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An overview of the article "Medical documentary: conjoined twins as amediated spectacle" By Jose Van Djick. published in Media, Culture & Society2002 24: 537
Citation preview
MEDICAL DOCUMENTARY:
CONJOINED TWINS AS A MEDIATED
SPECTACLE
José van Dijck
Media Culture Society
2002
CONJOINED TWINS AS FREAKS
‘The freak is an object of simultaneous horror and
fascination because . . .the freak is an ambiguous
being whose existence imperils categories and
oppositions dominant in social life’ (Grosz, 1996:
56).
Conjoined twins were seen as monsters during the
Middle Ages, but during the 19th century, many
congenital defects were medicalised.
However, this did not free them from popular
entertainment.
CONJOINED TWINS AS FREAKS
Ousted from their families, these individuals had little choice
but to put themselves on display, and be exploited (Thomson,
1996: 2).
Many “Freaks” were, thanks to their contracts, no better than
slaves.
Often, freaks would be imported from Asia or Africa and were
marketed using their exotic otherness, defining physical
abnormality against western normality(Lindfors, 1996; Vaughan,
1996).
THE ORIGINAL SIAMESE TWINS
Chang and Eng Bunker(1811 - 1874) from Thailand (then
known as Siam) were twins joined at the hip.
They travelled with a freak show throughout America and
Europe
It could not be assessed as to whether they shared a liver,
and the twins refused all attempts to separate them
They retired in 1833 and married two sisters, with whom
they had 22 children.
TRANSITION TO MEDICINAL FOCUS
After 1900 the general public began to lose
interest in freak shows
Robert Bogdan (1988)attributed this to an
increasing ‘medicalization’ of society, where freaks
were no longer regarded as monstrosities, but as
disabled people that science could aid.
However, van Djick argues that the freak show did
not disappear, instead the focus shifted to the
surgeon.
USE OF EARLY CINEMA
Early filmmakers often filmed things which already
fascinated audiences, such as freak shows.
It was also experimented with for recording
medical procedures and their results.
Between 1950 and 1970 television became more
dominant than film in this area.
USE OF OPERATION DOCUMENTARIES
Four reasons
To train specialists, especially in terms of rare
operations.
To showcase surgical skill to outsiders
To inform and entertain an audience
And to promote the medical establishment
TODAY
Because of this, the separation of conjoined twins
becomes a mediated event(van Djick, 2002)
It is suggested that an element of the growing
popularity of these programs is the convergence
between medical and media technology.
The camera and monitor are as indispensable to
the surgical team as they are to the film crew.
TODAY
Documentaries no longer aim to educate professionals,
but to inform the public.
Directors and editors focus on extending the narrative
and drama of the event, as well as the human interest
angle.
The interests of the surgeon trying to gather interest in
their work, and the broadcast companies attempts to
reach wide audiences are now the same.
SIAMESE TWINS (1995)
Dao and Duan Headly
The twins surgical separation is a
relatively small part of the program.
Instead the focus is on the
surgeons themselves as heroic
saviours. Phrases such as “this is the point of no return”
highlight the tension Also, lots of focus on the children and their parents
as human beings, their personalities, hopes and fears.
IDEOLOGICAL RELATIONS
The program pits the western ideal of advanced tech
and social justice against the “backwards nature” of the
third world.
Compares the sisters to the original Siamese twins,
Chang and Eng Bunker and presents their lives as a
fulfilment of the American Dream.
Due to advance medicine, conjoined twins are seen as
exotic once again.