The Corner Booth

You may have seen diabetes weaved in to the storyline of a favorite TV show or new movie every so often. The condition is frequently used as a quick punchline or one-liner, or some kind of a foil that trips up the characters. These portrayals matter because movies and media have the power to shape the public's view regarding people with diabetes (PWDs). Movies and media can shape how people react in certain emergencies, kids' experiences at school and adults' experiences in workplaces, and how people make healthcare policy decisions. Popular shows like "The Blacklist," "Law and Order: SVU" and "Person of Interest" have all briefly incorporated insulin pumps and device-hacking into their storylines — but they didn't always handle it well. "Nobody likes seeing any part of diabetes portrayed incorrectly, but certainly, I think it's a lot better in today's media than it was years ago. We've made huge strides and we...

Quick, name the movie... " Drink your juice, Shelby! " and " Don't talk about me like I'm not here! " Those two lines are likely what's burned into the brain of anyone with diabetes who saw... you guessed it! (if you read the post title)... the movie Steel Magnolias . It's the 1989 film in which Julia Roberts plays Shelby, a young woman with type 1 diabetes, who's dealing with family stresses alongside complications in the U.S. South. There's the famous scene in the beauty parlor, where Shelby has a low blood sugar while getting her hair prettied up before her wedding. Beads of sweat appear on her lip and brow, and she's trembling and being held down as she fights off the cup of orange juice that her mom — played by Sally Field — is trying to force down her throat. And then there's everything else that happens in this movie that's influenced a generation of women — and some of us guys — on the topic of diabetes in a not-so-positiv...