MovieChat Forums > Good Witch (2015) Discussion > why does the doctor have to apologize?

why does the doctor have to apologize?

posted 10 years ago by lakealice
15 replies | jump to latest

I was annoyed that a medical doctor had to apologize for being skeptical of herbal treatments. If it was clear to the viewer that Cassie put incantations or spells or some kind of witchcraft on the herbal concoctions, then it would be believable in the context of the movie that people were being cured by these potions, but they seem to be just plain herbs, and, to a doctor, there is little or no scientific evidence that they work as well as medicines. He was right to be upset if she seemed to be persuading people to avoid medical treatment.
The movie seems to be saying that these herbs work as well as traditional medicine. I, myself, have tried some of them until I found that they really don't work if you're seriously ill. I know there are still always believers--but Cassie is supposed to be magical and that should be the point, not just a statement about the superiority of natural remedies, because that opinion would be on shaky ground.

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[–] jmatrixrenegade 10 years ago

The Dr. ultimately apologies I take it for his tone -- he says in fact that he still thinks he is right about the herbal remedies. Just because Cassie wants something btw doesn't make it right. Catherine Bell even said they want Cassie to be wrong sometimes.

And, for some ailments, her remedies probably would work -- people over-medicate and good living with herbals as a sort of placebo is probably best in some cases. Use of a herbal tea, e.g., could work for stress if in return you also have less caffeine and do other things. And, in a few cases -- such as salves for a burn or something, the herbal remedy would be just as good.

[–] lakealice 10 years ago

Yes, I agree with you about minor ailments, but the movie implies that the whole town comes to her instead of to an md, and some of them must have serious ailments. Is this saying that no one in the town has cancer, MS, or even a broken leg, and that they don't need to be vaccinated, etc.?
My point is that if she were placing magical spells on her remedies, I could believe that they work , in the context of the movie, because she is supposed to be a witch. However, there was no sign of this in the movie--it just implied that the herbs alone cured everything (or kept everyone from getting sick) without the aid of magic, and she sulked and looked hurt when that was questioned by a doctor. She even resisted her father-in-law getting medical help when something obviously was wrong with him, and the doctor eventually figured out the cause-she didn't.
I would have felt it was charming if we could see that she indeed did use magic--isn't that the point of this series--a witch who uses her powers for good? It's not supposed to be an ad for GNC.

[–] jmatrixrenegade 10 years ago

In respect to major ailments, putting aside those things for which a specialist (Jake seems to be a G.P.) would handle, the show probably exaggerated some.

I do think - given your subject line -- it's important that he didn't really apologize for his substantive point. Except to the degree he shouldn't be absolutist about it -- herbal remedies will help in various cases -- he has a point. At times, the charming guy or woman is wrong, though sometimes we aren't supposed to believe it.

The movies were very coy about her powers. The series premiere implies that she and her daughter has some sort of special insight and powers of perception. She doesn't have special powers like the ability to have magic potions. OTOH, in the first movie as an example, she used charms that were furthered by the power of suggestion/confidence. That can be used for things she sells too -- she sells both herbs and charms.

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[–] Polly_Sigh 10 years ago

Good grief people, this is fiction!

I_T_N - Consider the source, before you condemn all drugs using the copious number of LAWYER-SPONSORED ads as legitimate examples of drug failures. Not everything works for everybody. I've had my fair share of "bad drug" incidents, but it wasn't due to the intrinsic nature of the drug, but how MY body reacted to it.

As for Xarelto, (please do check your spelling before pressing "Enter"), I've been on it off and on for about 3 years, (A-Fib) and never had a problem. Believe me, the small amount of risk involved is certainly preferable to twice weekly trips for blood tests if you're taking Coumadin(warfarin).

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[–] Polly_Sigh 10 years ago

"...all prescription drugs are synthesized from herbs..."

Wrong - Only some are. Yes, acetyl salicylic acid comes from willow bark, but I'd much rather take a couple tablets than chew on a tree trunk. It takes a lot of tree bark to get 325 mg. of pain relieving power. Besides, processing allows standardization of the dosage and in the case of aspirin, potentiators like caffeine, can be added to some preparations TO MAKE YHEM WORK BETTER AND FASTER.

That so-called 3000% profit you so decry goes to pay for the ever-larger hoops the drug companies must jump through to bring a drug to market. THANK YOU FDA!

And NO, I don't work for a drug company. I'm just a little old retired housewife. But, I do read, a lot.

FWIW - You might want to dial down the hostility if you want people to listen to you.

[–] GoodyGoodheart 10 years ago

The whole town went to her for some conditions because they was no doctor in town. Then Dr. Rude comes in and expects everyone to come running to him while he puts down the whole small town thing and isn't willing to make an effort to get to know the community - which is actually important in a general medicine practice.

No one said the people with cancer, broken bones, etc. were going to Cassie. Not sure why you made that assumption. They also didn't imply that she used magic. In fact, in the entire series, there is no real evidence of magic, just that she is very insightful.

Herbs can work, despite your insistence that they can't. Lots of modern medicines were derived from herbal remedies that work, like aspirin and certain heart medicines.

She didn't resist her father in law going to the doctor, she was explaining why he didn't want to. She, in fact, helped the doctor figure out a way to get him to go in.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

[–] GoodyGoodheart 10 years ago

He was irrationally closed minded, unwilling to listen to what she had to say. That's one of the big problems with the medical community, they aren't even willing to test herbal remedies. To shoot her down like that was rude and uncalled for.

What she was pointing out was the aspirin, which has been proven useful for a lot of conditions, started as an herbal remedy that big pharma now makes a ton of money from.

It was not at all clear that Cassie did anything of the sort and witchcraft was never part of it. Herbal remedies can often work well. There is scientific evidence for a lot of herbal remedies. It sounds like you are as close minded as the doctor is. And a lot of them work as well and don't have the dangerous side effects. Big pharma does it's best to try to fund the BS campaign because they don't make money off herbs.

For example, I read a study where they tested chamomile tea as a relaxant vs. sedatives prior to people having an angiogram. They found the tea worked as well, without any side effects.

Herbs ARE traditional medicine. If the scientific community ever got its head of out its ass and really tested the stuff, they might be surprised. But a lot of research is funded by the drug companies. So of course, they don't want to show that tea can work as well to relax people as anxiolitics and sedatives. Why? Because they don't make money from them.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

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[–] kurtbrian14 10 years ago

I was annoyed that a medical doctor had to apologize for being skeptical of herbal treatments.

He treated Cassie like a crackpot and was insensitive about subjects he knew nothing about. For that, he had to apologize. But doctors have a right to apply solutions after prognosis, which all of us already are aware of.

[–] Bel_Zedar 9 years ago

Martin Crane explained it best to Frasier.

No matter how right a man is, he is always wrong when his opinion contradicts a woman, no matter what. He had always found it best to apologize to keep life simple and the woman would forgive him. Daphne overheard him and said she didn't care for that remark - so he apologized. She forgave him.

[–] rickathedj 9 years ago

I recently saw it compared to a software licensing agreement. You finally just ignore what is written and click "OK."

The saga of getting my first novel on Kindle
http://ricksmidnightquill.blogspot.com/