Dermatology In The Movie Theatre (For Professionals)

Dermatology In The Movie Theatre (For Professionals)

Movies and the Skin

• Albinism (pale skin and light eyes is often viewed as a sign of Evil)

1. Da Vinci Code (2006): Silas is an albino (and has scarring and automutilation)
2. Foul Play (1978): Whitey Jackson (William Frankfather) is an albino
3. Horror of Dracula (1958): pale skin only
4. Matrix Reloaded (2003): the agents hunting Mr Anderson (Keanu Reeves)

• Signs of skin aging (elevated moles, wrinkles): often viewed as a sign of Evil

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938): The witch
2. The Witches (1990): Angelina Huston as a witch

• Scars: often viewed as a sign of Evil

1. Austin Powers (1997) (Dr Evil): scar on the right cheek, but also alopecia
2. Frankenstein (1931)
3. Lion King (1994): The Lion named scar has a scar on left eye and is the uncle of Simba who killed his father
4. Platoon (1986): Sergeant Barnes is the evil military and is scarred on the face. Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe) is doesn’t have scars  and is the kind military man.
5. True Grit (2010): Josh Brolin has a gunpowder scar on left cheek

• Tattoos when widespread are also viewed as a sign of Evil

1. Cape Fear (1991): Robert de Niro carries multiple tattoos

Actors and skin diseases

• Acne Rosacea

1. Cameron Diaz

• Acne Scarring

1. Brad Pitt
2. Edward James Olmos
3. Elizabeth Hurley
4. Mike Myers
5. Nicolas Cage

• Adult Acne Vulgaris

1. Leonardo Di Caprio
2. Megan Fox
3. Will Smith

• Melanocytic nevus: commonly named beauty spots they are so when flat-pigmented around areas such as mouth and eyes which are increases in size in youth. They are inattractive when they become elevated and loose their color

1. Cindy Crawford: Above left mouth commissure
2. Christian Bale: medial aspect of right eye
3. Jean Harlow: Below the left mouth commissure. Gwen Stefani also did it when playing that character.
4. Marilyn Monroe: Left nasogenial fold
5. Sarah Jessica Parker: right side of the chin (had it removed when became elevated and skin colored)

• Pale skin back in the trend (not a sign of Evil)

1. Drew Barrymore
2. Nicole Kidman
3. Twilight: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

• Photoaging

1. Brigitte Bardot
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Robert Redford

• Port Wine Stain

1. Mikhail Gorbachev: Port Wine stain on scalp
2. Tina Turner: PWS on right arm (interpretated as a sign of abuse)

• Other

1. George Walker Bush: signs of 5-fluorouracil treatment (actinic keratosis ?)
2. Richard Gere: Lesion similar to Becker’s nevus on left scapula
3. Ronald Reagan: signs of BCC + excision on tip of nose
4. Mark Wahlberg (Fighter, 2010): accessory nipple under left nipple
5. Mr T: CTCL (T cell lymphoma, Mycosis Fungoides)
6. WC Fields: Rhinophyma

Accessory Nipple

Meanings of Skin diseases in movies for the dermatologist

• Black Swan (2010): Natalie portmann has neurotic excoriations because of her stress as a dancer
• Philadelphia (1993): Tom Hanks loses his job because of visible Kaposi’s Sarcoma
• The Motorcycle Diaries (2004): Che Guevara reaches out and shakes hands with leprosy patients in a leprosy mission.

Contributors:

Dr Christophe HSU – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland

Reese V. Dermatology and Cinema. 69th Annual Meeting of the AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) – New Orleans, Louisiana, Unites States of America (USA)