November 30, 2010
Surgery of the Soul
If you passed through the experimental ward in the Secret Cinema’s fortnight of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest this November, you may have come across a young physician in a clean white lab coat instructing a group of medical students under a humble chalkboard: “LOBOTOMY TECHNIQUES, PAST AND PRESENT, 1935 – 1962, for the alleviation of psychosis, delusions, and emotional distress.”
Coupled with a soliloquy on the virtues of the frontal lobotomy, an ice pick was gently jammed into the eyes of a polystyrene head, and swirled through the frontal lobe of the dummy brain, severing connections between the foremost structures of the cerebrum and the medial structures in the interior. A rigorous twirl produced the most marvellous squeaking.
Over the eyeball, under the eyelid, and straight on till morning.
Catch a glimpse of our lobotomy class in this short film, starting at 2:30. Or enjoy the procedure in Russian at 2:45 in this TV news segment.
Our demonstration – disturbing to some, hilarious to others – may have seemed grotesquely comical. But every single thing we said was absolutely true.
November 27, 2010
Secret science in the cuckoo’s nest
As the nights got longer we left our summer themes of hedonism, escape and the wonders of the universe behind, choosing instead to delve into the history of psychiatry and our states of mind with the folk @Secret Cinema.
Getting acquainted with the psychosurgical side of mid-20th century psychiatric practices was eye-opening and downright disturbing. We interviewed practicing psychiatrists who had personal experience of actually administering ECT from the 1970s to now about their experiences. Responses ranged from “it’s horrible to administer” to “we only use it as a last resort,” but ultimately “we can’t deny that in some cases it is life-saving.”
Listen to Maurice and Mark share their thoughts on ECT.
In the context of the film, ECT was used as punishment – no anaesthetic, no muscle relaxant, no consent. These humane touches were developed in later on. Mark informed us that seizures induced by electricity applied to the brain could sometimes result in a broken spine as back muscles (the most powerful in the body) contracted so hard they fractured vertebrae…
Doctor Jon as seen through the waiting room blind
The connotations between this use of electricity for punishment (as seen in the film) make ECT seem very dark indeed. As to exactly how ECT works, a range of theories exist, but no one is really sure. Our investigations into lobotomy practices of the period to inform our lobotomy training session were even more worrying…
November 26, 2010
Back in the USSR
Even the Russian media covered the Secret Cinema’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Check out the three minute newsreel here.
A few flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Check out the extensive footage of our brain dissections and lobotomy lessons in this short film by Evgeniy Romanov. Footage of our antics starting from 2:30 in, including almost an entire lobotomy session.
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