I. Virtual Flexibility

II. In class text excerpt

Flexible Bodies
Emily Martin (1994)

“The contrast between a rigid structure, its parts held in place in an inflexible way, and a loose structure, its parts able to move and change flexibly, is often taken to go along with a contrast between hostility and combativeness, on the one hand, and harmony and peace, on the other” (p. 147)

III. Outside Example

Sony Commercial “HDNA”


IV. Analysis

-Introduction-

In our last class session of Anthropology: Comparative Systems of Healing at the University of Washington we had just finished discussing our final reading assignment, Part 4 of Emily Martin’s Flexible Bodies and Professor Ta suggested that for our final project session we might consider how notions of flexibility are represented in our surrounding environments, whether work or other external contexts.

Martin gives many examples including her main topic immunology, but also how flexibility notions are then reiterated in language used in computer software, economics, new age philosophy, mass audience, government organizations, psychology and feminism. I have been particular fascinated with how “mass audience” or media circumvents, replicates, advertises and reconstructs ideologies surrounding our bodies and healing practices. This is especially noteworthy in the United States, where media seems to be at the forefront of all layers of society, whether using the Internet for research, relying on television for news reports, or the many variations of media tools for communication purposes. With this in mind, over the weekend I watched commercials closely. One that was repeated on several channels is Sony’s advertisement for new “High Definition” screens. Utilizing another media source, YouTube, I was able to find this advertisement as included in the link above. This particular commercial become a stepping-stone in how I will relate media technology to Martin’s examination of flexibility in relation to the bodily functions of the immune system. The next step I took was in how video game media not only advances flexible technology interfaces, but also replicates immune system language within the character components of the game.

-Machines-

In my chosen excerpt from Flexible Bodies, in which Martin states “The contrast between a rigid structure, its parts held in place in an inflexible way, and a loose structure, its parts able to move and change flexibly, is often taken to go along with a contrast between hostility and combativeness, on the one hand, and harmony and peace, on the other” (p. 147). The Sony advertisement is a direct reflection of this, in which the machine moves and flexes into a new formation by adapting to the function of the venus fly trap (in focus in the first frame), in which an external part of the machine is swallowed and recreated into something new. Of course this is just an appealing metaphor used in order to carry across a message to the viewer that Sony technology is innovative in an organic, flexible way. The narrator in the commercial states “born out of Sony HD technology” and “high definition, its in our DNA” (Sony’s current slogan). Here the verbal cue along with the message is appealing in that the machine is likened to being natural, or in other words in harmony. I find this interesting, where society at one point seemed apprehensive to machines taking over, not only in people loosing jobs as they are outsourced to machinery and computers, but also an imaginative fear of the machine becoming rational and strategic. In contrast, in the 21st century advertising machines are likened to living beings in order to sell adaptability and flexibility.

It appears that notions of flexibility coincide with the notion of the immunity as a complex system. Martin suggests: “[I]n complex systems, slight differences in initial conditions can have magnified effects, and such systems contain randomness and disorder within order. Because of this, they carry the ready responsibility of catastrophic collapse. What order there is, is local, transient, emergent, like ‘a whirlpool appearing in the flow of a river, retaining its shape only for a relatively brief period and only at the expense of incessant metabolism and constant renewal of content’ ” (Martin, p. 130).

No longer was the immune system conceptualized as a simple fighting machine nor a mechanical body, instead the immune system response was much more complex, one where the body’s livelihood is in constant flux. I denote a switch here, where the immune system during the 1940’s-1950’s was likened to mechanical abilities or factory analogies, and now as can be seen in the Sony commercial among many other technology companies, the machines take on human qualities within a construct of a complex system.

-Gaming-

After finding the above referenced Sony commercial, I started to think of other technological examples where flexibility notions are communicated. While I am not a big video game person myself, my partner and friends will spend many a weekend “plugged” into fantasy games. David Mathers (2006) suggests, “As humans think, we depend on innumerable external systems and on diverse social and technological networks. Intelligence involves rich interfaces between humans and their environment via cognitive technologies” (p. 237). This is within his introduction to his article Extended Memory: Early Calculating Engines and Historical Computer Simulations, in which he compares early technology that moves from accuracy to more modern technology that advances flexibility in specific video games. Whereas, in the past technological advances might have been more for the purpose of accuracy and productivity, today with the addition of the entertainment value in technology, flexibility becomes a key factor in engagement. Mathers states “Computer simulations, as interfaces of mind and machine, reflect the two properties under discussion—accuracy and flexibility. In some contexts […] the accuracy of data can and will be eclipsed by its adaptation to a fantasy environment” (p. 241). For example, programmers of video games are forever seeking to create the ultimate game, in which randomness becomes the ideal possibility for entertainment.

One particular game that I will focus on is Final Fantasy XII, a role playing game in which there are multiple outcomes to a "mission" depending on what choices a player makes for their character(s). I have included an image below of a still frame view of the game in action:

Image Link

Utilizing my partners knowledge of this game along with the instruction book, I can explain some of the functions shown above. What most intrigues me is how with the object of fighting enemies there are certain parts of the screen called "stats" that relate directly to defense and resistance. In this particular frame, the top red line titled "BOSS" signifies the enemy's life: the bar will flux according to how much life they have. The bottom of the screen signifies the three characters powers, with "action" showing what type of "attack" will be used and the numbers in blue (in the middle) signifying how much "hit points" or life vitality a character has left. "MP" stands for "mist points" or spell casting abilities which would be used in defense and also for healing. Within the manual for Final Fantasy XII there is a description for "vitality"--"Determines the character's resistance to various status ailments as well as the time required for recovery." In addition there is a whole page devoted to "status" or life, in which there is listing of "ailments" and possible "treatments." "Disease" is a possible ailment of a character in which the treatment is to find a "vaccine."

The character lives within a complex system of game infrastructure, where flexibility on the gamers part becomes key. At the same time, the flexibility of the game itself describes an exemplary game. As Martin suggests “The intense desirability- even the seductiveness- of the ability to be flexible and adaptive while in constant change is registered by the simultaneous appearance of this cluster of attributes in an exceedingly wide variety of domains” (p. 150). In addition, the language used within the game replicates ideas of the immune system in which ailments have treatments.

Another example I want to give is where imagery from games become a tool for understanding bodily functions. Just as Martin examines how the body as a system is embedded within wider systems, I found that external systems become embedded within understandings of the body. I came across a YouTube video created by a user for a science project. They basically took clips from video games in order to explain how the immune system works. See video below:



This video included clips from Final Fantasy among many other popular games. I am not sure the age of this student and whether this video was created for a middle school, high school or college class. Regardless of this lacking information the student clearly uses external fantasy imagery in order to process the understanding of the immune system. As most video games are typically about fighting enemies to win, the already instilled war language fits readily with these images. So not only does the game itself use immunity language, the game is then used as a visual way to explain the human immune system.

-Conclusion-

Martin suggests "in the late twentieth century, complex systems models provide a pervasive way of thinking about the world, about our bodies, about our societies, and to think in these terms may have certain significant consequence” (p. 126). These particular consequences include, empowered powerlessness, a sense of inexorability, and conflict seems unthinkable. Interestingly, when technology takes on these qualities of not only immunity language, but the ideal of flexibility it seems to be in a direct response to what people are seeking in a machine or a game. It would be interesting to hear Martin's perspective on the 21st century being that she wrote Flexible Bodies in 1994 before advances in gaming, computer and Internet technology. Such technology has opened up whole expanses of communication and entertainment values. Through this technology people seem to function in more and more in abstract ways. When Martin was relating people's view of AIDS versus the actual experience of having AIDS she states "we, unlike those who are infected, can watch safely from the outside, even as we may grieve for those who are 'dying from within'"(p. 141). I see the person conceptualizing the immune system and disease without having direct experience, is seeing something abstract and intangible. So when technology broadens the horizons of virtual experience, where one can imagine what an experience might be like through visual simulation (or even fantasy landscapes of the game world) ideals of flexibility might create consequences of isolation and further entrap immune system language into divisions.

V. Outside Sources (in order of appearance)

1. Sony Commercial “HDNA”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGnFn4ybzjE&feature=related
2. Mather, D. (2006, June). Extended Memory: Early Calculating Engines and Historical Computer Simulations. Leonardo, 39(3), 237-243. Retrieved August 24, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Link to UW
3. Immune System video by user Garnetvengence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kskFjm1pKEs
4. Final Fantasy XII image: http://www.the-nextlevel.com/reviews/ps2/final-fantasy-xii/final-fantasy-xii-a.jpg

I. Language Innovation

II. Outside Example(s)


Photo by Crystal (Oregon Country Fair July 2008)


Human Tree by Micose

As quoted in Graham Parkes' Composing the Soul, 1996

Google Books Link

III. In Class Excerpt

Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death
Margaret Lock (2002)

“Shokubutsu ningen (a plant person), a translation of persistent vegetative state. The text says, ‘She is living…even though she no longer has any thought, sight, hearing, nor the ability to work. So, it’s like being a plant; even though plants are living, I don’t suppose they can reason’”

(p. 282).

IV. Analysis

Introduction

For this particular analysis I would like to focus on how words are transcribed into analogies of understanding, especially when dealing with concepts of the human body. With this focus, I am also interested in how language used to describe health are then inscribed on other non-human life forms, in particular plants. The outside examples and in class excerpt above are included more as an introduction into this topic, whereas below I will include other outside findings as well as pulling from not only Margaret Lock’s Twice Dead but also Emily Martin’s Flexible Bodies.

Discussion

As a child entering first grade, I remember this poem and movement exercise my teacher had the class participate in. As we stretched our hands upwards we chanted that we were trees reaching for the sun and when touching our toes we were roots reaching into the ground. While the use of poems during class activities might have been for the sole purpose of memorization and movement for formalization techniques, this analogy of the human body as a tree infiltrated my young mind. Also there was a level mimicking, in which other life forms or even inanimate objects are easily humanized by children. The photo and art piece I chose to include above are for the visual appeal: the form of a tree also takes on the form of human life. This fits nicely with Nietzsche’s analogy of being human (both body and soul) as to that of being a plant, with branches and roots. His analogy of course was nothing new, as the tree throughout ancient cultures signified life (i.e. Celtic Tree of Life). Nietzsche perhaps took it a step further in rendering individual spiritual experiences to that of the experience of a plant growing.

This comparison between humans and plants is prevalent in layman medical dialogue we take for granted like “persistent vegetative state.” Where the human who has lost particular brain function to be likened to a vegetable, which is both alive and dead by being no longer a part of the plant life cycle, but still not considered fully dead until rotten. The text included above is the English translation of the text next to a drawing Lock included from Tokyo, in which a woman is attached to a ventilator and feeding tube with a tree looming behind her. The woman is a shokubutsu ningen, or plant person, because even though she is alive, she has lost the brain function to reason. Thus she is explained as being closer to plant life than to human life. While, Nietzsche’s analogies were more ethereal, the plant language used in medical commentary is much more foreboding. Instead of the plant being humanized, the human is “planticized.”

I admit my above word creation is rather obtuse and luckily this is not the direction I am going with this analysis. Before I get further into the humanizing aspect, it is important to look at how the human body is transcribed into many innovative analogies. Martin’s discussion of language used in pre immunology and post immunology conceptions uncovers this discourse. In regards to the body compared to a machine or castle, Martin states “The cells of the body are ‘disciplines,’ ‘like the City during working hours’; the organs and limbs of the body are nourished by the body’s blood just as the workers in a busy factory depend on the surrounding community for their nourishment” (p. 29). Two images that I found that visually replicate Martin's discussion are below:

1. Ma'a'seh Toviya (1701)

2. Mechanical Anatomy

The first image is by Toviyah Kats, a physician during the 1700's of the Ottoman court. According to the National Library of Medicine website where I found the image "the interior of a human interior with the interior of a house, a visual metaphor: the organs, like rooms in a house, have different functions." Here a direct comparison is drawn from the human body functions to that of the functions of a house. In contrast the second image instead of being a comparison, is like the human tree mimicking, body and factory are conjoined into one perspective (this image was actually from a website called Ancient Root Acupuncture with no citation indicating the original artist, region or date). In both images strong symbolic meaning can then be attached into words that creates an analogy of the human body as a "thing" like a "machine" rather than substantial. On the other hand, the Japanese attitude according to Lock is that "the machine is understood not as an instrument of alienation but on the contrary as an integral part of the human worker" (p. 370). Furthermore "Spirits reside not only in nature but also in tools and other inanimate objects" (p. 370). This is direct contrast to her discussion of North Americans. I would suggest that this hints that even when similar analogies are used globally, the understanding of what that entails can vary significantly depending on context.

Martin examines closely "changing sensibilities about the body" and the transition from passive bodies to active bodies. In particular she looks out how the active body perception resound with ideas "that the various parts of the immune response form a single, interconnected system" (p. 37). If the body is a system, then using words like "trained," "mobilized" and "resist" make sense. However, at the end of Part 2, Martin also starts to examine how such a shift in perceptions might also be "in connection with some major shift in the social order" (p. 40). I will not make any argument either way on this latter suggestion by Martin, instead I would like to preview medical language that is transcribed onto plants. Interestingly, the concepts I am speaking of are particular words that Martin examines like "immune system" and "resistance" in conjuncture with "disease" and "death."

First I will began with the a plant life-cycle chart:

This particular chart is taken from the Botanic Garden Trust website in explanation of the life cycle of woodland plants. Notice how words like juvenile, adult and death are all included in the life cycle of a plant. Of course I don't mean to argue against the use of these words, but ponder on how such words translate into the reality of a plant versus a human. How does a plant die? Or a better question, how can a loaded word like death be used to describe a life form that holds no equivalent to animal consciousness (some might disagree)? In looking back at the chosen excerpt from Lock, where the woman in the "vegetative" state or "brain-dead" state is likened to a plant: does this mean that a plant can be considered in an ever "brain-dead" state? Perhaps I am being nit picky here, but I find it fascinating how analogies are thrown out half hazard when words being used are in themselves argued over by public, scholar and medical personnel alike.

There are several articles that have titles linking plants to concepts of immunity. For example in the journal Nature, an article titled The Plant Immune System (2006) examines how a plant uses its immune system to fight off infection. While the title is quite simple, the article itself is fully of meaty scientific language that I cannot translate. However, I found it interesting that the terms I did understand were essentially terms that are used to discuss how humans "fight" disease. Another article from Cornell News titled Plant Defense Gene Identified (2003) states in regards to one Dr. Kessog "He adds that an attack by a plant pathogen "marks the start of a war. If the plant can recognize the pathogen and activate its defense arsenal in time, the plant usually wins. But if the pathogen circumvents detection or the defenses themselves, the plant is in trouble. The more we learn about plant immune systems, the better are the chances we can help important crop plants win their war -- without the collateral damage from chemical pesticides."

This statement is a perfect example of language used for human immunity response being transcribed onto plants. I suggest that this is problematic in two ways. First, in that the humanizing of plants in this way puts limitations on enhancing perspectives of uniqueness between life forms. Secondly, as Martin begins to discuss, the very language used to describe the immune system, as in war analogies, is problematic in itself.

Conclusion

In looking back at ancient concepts of the Tree of Life or even Nietzsche's analogies of the soul to the growth of plants, these seem natural human techniques of mimicking and the ever search for connection. It also makes sense that as society changes, conceptualizations of how the body functions might reflect those changes. Like, industry in the factory to that of vital organ communications. In this analysis I have not tried to answer why analogies of human immunology are transcribed onto plants. Instead, I have been simply providing examples in curiosity of how this might affect changing perceptions of not only the human body, but also to that of plants. On a closing thought, I might deviate to Mauss and his discussion of magical performances or rites.

He states:

"The collecting together of this kind of committed group provides a mental atmosphere were erroneous perceptions may flourish and illusions spread like wildfire; miracles occur in this milieu as a matter of course. The member of such communities are experimenters, who have accumulated a myriad opportunities for error. They are in a state of perpetual aberration, where at any moment a chance even will be proclaimed law, a coincidence a rule" (Practical Magic p. 163).

Has innovative language used to describe functions of life forms created restrictions rather than broadening understanding? In other words, does language create an illusion of knowledge, when really the translation does not hold?

V. Citations

All virtual citations and images are hyperlinked in body of text.

Clinic Visit Reflection

I was looking forward to the visit to Vitale Medical Oasis, but with the mentality that the tour and information would be old news. I have spent most of my childhood herded from many "holistic" practitioners, including a variety of Naturopaths. So by old news, I mean that I assumed I would not learn anything new. However, after Naturopathic Doctor (ND) Teresa Evans began her introductions, I realized quickly that there was much to be learned. It is a very different experience going as a child with an illness to be healed, versus going as a student to learn and question.

I now admit that previosly I had not understood fully the term Naturopathic and what training is involved. Teresa Evans stressed that in Washington, along with 16 other states, NDs are recognized just as MDs are as primary care physicians. Also, the training and education of an MD student versus an ND is more similar than I had thought: ND students take primarily the same courses as MD students, except they also include alternative training (herbal medicine, homeopathy, etc). Also, NDs can prescribe regular pharmaceuticals if need be.

Why was I not aware of these factors if I had been going to Naturopathic Doctors for most of my youth in Florida (spent most of my childhood there)? Teresa Evans illuminated this for me by explaining that Florida was one of the states where Naturopathic practitioners are not recognized by the state government. She also stressed that a state like Florida comes down hard on Naturopathic practitioners, even taking legal action. After the visit, I decided to follow up on this information with my mom. She seemed unaware of Florida not recognizing Naturopathic medicine. However, she also commented that our Naturopathic doctors tended to be MDs who used "alternative" ways of healing within their practice. On a side note, my mom mentioned that one of our licensed dentists in Florida who used homeopathy in his practice, eventually got in trouble with the law over this homeopathy addition to dentistry.

Other than the training and legal issues, another aspect to Naturopathy that was totally new to me was intravenous therapies. ND Teresa Evans mentioned this foremost, and than ND Margie Ikeda went into greater detail. Basically a mineral and vitamin solution is entered intravenously to heal the body from the inside out. Margie Ikeda indicated this procedure is used for something as minor as the common cold to something more serious like aiding the immune system before and after radiation (chemotherapy). In addition, a calcium mixture is used in case of toxic poisoning. Margie Ikeda compared how the AMA does not recognize as many toxicities by not linking internal and external reactions. She also said that people who see an MD with concerns about being poisoned from environmental hazards might end up seeing a psychologist instead! Whereas a Naturopathic doctor instead of treating symptoms, would treat the toxicity itself (at Vitale Medical Oasis it would be intravenously).

So I came away learning a lot more than I initially expected. I found it interesting how both Margie Ikeda and Teresa Evans reiterated the differences between Naturopathic medicine to that of Allopathic (even though they did not use this term). I understand how this would be necessary in order to contrast the different approach to healing and also present that perhaps their clinic and other Naturopathic clinics offer something more cohesive. In addition I felt that they had to stress the differences in order to indicate that Naturopathy is not "quackery." Growing up, I can remember my mom in many heated debates regarding the validity of alternative methods of healing. Her father, my grandpa is a MD and my dad was a Nurse Practitioner (my parents have their own debate regarding organ donation). In a way there is definitely a defense mechanism that has to be used when discussing a minority medical approach in the United States.

I. Harvesting Allegations

II. Outside Example


Original Image Link

III. Outside Findings

In doing some preliminary online image searches on “organ transplants” I came across the above “cartoon.” At first I did not “get it”- How would Falun Gong kidneys “fetch a pretty penny”? I decided to further my understanding and see if this particular cartoon held any relevance or was just some random blogger’s inside joke. In order to not be further confused by Google’s riffraff of information, I decided to be resourceful and use the University of Washington’s access global search engines.

In Chinoscope’s March 2007 publication, an article titled ‘China’s Organ Trade: Crime Under the Surgical Light’, Gu and Lee state:

This was just one of the multitude of articles that came back. Out of curiosity and learning from Lock in Twice Dead how there has been great debate in Japan surrounding organ transplants, I limited my search of the Falun Gong dilemma to only Japanese news articles. The first article from Kyodo New International published July 7, 2006 makes the following statements:

• "China has been harvesting and selling vital organs of executed practitioners of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, according to an investigative report compiled by a Canadian lawyer and a former senior Canadian Foreign Ministry official."
• "The 46-page report, based mainly on testimony provided by Falun Gong practitioners in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia, concludes that the Chinese government and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, including hospitals, detention centers and courts, have since 1999 put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong practitioners."

Next, I decided to specifically search Chinese news sources, however nothing returned until I eliminated “Falun Gong” in the search criteria. The two articles that came back were from a Chinese new source, Beijing Zhonggua Xinwen She. One from April 25, 2006 titled 'Chinese expert says concentration camp, organ harvesting “simply impossible' and contests the allegations using quotes from Yang Tao, a professor at China Criminal Police Academy. While no mention of the “Falun Gong” are cited in this article, the topic is specifically in response to these accusations of “organ harvesting” and “a secret concentration camp” in relation to Falun Gong convicts.

Obviously, I concluded that I had hit upon a sensitive topic. Now, I was ready for that all foretelling “Google search.” The first link that came up was the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group website with an article titled 'UN Reports the Chilling Facts on Organ Harvesting from Live Falun Gong Practitioners.' If it was not for the mention of the United Nations and my earlier findings that this was a hot topic in media sources during 2006-2007, I might have discarded this website as possible propaganda because of the format and bombardment of imagery: clearly there was a message to be delivered. I did a separate search on the UN Report A/HRC/4/33/Add.1 mentioned in the Falun Gong Human Rights article. Below is a snippet from page 60 of the UN report:

Click Here to link to the original report

IV. In Class Text Excerpts

Breathing Spaces: Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China

Nancy Chen (2003)

“[T]he political cartoons intended to satirize how the sate dealt with qigong healing. Many of the subjects that the cartoons ridicule- doctors, bureaucrats, and qigong masters were sincere in their efforts to ally the suffering of patients and family members. The polemical nature of the cartoons stirred deep passions on both sides. Their content as well as the context of their reception ensured that a period of reckoning would follow” (p. 152).

Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death
Margaret Lock (2002)

“With increasing globalization, the circulation of commodities, including human labor, cadavers, and body parts transcends local meanings and regulations. Production and consumption often occur at a great remove; they are linked by a string of intermediaries, each with their own interests, leaving the original providers of goods and services subject to exploitation” (p. 46)

V. Analysis

For this analysis of Twice Dead, I had no original intention of tying in Breathing Spaces because qigong and the maintenance and expansion of qi (or life energy force) seemed so remote from Margaret Lock’s examination into Japanese and North American perceptions of death in conjuncture with organ transplants. However, as can be seen from my findings the discussion of organ transplants intertwines closely with that of gigong in reference to Falun Gong. I should note that I am making no suggestions of the “truth” to these allegations. I found much of the information discombobulated on both sides. Non-Chinese organizations and media allegations reflected already biased opinions towards the Chinese government. Likewise, Chinese media and government response reiterated the perception of Falun Gong as invalid. In other words, in presenting my findings, my intention is to examine how media becomes a tool and a weapon. I also intend to provide an insight into how the terminology "organ donation" or "organ transplant" becomes "organ harvesting" when the organ contributor is presumed to be forced or previously unaware.

In the first excerpt chosen from Breathing Spaces, Chen was previously discussing resistance through satirical cartoons that took place when the state and science began to regulate qigong. In the case of the allegations of using convicted Falun Gong members for organ harvesting, the message was spread through mass media appeal, whether cartoon, imagery or literature. Beginning with Falun Gong websites and narratives outside China. When referring to the Falun Gong, Chen suggests "Using foreign press coverage as an intervention in the Chinese mainland has meant that the state also needed to respond at a broader and more unified level at home and abroad as well" (p. 182). The content of media regarding organ harvesting in China created a response on all sides: First, Western media took it up as a personal crusade, followed by NGO's (like Chinascope) and global agencies (like the UN) investigating the allegations. Second, China responded with contrary evidence and expert opinions defeating the allegations. The particular cartoon I show is polemic in that the Falun Gong are portrayed as lifeless portals, while the doctors contradict each other in their statements: One stating the "nightmare" of the situation, the other stating the financial gain and essentially the Falun Gong as a commodity because of their organs.

In mentioning commodity, I will move along to the second excerpt from Twice Dead. Lock continues after this text in a lengthy discussion of historical changing dynamic of the human body as a "commercial value." It is interesting how she talks about production and consumption as being ultimately removed from the original "provider." Later she states “Because the focus in most of Europe and North America has been almost exclusively on the heroics of organ transplants and the “gift of life,” little public reflection has taken place about the accompanying new death or on the ambivalence about donation is often manifested by relatives of brain-dead patients. These munificent citizen are rendered invisible. In Japan, by contrast, it is the suffering of people who wait for organ transplants, most of them in vain, that is often overlooked” (p. 51) Her comparison and question surrounding how one culture (North Americans) accepts organ donations from "brain dead" bodies in comparison to another culture's (Japanese) apprehension becomes especially interesting in the dialogue that happened after allegations are made on a third culture (China) in regards to ethics of organ "harvesting." I would argue that in this instance, Japanese and North Americans a like were in agreement that if such allegations were true, then an inhuman act was taking place. In the case of the victim being Falun Gong, it became even more unethical because of what seemed (and still seems) to be a global understanding of the Falun Gong not as criminals, but as heroic. However, they are not heroic in the presumed organ harvesting, instead in their resistance. There is an irony here, especially in the Western response and stance regarding allegations of China's use of convicts as donors. However, I wonder if the convicts would have been murderers or child rapists, if the same global response would have ensued?

VI. Sources/Links

1. Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group: http://www.falunhr.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1644&Itemid=
2. Gu, V., & Lee, A. (2006, March). China's Organ Trade: Crime Under the Surgical Light. Chinascope, Retrieved August 2, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. LINK
3. United Nations General Assembly (2007, March): http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G07/120/41/PDF/G0712041.pdf?OpenElement
4. (April 25, 2006). Chinese expert says concentration camp, organ harvesting "simply impossible". Beijing Zhongguo Xinwen She (China) Retrieved August 3, 2008 from NewsBank on-line database (Access World News) on the World Wide Web: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/.
5. (July 7, 2006). Report says China harvesting organs from executed Falun Gong members. Kyodo News International, Inc. Retrieved August 3, 2008 from NewsBank on-line database (Access World News) on the World Wide Web: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/.
6. image: http://www.asianresearch.org/news_images/2006-4-10-2006-4-10-organ_harvest_cartoon-eng.gif

I. Breathing Spaces (chapters 1-3)

II. Excerpt(s)
Nancy N. Chen (2003)

“Masters were believed to be able to immerse themselves in chaos and emerge with true power in health and wealth. By being in control of both material wealth and symbolic capital, they were capable of upstaging state leaders. Not only could they harness tremendous powers and thus garner thousands of followers, even numbering state officials among them, they were widely viewed as having the ultimate powers that qi energy could bring: longevity, prosperity, and superhuman abilities. In sum, these people accumulated power in a period when capital, both material and symbolic, became increasingly more crucial to one’s status and the social economy. During public performance, masters were the center of attention, whether they lectured on the healing powers of qi or energetically demonstrated such abilities. In parks masters were equally charismatic as they healed patients surrounded by intimate groups of supplicants” (p. 61).

III. Outside Example(s)

IV. Analysis

Introduction

The particular excerpt I chose from Breathing Spaces is from Chapter 3: “Riding the Tiger.” While in the previous two chapters Chen does make reference to the qigong masters, it is within this chapter that she truly dives into “how they became established authorities” (p. 61). It is this framework of “masters” that I find intriguing, especially within the construct of the charismatic leader. For my outside examples I have chosen several images to convey where I will direct my analysis. First is an image of game pieces forming an analogy of the leader versus the group (followers). Next I have included images of two people who have what could be termed a mass following: Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. Their names are also dropped in discussions of charismatic leadership. For the purpose of my analysis, I observe qigong masters, Chopra and Oprah all as holding the title of charismatic leaders.

Chopra Comparison (Dr. Mistry excursion)

Earlier in her text, Chen mentions Deepak Chopra as a modern example of a “guru of the new age movement” (p. 29) in the realm of healing techniques as a commodity. She suggests “Popular healing in such instances exists not simply because of the vast networks generated by such charismatic healers but also because of the commodification of healing knowledge that speaks to ordinary desires to achieve order and balance in complex times” (p. 30). The “vast networks” Chen is referring to is Chopra’s use of the Internet to reach new demographics. However, it is not the tactics alone of such masters, gurus, or leaders that seduce a following. Instead, I would argue (as I also inferred from Chen) that societal fluxes, such as political, economic, and cultural variables, all contribute to the popularity and spread of a healing system. In the context of qigong masters Chen states, “There are no standard bases to evaluate the qualifications of these healers beyond the networks of belief that led to their rapid rise” (p. 30). While the master might have used China’s changing economy to their advantage (arguably if they did so knowingly or not), the followers that they attracted were not blind consumers, instead drawing upon collective resistance towards socialized medicine.

Critics might place Chopra at the crux of commercializing alternative healing especially Ayurvedic practices. I would argue that it would be difficult to dissect what ignited his popularity; whether charismatic abilities, use of media, or willing and seeking participants. Each of these factors spiral together with the status of the United States in regards to health care during the late 1980’s through the 1990’s when he started to gain admirers. In regards to the US, Chen remarks, “the networks of practitioners and clientele have gradually coalesced into an alternative healing community set in relief to the biomedical establishment” (p. 26). I would even argue that Chopra, despite his MD status, does feed a certain desire in the US for “folk” medicine. In Fluent Bodies (2002), Langford suggests “There are practitioners, however working in the interstices between institutional Ayurveda and “folk” practice, who make it their job to satisfy those amorphous desires for a healing tradition, in every sense of that phrase.” (p. 188). Here she is referring to Dr. Mistry, who is contested in the professional Ayurvedic community as being a fake. While, Chopra does not signify quackery, like Dr. Mistry he provides an avenue for interested patients in acquiring a certain alternative healing system (i.e., on his site there is an Ayurvedic quiz that brings results in what products or activities will bring up your well-being).

The interesting aspect about Dr. Mistry’s popularity is that he accommodated what they were seeking by using pulse reading. Langford states “a practitioner’s ability to diagnose a patient’s illness simply by feeling his or her pulse is often taken as the quintessential sign of “traditional” Ayurveda” (p. 191). Similarly, there were collective guidelines for what a great qigong master was able to demonstrate in healing. Chen states, “because practitioners could self-heal, the possession of “true” qigong capabilities (gongneng) to exert qi and heal others was frequently invoked as a primary characteristic of a master” (p. 68). In both these aspects, the followers (or patients) are satisfied because their leaders (or practitioners) fulfill the expectation of certain powers or methods.

Oprah comparison

The second individual I chose to include in this analysis is Oprah Winfrey. While she does not directly represent a “guru” in the sense that Chopra does, I would argue that her system of leadership is very much intertwined with systems of healing. However I do not draw this parallel in the obvious case of her show and website engaging alternate systems of healing. Instead, the significance I want to point out is how her “act” of telling her story to her audience suggests a specific way to gain “good” self-esteem through digression. As Eva Illouz (2003) states “Oprah subtly invites viewers and guest to imitate her own life, thus creating a powerful charismatic relationship based on the fact that she indeed performs the goods she promises to deliver: namely, the symbolic tools to reform one’s life and get better” (p. 45).

Likewise, in Chen’s analysis of qigong masters, she suggests “The appeal of these masters depended less on their personalities than on the actual effects they had on people. Such charisma could not only be found on the stages from which masters presented lectures to large audience but also amplified in the media, and effectively navigating and even managing local media became a means for masters to legitimize themselves” (p. 65). With Oprah, I would argue that her personality alone did not expand her audience. The technique of retelling her stories and thus opening a dialogue for shared suffering and compassion are the effects that led people to view her as an expert. In the case of qigong masters, their abilities of controlling qi in front of a group to heal or demonstrate techniques created the credibility needed to designate their expertise. In both instances, the use of media was not only a legitimizing tool, but also a symbol of leadership.

Conclusion

I would like to revisit some of the arguments I made above about charismatic leadership. In revisiting the chosen excerpt, Chen reiterates the role economic and political forces played in creating such masters. In particular she highlights prosperity in relation to China’s changing market that extenuated capital gains. Qigong masters, through their followers support (e.i. purchasing tickets, literature, and other materials) were very comfortable financially. In a sense they demonstrated ultimately what the harnessing of qi brought, not only health, but also financial freedom. In the present day, Oprah and Chopra exude a sense of prosperity as well. They are both very wealthy individuals within the US context (perhaps on a global context as well). I find it interesting that such charismatic leaders wealth is not a source of resistance from the public who enjoy their “services.” This is in direct contrast to the public view of state officials wealth: instead of being a demonstration of prosperity, state officials become the symbol of greed and corruption. Perhaps the main difference is that the qigong masters gained wealth through sharing healing systems, instead of enforcing state regulations. This leads me back to my main argument that charismatic leaders alone do not induce a following. Instead societal factors play a key role in shaping how a group will become enthralled with a leader. Also, the leaders ability to satisfy what the group is seeking is crucial in determining the popularity of the leader and the system of healing they are advocating. In the end, the leader versus follower construct is interchangeable: Who truly is benefiting more?

V. Resources

Literature

1. Chen, N. N. (2003). Breathing Spaces: Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China. New York:

Columbia University Press.

2. Illouz, E. (2003). The Success of a Self-Failed Woman. In Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture (pp. 77-119). New York: Columbia University Press.

3. Langford, J. M. (2002). Fluent Bodies: Ayurvedic Remedies for Postcolonial Imbalance.

Durham: Duke University Press.

Internet Sources

1. Oprah website: http://www.oprah.com/

2. Chopra website: http://www.chopra.com/

Images

1. http://www.european-leaders.com/programme/leaders.php

2. Deepak Chopra: http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2007/02/07/503654/Deepakwebpr.jpg

3. Oprah Winfrey: http://usliberals.about.com/od/celebrityactivists/p/OprahActivist.htm

I. Fluent Bodies

II. Excerpt(s)
Jean M. Langford (2002)

"Professional medical science is not expected by most of us to involve overt showmanship, which, insofar as it is instrumental, is expected to be the province of magic. The fact is, of course, as medical anthropologists have demonstrated, medical science does involve showmanship, from the color-enhanced photographs of microscopic pathology to the opening of the draped body in the operating theater. Professional medicine's show does not, however, usually include photo albums full of famous patients. Medical science, as will be elaborated below, usually disguises its simulacra as natural or functional objects-- as bodily organs, for example, or surgical tools. It is not expected to display them with casual ingenuousness, like obvious advertising ploys. It might be said that science's most dazzling show is its illusion of objectivity" (p. 210).

III. Outside Source(s)

1. Indian Ayurveda medical facility website imagery:

Arya Vaidya Sala

2. United States biomedicine medical facility website imagery:

Swedish Medical Center

IV. Analysis

The excerpt I chose from Fluent Bodies is in chapter six titled "Medical Simulations." In this section Langford analyzes her observations, conversations, and experience with not only the vaidya, Kaviraj Kumar but more prominently of Dr. Mistry. She brings up the question of “quackery” in the proximity of these practitioners use of Ayurvedic methods. This led her on into a discussion of mimicry and more directly how both Kaviraj Kumar and Dr. Mistry use advertising in order to assemble (or attract) a clientele in contrast to “professional medical science” practitioners and institutions. It is on this subject of showmanship, advertising and commercialization that I will direct my analysis. The outside examples that I have chosen for my comparison of Langford’s text are imagery and text from two medical institutions websites: 1) Arya Vaidya Sala (AVS), an Ayurvedic institution in India and 2) Swedish, a biomedicine hospital in the United States. In looking at these two websites as representations of each respective institution, I will argue that professional medical science does not have so much a dazzling “illusion of objectivity” but instead a much more blatant advertising approach. In my analysis I attribute both AVS and Swedish as representations of professional medical science institutions.

Langford suggests, "Like magic, the techniques of advertising make obvious sensuous aspects of signification that are more hidden in modern science. The advertising image explodes with a tactile force on the mind. The sign is not simply representation: it is barrage, impression, physical sensation” (p. 220). I would agree that in modern science, advertising might be a bit more veiled than Dr. Mistry or Kavirah Kumar’s verbal and physical administration ploys (i.e., pamphlet handouts, self portrait photos with famous personnel, and ego prompting commentary). However, as I found on both the AVS and Swedish websites, there are certain written and image techniques used that are not hidden, instead obviously advocating the institutions as successful and the correct choice for patients. The difference here is that instead of an individual practitioner commercializing services, the institution via its website commercializes itself.

The images and text included in section III are from each website's homepage, which is where a viewer is most likely to end up first. Each has its logo in the left hand corner of the screen and underneath that a message and image. For AVS, the logo includes the staff of Asclepius, which has been used globally as a symbol of medicine. Swedish instead used the cross (reminiscent of Red Cross), another symbol associated with medicine. I would argue that in using traditional symbols within each logo assures the viewer (or potential patient) a sense of comfort and the institution a sense of legitimacy. Of course this is much more discrete advertising, whereas the imagery and text below the institutions logo is more direct. For AVS, the image of a boat on the river with the text “Welcome to Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, The High Road to Health” projects a peaceful image and suggests that AVS is the correct way to health. The Swedish site includes an image of a girl and woman (note: both blond and fair) and the text “Great care is not a chance, it’s a choice” and also projects a peaceful image and suggests that having great care depends on choosing the right hospital. Thus, on the homepage one is immediately sent an advertising message that this is the correct choice for a medical institution. I would argue that such images that have nothing to do with medicine, a river or happy people, could be construed as a magical advertising approach with the goal of creating an initial interest thus drawing in the potential patient to further explore the website. This is in contrast to Langford's statement from the chosen excerpt that "Medical science, as will be elaborated below, usually disguises its simulacra as natural or functional objects" (p. 210).

Next I want to focus on the link that gives further information about the institution. Below I have included both text and images as seen from the "about" pages from each website (please go directly to the link to see the formal format).

1. Website page: About AVS

“AVS was established at Kottakkal in Kerala State of India in 1902 by the visionary physician and philanthropist, the late Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier. Started essentially as a village clinic, it has now grown into a multi-unit, multi-disciplinary and multi-core organization. It has operations in different areas of Ayurvedic practice”

“AVS manages Ayurvedic Hospitals at Kottakkal, Delhi and Kochi. All classical Ayurvedic medicines, therapies and expert medical advice are available there. AVS has two modern medicine manufacturing units, has well equipped quality control labs, has full fledged research activities, publishes Ayurvedic periodicals and books, cultivates medicinal plants and conducts educational programmes.”

2. Website page: About Swedish

"Since 1910, Swedish Medical Center has been the region’s hallmark for excellence in health care. In fact, in an independent research study conducted by the National Research Corp., Swedish is consistently named the area's best hospital, with the best doctors, nurses and overall care in a variety of specialty areas”“But Swedish is not just about facilities, research and new techniques. It's about people coming together to provide the most compassionate care possible. From nurses and physicians to social workers and dietitians, the dedicated teams of Swedish Medical Center are defining on a personal level what excellence really means.”


First of all, in both cases the first paragraph that gives further information about the institution starts out by establishing credentials through a historic timeline. In Langford's account of Dr. Mistry she states "his commercialism lacked the subtlety and seeming objectivity of most professional medical services. This is partly due to the fact that in the subtext of his publicity, the commodity for sale was not so much the medicines and therapies as the doctor himself" (p. 202). Langford makes this statement after discussing Dr. Mistry's publicity through tabloids in the waiting area along with (supposed) credentials posted throughout his facility. While the websites of AVS and Swedish do not necessarily post "tabloids," the parallel I am drawing is that their "about" pages advocate the institution more so than the medicines or methods. For example, AVS details the facilities growth and modernism. In contrast, Swedish details being the best and having excellence. Especially in the case of the Swedish website, objectivity is thrown out the window in order to sell the institution. In addition both "about" pages include glossy photos depicting medical personnel in staged action. Here is where Langford is correct in stating from the chosen excerpt "medical science does involve showmanship, from the color-enhanced photographs of microscopic pathology to the opening of the draped body in the operating theater" (p. 210).

So while Langford's seems to suggest that Kaviraj Kumar and Dr. Mistry methods contrast from that of professional medical science, I found that in the realm of the Internet and institutions websites, methods of advertising tend to veer more towards commercialization than that of objectivity. In my further investigation of both sites there are many other examples including the Swedish link to each doctor's image, credentials, and publicity work (see link: Patricia Dawson, MD) and AVS's photogallary with images of events and honors with politicians and celebrities. Perhaps the Internet provides a whole different realm of advocacy for medical institutions, Ayurveda and biomedicine alike. I would argue that within this online realm, institutions feel the need to compete and thus their websites become a plethora of independent advertising. Objectivity aside, the main method seems to be anyway and anything to draw in new patients and interested parties.

V. Citations Used

1. Arya Vaidya Asala website:

Homepage: http://www.aryavaidyasala.com

Aboutpage: http://www.aryavaidyasala.com/(S(5vta3vjud34oxtb2513y0gfe))/about_avs.aspx

2. Swedish Medical Center website:

Homepage: http://www.swedish.org

Aboutpage: http://www.swedish.org/body.cfm?id=11&oTopID=11

I. A General Theory of Magic

II. Excerpt

Marcel Mauss (1902)

" ‘Each one is the whole and it is through it that the whole is formed. One is the whole and if each one did not contain the whole, the whole could not be formed’….. This whole, which is contained in everything, is the world. And we are sometimes told that the world is conceived as a unique animal, whose parts, however disparate they may seem, are inextricably associated. Everything has something common with everything else and everything is connected with everything else." (p. 91)

III. Outside Source

Medicine Wheel at Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains

Image Link

IV. Analysis

Several lines after the excerpt cited above from A General Theory of Magic, Mauss states in regards to alchemists, “they did insist on one formula which was juxtaposed to the other: Natura naturam vincit, etc. It is ‘nature’, by definition, which is found both in the object and in its parts. Here we have the basis of the law of contiguity” (p. 91).

I am fascinated by Mauss’ account of the law of contiguity in his description of magic. Even though he specifically links this law to Greek alchemists (as I deduced from his use of Latin script), I found that his description also relates to the Native American use of the medicine wheel in both their understanding of nature and healing. The image I included above for this analysis is an aerial photo of a medicine wheel in Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains that dates back atleast 500 years. I found that the symbol of the medicine wheel resides in many different tribes throughout the Americas and while this particular wheel has a diameter of 87 feet, the wheel is also replicated in drawings and smaller woven versions. The shape of the wheel is obviously circular and according to Louis Montour, a registered Mohawk and practicing MD:

“From the Native American perspective, the circle is the principal symbol for understanding life’s mysteries because it is evident throughout nature: we look upon the physical world with our eyes, which are circular; the earth, sun, moon, and planets are round; the rising and setting of the sun follow a circular path; the seasons recur in a repeating (circular) cycle; birds build circular nests; and animals work their territories in circles. From this perspective, the whole of life appears to operate in circular patterns” (Montour, 2000, p. 34)

He made this statement in an article in The Permanente Journal regarding the use of the medicine wheel along with Western techniques of healing. The parallel I see between the Native American medicine wheel principle (or in other words the principle of the circle) and Mauss’ account of the law of contiguity comes back to this idea of everything having a connection or commonality. For Mauss, magic is not only a collective social creation, but also draws upon laws in which everything is connected through either similarity or opposition. Even though Mauss never directly linked this law to his analysis of mana (or orenda according to the Iroquois), I saw a definite similarity expressed in Native American beliefs. As Dr. Montour states in his article:

“From all this, the shamans knew “a universal and unvarying cosmic law that no Force or Matter is ever destroyed or lost or comes to an end—it merely changes its form and the way it manifests. Nothing ends, but only follows a cycle of change. Everything that manifests comes into physical being and goes out of manifestation only to return to manifest once more in accordance with the Circle of Change.” (Montour, 2000, p. 37)

I also found in my research that when these wheels are created in huge proximity, they have been found to align with certain astrological knowledge. According to the PlanetQuest website regarding the Big Horn medicine wheel:

“John Eddy, working for the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, noticed that this spoke is aligned with the direction that the Sun rises on the summer solstice. Once this was established, it was possible to sort out the alignments of the other spokes that end at cairns: one is aligned with the direction that the Sun sets on the summer solstice, while the other four point to the rising points of the bright stars Aldebaran, Rigel, Sirius, and Formalhut."

This is amazing to me! Just as anthropologists and archaeologists have uncovered ancient civilizations creations to have specific alignments with planets, stars and patterns of the moon and sun, the Native American creations of the medicine wheel also bear significance to these patterns. In connection with Mauss, he describes magical practices as the origins of astrology because of significance of certain times for rites or rituals. He states “The course of the astral bodies, the conjunctions and oppositions of the moon, the sun and the planets, the positions of the stars, are all taken into consideration. It was in this way that astrology became part and parcel of magic” (p. 57)

While I understand that Mauss had a specific argument in his analysis, I found many connections between his understanding of the law of contiguity, mana and astrology in magic. While he did take special consideration for Native American practices as magical, I found he neglected certain beliefs. Thus, in the above analysis I chose to draw parallels to the specific practice of the medicine wheel. I found the beliefs surrounding the connection of everything with everything, from the eye to the sun which was the founding for the power of the circle coincided with this law on contiguity and also the idea of mana. Perhaps the astrological part developed in magical rites only because of fascination with the stars, sun and moon.

V. Links of Interest and Citations Used

http://www.planetquest.org/learn/bighorn.html

http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/winter00pj/wheel.html

I. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

II. Excerpt
Ann Fadiman (1997)
Kleinman’s suggestions on cross-cultural medicine (page 261):

“I have three,” he said briskly. “First, get rid of the term ‘compliance.” It’s a lousy term. It implies moral hegemony. You don’t want a command from a general, you want a colloquy. Second, instead of looking at a model of coercion, look at a model of mediation. Go find a member of the Hmong community, or go find a medical anthropologist, who can help you negotiate. Remember that a stance of mediation, like a divorce proceeding, requires compromise on both sides. Decide what’s critical and be willing to compromise on everything else. Third, you need to understand that as powerful an influence as the culture of the Hmong patient and her family is on this case, the culture of biomedicine is equally powerful. If you can’t see that your own culture has its own set of interests, emotions, and biases, how can you expect to deal successfully with someone else’s culture?” (p. 261)

III. Outside Example
Grey’s Anatomy (2005), “Bring the Pain” Season 2, Episode 5
You Tube film clip constructed by Beehunnie
VIEW

IV. Key Points

• Arthur Kleiman’s Suggestions in connection with Grey’s Anatomy’s episode
• Mediation instead of compliance
• Biomedicine deemed just as important as the Hmong healing practices
• In comparison to the Lee family experience
• Criticism of Grey’s Anatomy
• Western Bias and misrepresentations
• Media

V. Analysis

This excerpt from The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is when Fadiman is quoting psychiatrist and medical anthropologist, Arthur Kleinman’s suggestions for how to handle Lia’s case. His suggestions coincide in several ways to Grey’s Anatomy’s fictional piece on the Hmong aired in 2005. The case displayed in Grey’s Anatomy is a clear example of Kleinman’s first two suggestions, where Western medicine takes the approach of mediation instead of compliance by accepting foremost, the Hmong’s shaman healing (in this case find character Anna Chue’s soul). The doctors, characters Meredith Grey and Derek Shepard realized that the surgery was critical, but without compromise no surgery would take place. Having never heard of the Hmong, they did their own homework. For example Dr. Shepard at one point exclaims “Hmong?! Lets find out what that means.” Likewise Dr. Grey asks the character Anna, “What are the rules exactly?” when trying to understand Hmong beliefs. From an audience perspective the doctors were not necessarily aware of the Hmong, but by appeasing the Chue family, they practiced cross-cultural medicine. Their goal was to ultimately have Anna go to surgery in order to remove the tumor on her spine, otherwise the risk of paralysis was extremely high. This goal is reflective of Kleinman’s third suggestion, where biomedicine is also deemed as powerful as the other culture’s healing practices. To reach that goal they found that compromise was the best approach. In contrast Fadiman’s recount of Lia Lees non-fictional case held not as much mediation by the doctors. Fadiman states:

“Was the gulf unbridgeable? I kept returning, obsessively, to the Lees’ earliest encounters with MCMC during Lia’s infancy, when no interpreters were present and her epilepsy was misdiagnosed as pneumonia. Instead of practicing “veterinary medicine,” what if the residents in the emergency room had managed to elicit the Lees’ trust at the outset—or at least managed not to crush it—by finding out what they believed, feared, and hoped?” (p. 259)

The story displayed in Grey’s Anatomy is an example of the “gulf” being bridgeable with all parties satisfied in the end. However, several discrepancies on the representation of the Hmong in the episode are apparent. Going back to the end of the chosen expert in which Klienman’s states “If you can’t see that your own culture has its own set of interests, emotions, and biases, how can you expect to deal successfully with someone else’s culture?” While the producer and writer of Grey’s Anatomy displayed a positive piece on cross-cultural medicine, they also misinterpreted the Hmong cultural patterns and beliefs. In particular, they did not touch upon how medical procedures on the spine are deemed to the Hmong as “potentially crippling both in this life and in future lives” (Fadiman, p. 148). In Lia’s case, again and again her parents reiterate the fear with medial procedures such as spinal taps. At one point Lia’s father, Nao Kao was horrified after learning about a spinal tap done on Lia. He states, “They just sucked her backbone like that and it makes me disappointed and sad because that is how Lia was lost” (p. 148). In other words the Hmong’s beliefs surrounding soul loss can be attributed with certain procedures. Interestingly, in Grey’s Anatomy Anna’s father is more concerned about retrieving her soul before spinal surgery than any concern with the procedure itself. Perhaps, this shows a biased understanding of the Hmong healing beliefs? The story reflected that as long as the Shaman’s ritual of retrieving a lost soul was done, the family had no other objections to Western biomedicine. Furthermore, the lack of character development in Anna’s mother also shows a Western bias on viewing “Asian” culture as being patriarchal in which the male is the only family member interactive in the choices of his daughter. However, as can be seen in Fadiman’s recount of the Lees, Lia’s mother Foua was just as much part of Lia’s care and decision making, maybe even more so than Nao Kao. Also in looking back at Klienman’s mention of emotions and biases getting in the way of understanding the “other” culture, Grey’s Anatomy’s script highlights Western medicine techniques, such as “PCP pump,” “Morphine” or the use of percentages and probabilities of paralysis, while never truly diving into the healing customs of the Shaman. Instead the Shaman’s ritual is portrayed in a hazy camera frame. On the other hand, this mysterious portrayal might have been to point out the Doctors lack of knowledge and understanding.

On a concluding note, I want to mention that this particular episode in 2005 caused a dialogue buzz among the Internet community, especially Hmong blogs and websites. Even though Grey’s Anatomy was criticized for some misrepresentations, in particular the fact that the Chue family were not played by Hmong actors, there was a sense of pride that a story was done on the Hmong culture in such a popular show as Grey’s Anatomy. For example, underneath the You Tube clip shown in this analysis, there are comments regarding the show and portrayal of the Hmong. From an analysis perspective, I think that this particular episode is crucial in displaying cross-cultural medicine practices. What better way to make case studies exemplified than in the far reaching approach of mass media?

VI. Links of Interest

Grey's Anatomy Episode Information

Virtual Hmong Community

Asia Finest Forum