Brain Injuries: Movie Analysis

In the recent years, concussions have become a common accident related to various types of sports around the globe. A concussion is a traumatic injury of the brain, they can also be as a result of a sudden blow on the body. Such a blow may cause the head to jerk back and forth in a rapid motion. This may cause a bounce or twist within the skull, which may over stretch the brain, cause cell damage and alter chemical functioning within the brain. The occurrence of such changes within the brain leads it to vulnerability to injury and increased sensitivity. Concussions in athletes are a common scenario, and some instances may pass unnoticed making such cases to be very dangerous.

Mike Webster was a center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Webster had many injuries as a result of playing football. He had broken bones, torn tendons, heart malfunctions, and his teeth were falling out. However, his worst one of all was the injury to his head. In 2003, after Webster passed away, Dr. Bennet Omalu did an examination of his brain. In this examination, Dr. Omalu found a chronic disease that he believed to be caused by playing in the NFL (Kirk). As stated in the film by Steve Fainaru, “And that decision would change the NFL, because if Webster’s brain had not been examined, I don’t honestly think that we would be where we are at today” (Kirk). Without this examination the investigation would not have occurred, and therefore, the muckraking would not have occurred.

Contact sports involve touching, hitting, or banging other children, which is often why children get hurt in these sports. Among teens, concussions and death have happened. While these sports increase the strength of teenagers as they partake in a school activity, the risk of injury and death is great. The health benefits of contact sports do not outweigh the risks of playing them.

Based on real live events, the Concussion movie is a perfect drama for sports fans to watch. Will Smith plays the role of Dr. Omalu Bennet (Dr. discoverer) who is a forensic pathologist with a Nigerian decent; he pioneers a challenge against the National Football League (NFL). Dr. Omalu brought to light the brain damage issue that was evident in retired NFL players, an issue he challenges the management to speak the truth on. The initial unfolding of the brain damage issue occurred in September 2002 when he, Dr. Omalu was called upon to conduct an autopsy on Mike Webster’s body. Webster was a football player with Pittsburgh Steelers; he anchored the teams front line and aided them in achieving four robust super bowl wins. Only later did he begin zapping himself and ranting at strangers, a habit that got attached to him after severe health deterioration. It was the peak of such health degeneration that saw his death at age 50 from a heart attack. Webster died without realizing the reason behind his deteroriation.

Concussions are a problem. They are a life changing injury, which have been around for a very long time but not a lot of people take them serious.This happens because we have not known about them for that long and a lot of people have a misconception of what a concussion is. Concussions are a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions (M.C.S). Most of the time it makes the person who got the concussion feel very disoriented and also gives out constant headaches. Concussions are a silent killer because later in life they cause Parkinson’s Disease which is a moving disability, Alzheimer 's which causes memory loss , Dementia which as well causes memory loss, and CTE which is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and this

Traumatic brain injuries sustained in the National Football League has risen steadily since the first game was played. The public, as well as players, have been inadequately informed of the severity of concussions resulting from severe head trauma. Players have been sent back into play with life threatening injuries that may be invisible immediately but detrimental when observed long term. The National Football League has covered the concussion issue due to the lack of publicly the sport receives when role players are out with a concussion or another injury. Concussions and traumatic brain related injuries have become a costly problem in the National Football League (NFL), and most instances are mistreated and covered up.

For years the NFL has claimed that concussions on the field and brain impairment after retirement aren’t related, that a hit on the field didn’t lead to a loss in brain cells. Mike Webster played as a center for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years. Nicknamed “Iron Mike” he pushed the Steelers through three super bowl wins and sits at number 75 on the The Sporting News ' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. With his wife and four kids, Mike retired from football with a full pension and a reputation as one of the greatest football players of all time. From there his retirement took a drastic turn. By his last month on earth Mike was living out of his pick-up truck under an overpass. His friends in football offered to buy him places to stay, but he refused to live anywhere but his small 2 seat truck. His wife had divorced him 4 months previous, and his youngest son, Garrett, had to act as a Father figure for his Dad. Mike, after one of the most incredible careers the game of football had ever seen passed away at the age of

The movie Concussion is a movie about a doctor named Bennet Omalu and his journey to find out why football players are dying so quickly despite their healthy brain. Dr. Bennet Omalu is played by Will Smith and Dr. Julian Bailes is played by Alec Baldwin. Albert Brooks plays the esteemed Dr. Cyril Wecht. This movie is rated Pg-13 because there are no elements in the story that would make it a rated r movie. Concussion is 2 hours and 3 minutes long and is a dramatic biographical sports movie. The movie was a positive experience to watch for the most part because it expanded on such things as how large corporations have immense power over other industries and the government.

At this early time, Pellman stated, “We think issues of knees, of drugs, steroids and drinking are a far greater problem than concussions” (Ezell, 2013). The first real claims that concussions caused brain damage occurred in the late 1990’s when the American Academy of Neurology stated that repeat concussions could lead to brain damage and said that players should be removed from the field of play if signs of a concussion were shown 15 minutes after an injury (Ezell, 2013). Mike Weber, a former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, claimed in 1999 that he had head injuries that were causing him dementia and left him permanently disabled (Ezell, 2013). This started a major controversy. In 2002, Dr. Bennet Omalu examined Weber’s brain after he died, and found the first case of CTE in and NFL player (Ezell, 2013). CTE was also found in 36-year-old Justin Strelczyk after he passed away in a car crash. Dr. Pellman and the MTBI committee created by the NFL responded by stating that brain injuries were uncommon and minor after four years of study (Ezell, 2013). The NFL MTBI committee continued to deny these reports by publishing a paper

Survivors of traumatic brain injuries are lucky. Two examples of traumatic brain injury survivors are Phineas Gage and Tracy Morgan. Both survived their accident, and they both were given a second chance at life. However, their lives were forever changed.

According to National Conference of State Legislation (NCSL), a traumatic brain injury is a disruption of the brain due to a bump, blow, jolt or penetrating head injury. Although most of these injuries occur from car accidents and blunt force trauma to the head, the link between football and traumatic brain injury continues to strengthen. In a recent study, for example, researchers discovered that out of the 111 brains analyzed from deceased NFL players, 110 of them tested positive chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder associated with repeated hits to the head over a period of time.

In a hospital there are hundreds of rooms with hundreds of patients that need something that could mean life or death. For example, 32 of the patients in this hospital, Angel’s Grace Memorial Hospital, desperately need a necessary organ or they will die in the next week. On average 21 patients a day die if they don’t get the organ they need, that means that most or all 32 patients at Angel’s Grace are praying for someone else to die so they can keep their organ and live. However, that is what the human race has come to today. Everyone is so selfish, except me. I have made peace with my fate.

In a case involving a 17-year-old who played football too soon after suffering a concussion and is now confined to a wheelchair. This was so serious because this teen suffered from second impact syndrome. It is often fatal and happens when a second head injury without recovering fully from the first. This boy got his injury when there was a helmet-to-helmet collision during a punt return. He had symptoms right away, but stayed in the game. Four days later he went to a doctor complaining of headaches. They did tests and everything appeared normal. He was told to wait to play until symptoms went away. He did not listen to the advice given. When participating in hitting drills during practice, he collapsed and has a seizure. He was airlifted to a neurosurgical trauma center at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. There was pressure on the skull and presents of brain swelling and a subdural hematoma, this is a collection of blood build up in the brain. He was in the hospital for 98 das, and suffered many other major problems related to his brain injury. He had softening of certain affected areas in the brain, low blood pressure, kidney failure, pneumonia, the dangerous infection sepsis, temporary cardiac arrest and an inability to walk and talk. Years later, he has regained most of his speech but still has some cognitive problems and uses a wheelchair to get

Although it was only about a five minute drive to the vet from my house, it felt like an eternity. The car ride there was silent, even Dallas, which scared me more than if he were crying. At least then, I would know if he was still alive. We came to a stop and we jumped out of the car. Dallas wasn’t breathing, which meant we were running out of time. I was losing my best friend.

Nearly 19 years ago, my Dad suffered a severe heart attack. The family was summoned to the emergency room. There we met with the surgeons, and were informed his condition was grim and he was not likely to survive the night. They advised if he did recover, he was likely to have suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen. After the initial shock, for an unexplained reason, I felt at peace. I prayed to get my Dad back and that he had all of his capacities. I had the feeling the doctors were wrong. He was in a medically induced coma for five days. Every day that passed became increasingly hopeful. Finally, on the fifth day he emerged from his coma. And he was 100% himself. So much so, when he came out of the coma he was yelling that