CANCER DEATH MATCH (with Holestar)
WIN THE BATTLE. DESTROY THE ENEMY. FIGHT LIKE HELL.
CANCER DEATH MATCH is a war of epic proportions waged by cancer patients and former servicepeople/ex-military. The real enemy in our sights: the ridiculous usage of war imagery used to discuss illness and disease. Come to CANCER DEATH MATCH and shout your loudest YOU CAN BEAT IT, your most gruesome battle language, and demonstrate your aggressive positivity at our players, and then go home, and try to never again use this disastrous language. Beyond belittling the real violence and trauma caused by armed conflict, war metaphors and body-as-battleground language blends victim-blaming with often-unrealistic expectations and lazy empathy, and are scientifically proven to be unhelpful and distressing to people with cancer.
Illustration by Jason Elvis Barker. Created for Forest Fringe at Latitude Festival.
CANCER DEATH MATCH was a video game competition fought between a team of cancer patients and a team of army veterans. The event was hosted by Holestar and Brian Lobel.