Comments on: Trivia: When Watching “Lunatics” Was Entertainment

By: Woogie

Woogie — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:20:57 +0000

I imagine people in 100 years time will look back on “Big Brother” and the like and make largely the same comments.

By: jen

jen — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:47:21 +0000

CheeseDuck-
Mental illness is NOT the same as mental retardation. Many mentally ill people are very intelligent.

By: Diogenes

Diogenes — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:10:25 +0000

p.s. Bedlam - Boris Karlof

By: Diogenes

Diogenes — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:09:21 +0000

The creation of torture devices, in general, used to be for entertainment purposes. The public viewing of those within their community, that had done bad.

By: avraamov

avraamov — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:26:16 +0000

this gives me an excuse to spout off about a book i’ve just read called ‘the air loom gang’ by mike jay. it’s the story of james tilley mathews, who because of his complex paranoid delusions and the ambitions of the apothecary at bethlem, co-instigated what is widely held to be the birth of psychiatry. he was also the first person recorded to have delusions about an ‘influencing machine’ (the air loom) controlling his thoughts. before him, it was all demons, witches etc.

it seems the freakshow image of the bethlem hospital is a bit of a caricature - there were plenty of mad people kicking around london anyway, so paying a penny to go and see more wasn’t on the agenda for most. the bethlem mostly failed as an institution because it was built on the cheap. it’s an absolutely superb book. i’ll shut up now.

By: Lemons

Lemons — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:27:13 +0000

Makes me think of that short story in I Am Legend about the kids going to see the freakshow.

By: Chick Splatt

Chick Splatt — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:14:19 +0000

Mental illness is not funny. At All. Having had a family member touched by it, my perspective has changed dramatically. The prison system has become the de facto way a society that is unwilling to deal with the issue “handles” the problems. No real treatment, no real progress. Put them away, out of sight, at minimum cost. It is appalling.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:57:55 +0000

bean
lol

By: Sofar

Sofar — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:33:07 +0000

Hey, like reality television. We’ve come a long way.

Tim doesn’t like psychiatry.

By: L

Mon, 05 May 2008 01:32:02 +0000

I think bean would’ve been one of the people in line waiting to offer up their pennies…

By: SenorMysterioso

SenorMysterioso — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:19:09 +0000

same theory apparently works with television

By: bean

bean — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:00:20 +0000

Tim-

Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Go take your meds and come back when you’ve calmed down.

By: CheeseDuck

CheeseDuck — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:38:32 +0000

Heh. Retarded people are funny…
Uhm. I mean.. This is horrible! Why would people do that..?

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:52:01 +0000

Psychiatry has always torutured and mistreated it’s patients. Nowadyas they mistreat them by diagnosing dangerous pills that cause suicide, psychosis, nerve damage, diabetis, etc… Not to mention their use of ice picks to the brain and electric shock.

Psychiatry has never been a humane profession, and is in’t these days either. In America you get locked up against your will without commiting a crime - they call it ‘protective custody.’ In Russia you disappear off the streets and get loaded up with drugs because you oppose the government or psychiatry.

By: Nathan Gimpel

Nathan Gimpel — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:41:54 +0000

Britney Spears and her inane media frenzy have filled this void well.

By: Lamonstrous

Lamonstrous — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:32:23 +0000

And this is different from Springer, Maury, and countless youtube videos how?

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:26:31 +0000

Reminds me of those old articles and stories of folks in the Victoria era going to “theaters” to watch mentally ill patients being experimented on. Ugh. The things they did that I read on that topic were horrific.