Jack Mackee Character Analysis

Jack MacKee, a cardiologist in the movie The Doctor, transforms from a detached, impersonal physician and husband to a kind, sensitive person after becoming a patient himself. Before the change in perception, MacKee focused on only contributing to things that brought himself happiness, sometimes selfishly. He told crude jokes at patients expense and emotionally neglected his family. This behavior changed, however, when he was diagnosed with cancer. It was not an immediate about-face, as Jack at first attempted to get favorable treatment from nurses and doctors by emphatically explaining to them exactly how important he was. After befriending June, a terminal cancer patient, and understanding the frustrations patients have firsthand, he learned to listen kindly.

Jack first exhibits his newfound listening skills when interacting with June, then with his wife and patients. Ultimately, June passes away, leaving Jack to finish the transformation himself. Starting with his personal life, he attempts to rebuild a dynamic with his wife, as well as starting completely new with a son who originally thought of him as an abstract concept, a stranger. While working on his relationship with his family, Jack also treats his patients radically different, seeing them as people rather than their illness.

B. Explain How The Doctor is an example of at least THREE of the following: listening, self-disclosure, listening, identity management, group communication, nonverbal communication, relationship stages, perception. (Please bold the term.)

Jack MacKee’s perception of medicine changed throughout the movie.

In the beginning, Jack showed selective perception by seeing patients as cases, as problems to fix. This is not wholly accurate, however, as the patients were also people with lives outside of their illness. He also showed responding to selected stimuli with his friends and coworkers, as Jack purposely overlooked a fellow doctor’s negligence to a patient’s preexisting condition that impacted the outcome of his treatment. Rather than ignoring this wrong after his cancer diagnosis, Jack righted his stance by testifying against his friend in the ongoing court case off-screen, exemplifying his dramatic change in

perception.

Listening skills were also developed, as Jack formed relationships with his patients instead of simply listening to analyze their illness. Before becoming a patient himself, Jack critically listened to patients to understand their sickness. His uncaring attitude towards a patient with painful side effects showed his inability to sympathize with them, but his diagnosis changed that. Now, Jack listens to form relationships with his patients; he empathizes with them. This change was first seen when a patient hugs Jack after their conversation, then when he shows kindness to a heart transplant candidate and his family. This change also affects his home life, as his marriage improved after he learned to listen.

Group communication also represents Jack’s transformation. Originally telling his group of interns to not become too involved with their patients- to simply “cut straight, care less”- he rebuffs an intern later in the movie for referring to a patient as terminal instead of a person with an actual name. To remedy this, Jack has the interns become patients for a 48-hour period so they can empathize better with their patients.

C. What did you learn about this type of communication?

Perception is an active, personal process. Assessing information from one’s environment is strongly influenced by communication as well as one’s history. No one has a completely accurate perception of reality; an individual’s reality is created through perception.

While all types of listening are important, perhaps most important is relational listening. By building relationships with others, one becomes more satisfied with life. Relational listening also makes one seem like a better person to others as well as to themselves.

It is easy to discount the impact group communication has on a person; instead focusing on a dyad as the utmost important form of communication. Group communication is vital to learning, however, as many need to learn from someone with experience that not many others go through.

D. How can you apply this to everyday life?

Caring for others more than caring for oneself is a skill few people learn early in life. Only through experience can a person learn to put others first. With so much of one’s life satisfaction relying on their interactions with others, caring for others is vital. Instead of having a self-serving bias, selflessness should be more sought-after to better the world. This can only occur by listening intently to what others need and then doing everything necessary to achieve that outcome.