Genie's Therapy

The Secret of the Wild Child is a documentary about a little girl named Genie, who is locked up in solitary confinement in a bedroom and isolated from the outside world for almost a decade ever since she is thirteen-year-old. Long-term solitary life and lack of human childhood have caused her to exhibit inhuman behaviours as well as depriving her rights to have a normal social life. Fortunately, she is able to receive help from doctors in various fields who gathered together to develop a perceived good solution to her illness; however, the form of the therapies provided are controversial as they are more like an experiment than an actual cure. The film does this by illustrating the complex relationship between doctors and patients; specifically,

Many doctors have expressed their sympathies about Genie’s encounter, hence, it is very likely that there is personal emotion attached to Genie’s therapy. It is undeniable that some doctors offer their assistance with the pure intention to cure her, but gradually, the purpose of therapy mutates as they begin to see the potential benefits in studying her illness, and thus her therapy is exploited. According to an interview in the film, one of the doctors admitted that the reason doctors in different disciplines were rather enthusiastic about helping Genie, was mainly due to the collection of data in her case can be extremely useful in advancing breakthroughs in each of their own respective fields. Frankly speaking, Genie is treated as a valuable test subject more than a person who deserves to be helped, and the purpose of her therapy is merely an experiment. Looking from a researcher’s perspective, using Genie as a scientific subject will certainly benefit the medical field in the long-term, while viewing from a doctor’s standpoint, prioritizing on providing a therapy to cure Genie is far more important. Therefore, the importance of viewpoint can drastically alter the decision and outcome of a particular instance, and there is no absolute right or wrong when they are both arguably beneficial as a whole. As in Genie’s case, it is clear that the former is chosen but that doesn’t mean there cannot be a

During the scene of Genie’s first trial run in her foster home, she was discovered “having the passion of hoarding things, especially containers of liquid.” On the surface, her action is considered a big improvement, however, there should have been concerns about her hoarding tendency. Considering, Genie is hoarding things in her bedroom, and most importantly, she is hoarding containers of liquid which can be interpreted as her instinct for survival since liquid is a common thought for water, and it is the main source of life. This arguably reflects her strong sense of insecurity even though she is presumably under an extensive care of a reliable foster family. Although there are concerns about Genie’s exposure to her first foster family, undeniably, this has become her opportunity to connect with the society since “family is the most important agent of primary socialization, the process of mastering the basic skills required to function in society during childhood.” (Robert and Lie 2015, 104) As explained in the film, the initial cause of Genie’s mental illness was due to paternal abuse, lack of family care, and long-term confinement during her childhood. Therefore, by uniting Genie with a suitable and responsible foster guardian who is willing to commit to her life is supposedly a good method to help develop her sociability and form a valuable relationship.