Introduction
It is safe to say that The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a documentary drama. It is a story not only about science and or scientific discovery but the hypocrisy and duplicity of the medical business and the difficulties that Black people face in the scientific community. The objective of this work is to identify the similarities and differences between the 2010 book and its 2017 film adaptation.
Similarities
It can be said that there is a conceptual and just similarity between the book and the film based on it. The conceptual similarity is their enlightening and explanatory nature so that readers and viewers can fully understand the unique case of Henrietta Lacks. Just similarity is mentioned both in the book and in the movie about the properties of HeLa cells. According to Skloot (2010), “…headlines once again claimed that scientists had found the fountain of youth” (p. 216). The same categorization applies to the differences between books and films.
Differences
The conceptual difference is the perspective of both works. It is noticeable that Skloot places a lot of emphasis on the scientific aspect, while Wolfe focuses on the emotional atmosphere around Henrietta. Among the small differences, the film skips almost the entire prologue (Wolfe, 2017). Moreover, while the movie mainly focuses on Rebecca and Deborah, Henrietta’s daughter, the book pays great attention to other people involved, such as George Gey and Leigh Van Valen.
Conclusion
This work describes the similarities and differences between Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and its 2017 film adaptation by George C. Wolfe. It was found that there are conceptual, or major, and just similarities. The author also identified conceptual and just, or put differently, minor differences. For example, both works are enlightening, but the book is informative, while the movie is sentimental.
References
Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown.
Wolfe, G. C. (2017). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks [Film]. Your Face Goes Here Entertainment.