The Legacy of the Elephant Man - Movie Review Essay Example

Lynch film

The documentary about Merrick's life had a greater impact on me than the film by Lynch that dramatized Merrick's life. First, Lynch film was aimed at entertaining the audience by using some of Merrick's character. This means that its content was not truthful and in some cases, it was exaggerated. However, the documentary on Merrick's life is based on the historical evidence found and tries to depict his life in the correct way possible (QED (Producer), 2015). It uses factual data on the health issues that faced Merrick. The documentary focused on finding as much information as possible and present that information in a better way that can be understood by the medical team. The documentary is also backed by an explanation. The other issue is that lynch's film has little impact because the audience know that it was dramatized. Most of the characters did not have the right motivation about the life of Merrick and its representation (Lynch, 1980).

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Dr. Treves motivation and interest in Merrick may be associated with two things. First is that his occupation as a doctor had a direct connection to what Merrick was facing. Merrick's condition could only be addressed using physician knowledge, and this could have helped Dr. Treves expand his knowledge on deformation. The second thing is that Dr. Treves is considerate of people's plight, especially who face rejection. He is human by being caring and sensible to others and wanted to provide Merrick with a better life before he died. The motivation may also lie on the professional oath/pledge to care and save lives. On the other side, Gawkers who came to see him in the freak shows could have been motivated by personal curiosity as well as gaining recognition from the public especially the royalty (Merrick, (n.d)). Although some may have had a genuine concern, it was not evident in most cases. Merrick's poem can be described as one to make people more accommodating to his condition as well as see him as human. It provided the right environment for the viewers to be more comfortable.

Reference

QED (Producer). (2015, May 2). The Elephant Man: The True Story of Joseph Merrick. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUj8y0sCU2wons

Lynch, D. (Director). (1980) Elephant Man. Retrieved from http://ffilms.org/the-elephant-man-1980/

Merrick, J. C. (n.d). Poem. In Wikiquote. Retrieved from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Merrick