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.