nowhere in particular tells the story of Natsuki
and her battle with depression.
Theresa picks up two hitch hikers, one of whom is a man who finds himself saying a lot of
scary things that scare Theresa. He encourages reckless behavior and makes up stories of all the
people he has killed. He pretends to have Theresa’s safety in mind, telling her to stay in the car
while he goes to get gas but always returns in a panic and tells Theresa to drive away without
offering a clear explanation. His goal is evident: keep Theresa in the car.
The other hitchhiker is a woman with behaviors opposite of the man. She encourages
Theresa not to listen to him, tells her that she doesn’t need to take orders from him and can live
her own life. When Theresa finds herself overwhelmed and panicking, the woman encourages her
to step out of the car and get some fresh air.
The entire time they are in the car, Theresa complains about a weird smell. Every so often
while driving, Theresa drives by a young girl that looks creepier and more corpse-like every time
they see her. This young girl, we eventually find out, is actually Theresa.
Natsuki’s story comes with the twist that Theresa never actually left the garage. She was
sitting in the parked car and hallucinating as the fumes of the exhaust filled the garage and slowly
killed her. The man hitchhiker was a representation of her depression, a vile man encouraging her
to stay in the car and allow the fumes of the exhaust to consume her until she died. He was yelling
and angry through the story, never encouraging Theresa to save herself. Instead, he encouraged
her to stay in the car and keep driving–never allowing her a moment to think for herself or make
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choices that would encourage her to stay alive. Instead, he only ever encouraged her to stay in the
way of harm. The young girl she kept driving past was a representation of her fate if she didn’t get
out of the car–each lap she was driving in the car, stopping at the same gas station, and seeing the
young girl brought her closer to death as the exhaust fumes slowly killed her. Had the story reached
the point of Theresa’s death, it could be argued that the last time she saw the young girl, she’d
have been dead. The woman hitchhiker was her hope encouraging her to keep living and, in the
end, Theresa was able to exit the car and open the garage door to prevent her death. While the man
was encouraging harmful behaviors and actions, the woman only ever encouraged Theresa to make
choices that would help her. She encouraged her to not listen to the man (her depression) and take
control of her life and live it. The woman encouraged Theresa to step outside of the car, take in
the fresh air, and save herself from the choices the man was making for her.
Natsuki reveals, after finishing her story, that she ended the story that way because she
wished that was how it happened in real life. Instead, unlike Theresa, Natsuki didn’t make it to the
garage door opener. She passed out on the floor of the garage and her mother found her nearly
lifeless. Natsuki was rushed to the hospital where she was able to recover from her attempt at
ending her life but found out about her ovarian cancer. She expresses how she felt horrible for her
mother and how her mother almost lost her daughter, only to save her and find out she would lose
her anyway. Natsuki also expressed how when she attempted to take her life, she didn’t realize
how much she wanted to live until she was nearly dead and how heartbroken and afraid she was
that she wouldn’t get the chance to live anyway because of her cancer diagnosis. This ties back to
Natsuki’s story in the way Natsuki expresses she wishes she had not made the choice to listen to
her depression and attempt to take her own life. She wishes the woman hitchhiker had been there
for her in her real life, to encourage her to live her life instead of succumbing to her depression.
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Amesh, being the only character to hear the story, tells Natsuki how glad he is that she is
still there and that despite everything, he was glad they were able to meet. The two discuss how
the life they live isn’t the life they wanted, but it is what they have and they should try to make the
most of it while they can. Together, the two make sense of their unfathomable reality through
fictional means. It’s hard to discuss their terminal diagnoses.
For viewers of the show, Natsuki’s story could be representative of how unfair a cancer
diagnosis feels. Often, patients find themselves asking “why me?” Or, often, patients find
themselves mourning their lives because even if the cancer will not kill them, they will not be the
same person they were before diagnosis. Theresa’s suicide attempt is representative of a patient’s
life before cancer and how, even if they make the choice to keep living it and doing things they
were set on doing, cancer will throw a wrench in their plans and change the course of their lives.
The hitchhikers could resonate with viewers who are struggling with the battle within themselves
to hold on to hope that things will improve with their health or give in to the notion that cancer is
something that very well may take control of them.
4.3 The Midnight Club as a Cultural Forum
Newcomb & Hirsch’s television as a cultural forum allows for difficult topics to be spoken
about through storytelling and visual means. The Midnight Club (2022) acts as an outlet for cancer
patients to express their concerns and fears about their situation through the conventions of the
horror genre. Where communicating topics of death, feelings of isolation, and other sensitive
topics that come with cancer diagnosis may be difficult, the show allows for viewers to make sense
of those feelings in their interpretation of the narratives being conveyed on screen.
The Midnight Club openly discusses the common narrative applied to cancer patients: the quest
narratives. However, the show discusses it in a manner that differs from other forms of media in
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that instead of pushing this narrative onto patients, it encourages them to step away from it. In
acting as a cultural forum, the show addresses how the quest narrative can be problematic in pitting
the cancer patients against their own bodies, while also discussing how forcing this narrative onto
patients can be exhausting to them as they “fight” for their lives.
Upon arriving at Brightcliffe, Ilonka sits down with the doctor who encourages her to step off
the battlefield in her time at Brightcliffe. This is seldom something a cancer patient hears, instead
being encouraged to keep fighting with little regard for the toll that may take on them. For many,
this is scary because it comes with the implication of accepting that the cancer will not go away.
As tolling as the quest narrative may be for patients, it’s something comfortable and understood.
Whereas stepping off the battlefield was never considered an option.
However, The Midnight Club encourages stepping off the battlefield to be an option because
the conventions of horror allow for the exploration of darker narratives that go unsaid. Horror is
gritty and dark and often uncomfortable, but it commonly points out issues in society that are
exactly that. By exploring the unsaid aspects of cancer, the show allows viewers dealing with
illness to make sense of their darker thoughts and feelings that they otherwise would not get to
address.
It makes sense for a horror show to explore dark elements of any aspect of life. In the case of
cancer, people often consider it a metaphorical monster. The Midnight Club turn this metaphor
into something more literal by creating haunting visuals meant to represent cancer and the turmoil
of illness. Not only does cancer feel like a monster to those diagnosed, but the diagnosis also often
makes the patients feel like a killer in the sense that their life feels like a time bomb waiting to
detonate and hurt those around them. This is extremely evident in Kevin’s story and the metaphor
of his cancer making him kill those he loves. Cancer patients dealing with the guilt of hurting those
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around them may resonate with this narrative and feel seen. This is important when we consider
how hard these conversations are to have and how the show allows viewers to make sense of those
feelings to, hopefully, start the dialogue.
Where topics of cancer are often uncomfortable to discuss, resulting in much media
surrounding cancer to be glamorized, The Midnight Club acts as a cultural forum in that it brings
up darker and unspoken elements of the disease without being punished for it. This lack of
punishment is also heavily driven by the conventions of horror, which allow for darker themes and
narratives to be brought to life through scary imagery and storytelling. The show, arguably, opens
a door to a space for discussion by grasping onto something everybody knows, cancer and cancer
narratives, and twisting them into something that is just familiar enough to recognize while
different enough to speak upon the problem at hand. Where there are few other places for
discussion of darker cancer narratives, The Midnight Club opens a door to that allows for the
unspoken to be communicated and better understood.
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5. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
Cancer is uncomfortable. It’s hard to speak about, especially where death and lack of
recovery are involved. These are topics that are hard to cope with and thus, hard to discuss. The
Midnight Club helps bridge the gap between meaning making and communicating experiences by
bringing the unspoken parts of cancer to life on screen. This study helps bring to light the
importance of darker representations of cancer and how the conventions of the horror genre can
help people make meaning of their diagnosis and the situations they are in because of their
diagnosis by allowing for the exploration of themes regarding death and pain and all things scary.
The Midnight Club uses character-driven stories to deal with dark topics surrounding
cancer that often go unrepresented: mortality, fear, guilt, blame, and maintaining control.
Terminally ill cancer patients like Ilonka, Kevin, Anya, and Natsuki are able to make sense of their
stories by fictionalizing their unfathomable reality. Where the truth is hard to speak or make sense
of, conjuring up their feelings and experiences into scary stories allows them to make sense of
what they are going through and express themselves where traditional methods are hard to do so.
Through the narratives shared in a spooky library at midnight, the characters allegorize their own
lives and experiences in ways that make sense not only to themselves, but to those listening to their
stories. Additionally, the show not only addresses the common narratives applied to cancer–
namely, the quest narrative–but challenges them by encouraging characters within the show to step
off of the battlefield and process their feelings in whatever way will help them.
In analyzing the show’s stories through a narrative analysis I was able to find themes of
issues commonly associated with cancer patients but seldom addressed in media such as
discussions of mortality, spirituality, blame, and “stepping off the battlefield.” Where scholarly
literature has argued in favor of adolescents and young adults preferring cynical narratives when
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discussing their diagnosis, popular culture has done little to provide those narratives. The Midnight
Club acts as a unique medium through its conventions of horror to express those cynical stories
that younger patients prefer.
As a viewer, I found myself resonating with the stories being told and the messages they
contained. Themes of mortality and negative feelings were present in a way I had never seen on
screen before surrounding cancer narratives–and something I wished I had during my own
treatment process. Stephen King’s sentiment of horror fueling something people need rings true
for cancer narratives in the ways it allows for the communication regarding notions of struggle
that many patients are often apprehensive to speak on.
Perhaps the most critical limitation to this study is the subjectivity of its contents and the
methods used to analyze the narratives. Narratives are up for interpretation and my understanding
of the stories within The Midnight Club, though guided by previous studies and structures, is
heavily influenced by my own personal experiences as a cancer survivor. Cancer is not a universal
experience and no two people with a cancer diagnosis have the exact same experience. Because of
this, our perceptions and feelings and experiences are unique and subjective to us.
Though my own personal experiences led me to having thoughts and feelings that guided
me in a direction that heavily resonated with the characters of The Midnight Club, it is important
to recognize that this is not something that could be said for everyone that has been diagnosed with
cancer. I often find myself critical of fictional media pertaining to cancer because often, it feels
unrealistic and glamorized. For me, it was unhelpful and harmful to consume media with narratives
of romance and overcoming the bad to become a better person. However, I also know that the same
could be said for people taking in the content of The Midnight Club. Because of this, it is important
to note that a limitation to this study is its generalizability. While I can argue based on my own
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experiences the importance of “proper” cancer narrative representation in media, my narrative
analysis focuses on one show
With its focus being darker and heavily revolving around themes of death, watching the
show may be difficult for people who find themselves in the same situations as the characters on
screen. The heaviness of the content may weigh them down and be harmful to them as they make
sense of their own situation. On the other side of this, though, it’s important to note the implications
that these narratives have in opening doors of dialogue for people that see themselves in these
characters.
Further, I think this study could have greatly benefited from speaking with cancer survivors
and patients that have watched the show. This would not only help with the limitations of
subjectivity by providing more than one perspective on the show, but would also provide the
opportunity to look for themes of the viewers’ takeaways. In doing this, we could see what
resonated most with viewers, or, what wasn’t beneficial to them.
Like The Midnight Club did with its peek into gritty cancer narratives, this analysis can
open doors to a realm of possibilities of research. One possibility being an analysis of Christopher
Pike’s work, including the novel inspiring the by same title, as the stories being told within the
book may differ in message and presentation from the eerie show. Does the literary source have
the same impact? Do the show’s visuals help clarify the stories and make them more relatable?
Are the narratives within the book as dark and gritty as those presented in the show?
In presenting cynical and dark cancer narratives, The Midnight Club acts as a medium to
bridge gaps in communication for patients while allowing them to make sense of their own
positions in their illness. Additionally, the show acts as a cultural forum to discuss and criticize
commonly seen narratives like the quest narratives in a new light to acknowledge there are more
61
feelings and experiences at hand than the stories of hope and positivity that are so often pushed.
The show is able to push the boundaries of what is typically discussed surrounding cancer without
stepping over the lines because of the conventions of horror and the scary stories the genre allows.
When narratives surrounding cancer in media are romanticized or pushing toward
positivity, it’s hard for patients to share their experiences when they’re much darker than what
exists for consumption. Darker representations are significant because they allow for people who
share these thoughts to find stories that resonate with them. It also helps them make sense of
experiences that may otherwise be taboo to speak on. Everybody deserves an outlet and
representation–cancer patients dealing with enough hardship as it is, deserve a way to make sense
of their experiences. So maybe, for some, turning to horror, allows them to make sense of the
horror they’re living in.
The findings of this paper help to open doors in exploring illness narratives in the genre of
horror, especially as a means of coping for cancer patients. Though illness and disease is not
something new to horror, little research has been done to analyze the ways in which the genre
allows for sense-making narratives to come to life in a way that helps viewers dealing with their
own experiences gain a better understanding and cope with their diagnosis. Rather than continue
to push narratives of positivity that may be damaging, this paper encourages research into a realm
of seeking out the darker elements that are often too taboo to discuss and giving them a place where
it is appropriate to express them and opening doors to space, where previously so few existed.
62
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