Talk:The Big Sick

Disease featured in the movie

The disease featured in the movie is Adult-onset Still's disease. (Wiki link) It is a rare disease, affecting less than 1 in 100,000 people.

Goldenmatt13 (talk) 03:50, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

Plot Summary

This film should have a complete plot summary considering it has already hit cinemas. Someone who has seen the film, I asking that you add a full plot summary here in place of this synopsis. If one is nt added soon I will continue to put my tag up there. It gets things done fast as people see it better and realize the necessity for it. TheMovieGuy (talk) 16:02, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

• @TheMovieGuy: We don't discuss how to improve an article on the article itself. We do so here on the talk page. --Hammersoft (talk) 16:27, 7 July 2017 (UTC)
  • @Hammersoft: I've found it more effective then not. It's unconventional yes, but it works because it reaches more people faster. We can discuss that all you like, but I came here to discuss the summary. TheMovieGuy (talk)
    • You can add the template {{More plot}} rather than have out-of-place prose. Erik (talk | contrib) ^{(ping me)} 17:13, 7 July 2017 (UTC)
      • I've done exactly that. --Hammersoft (talk) 17:36, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

Plot

I copy edited the plot summary a while ago to remove unnecessary words and details. This has now been reverted.

Here are some examples of the things we don't need:

• "they assure him that he is no longer needed, but Kumail chooses to stay" - needlessly verbose; replace with "they tell him he is not needed, but Kumail stays"

• "Kumail asks Emily to take him back, but she again says no." -> "she refuses"

• "Emotionally distraught" -> distraught means "emotionally", you can't be distraught in any other way.

• "He does not tell his family about Emily, as they would disapprove and disown him" - if we say they would disown him, we don't need to say they would also disapprove. Disowning is much more serious than disapproval.

• "Terry's story helps Kumail realize that he cares deeply about Emily. " Is there something in the story that indicates this or is this personal interpretation?

• "Although disappointed, she tells Kumail she appreciates everything he did for her" - does she say "I'm disappointed" or is this personal interpretation?

• "During the credits, photos are shown from the actual courtship and wedding of Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, including photos of his family attending the ceremony." This isn't part of the plot; it describes the film's editing. Popcornduff (talk) 03:33, 15 October 2017 (UTC)

I don't object to most of your edits above. Mentioning the photographs in the credits is relevant because they provide closure to a plot point in the film.

My revert was in part beecause of an edit you don't mention above. Kumail's one-man show is relevant to his complicated relationship with Islam; he has no interest in either and is living a very assimilated lifestyle, but still insists on doing a show about Pakistan that is very different from his normal standup routine and which no one likes. Ylee (talk) 07:41, 23 October 2017 (UTC)

My edit didn't remove the mention of Kumail's one-man show. It did remove the line "Kumail has a complicated relationship with his family and native culture", which I think is personal interpretation; we should stick to the facts of what the film shows us. I've expanded the summary to make more mention of his relationship with Islam - does it suffice?

"Mentioning the photographs in the credits is relevant because they provide closure to a plot point in the film." But it's not part of the story. They got married in real life; the plot of the film is not real life. It's an external element. Popcornduff (talk) 10:46, 23 October 2017 (UTC)

The film is a fictionalized depiction of Nanjiani and Gordon's relationship. Details are different but the overall story arc—a very serious health crisis causes the two to become closer while they date—is consistent with real events. Just because a story element is shown during credits does not make it an external element. That the real Emily is shown doesn't make the photos so either, any more than the common filmmaking method of using an actor's real childhood photos in an album or on the wall of a home does. The film intentionally shows photos of the wedding—and, more importantly, Nanjiani's family attending it—to, as I said, tie up the important plot point of his family's estrangement. Ylee (talk) 16:26, 24 October 2017 (UTC)

But as soon as you write "real-life", you're exiting the universe of the story, and its plot. The fact that they're married in real life, and it's based on a true story, is relevant to the article, but not the Plot section. A plot is a series of events in a fictional story (even one loosely based on a true story). Popcornduff (talk) 05:01, 25 October 2017 (UTC)