Nova (1974–…): Season 21, Episode 12 - The Secret of the Wild Child - full transcript
TONIGHT ON NOVA,
THE SHOCKING STORY OF A GIRL
WHO SPENT HER CHILDHOOD
LOCKED IN A BEDROOM.
THE GIRL REPORTEDLY
WAS STILL WEARING DIAPERS
WHEN DISCOVERED TWO WEEKS AGO.
RAISED IN ISOLATION,
GENIE WAS A "WILD CHILD"
UNCIVILIZED, BARELY ABLE
TO WALK OR TALK.
Woman:
THE INDICATIONS ARE
THAT SHE WAS BEATEN
FOR MAKING NOISE.
WITH FOOTAGE NEVER BEFORE
SEEN ON TELEVISION
NOVA FOLLOWS THE CONTROVERSIAL
EFFORTS TO UNLOCK
Narrator:
ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE
CIVILIZED SOCIETY
COMES ACROSS A "WILD CHILD"...
A CHILD WHO HAS GROWN UP
IN SEVERE ISOLATION
WITH VIRTUALLY NO HUMAN CONTACT.
THIS IS THE STORY
OF SUCH A CASE.
THE STORY BEGINS IN LOS ANGELES
ON NOVEMBER 4, 1970.
Walter Cronkite:
OFFICIALS IN THE LOS ANGELES
SUBURB OF ARCADIA
HAVE TAKEN CUSTODY OF
A 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO, THEY SAY
WAS KEPT IN SUCH ISOLATION
BY HER PARENTS
THAT SHE NEVER EVEN
LEARNED TO TALK.
HER ELDERLY PARENTS HAVE BEEN
CHARGED WITH CHILD ABUSE.
Narrator:
THIS IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
A CHILD WAS LOCKED IN A ROOM
AND TIED TO A POTTY CHAIR
FOR MOST OF HER LIFE.
COMPLETELY RESTRAINED,
SHE WAS FORCED TO SIT ALONE
DAY AFTER DAY,
AND OFTEN THROUGH THE NIGHT.
SHE HAD LITTLE TO LOOK AT
AND NO ONE TO TALK TO
FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS.
Cronkite:
THE GIRL REPORTEDLY WAS
UTTERING INFANTILE NOISES
AND STILL WEARING DIAPERS
WHEN A SOCIAL WORKER DISCOVERED
THE CASE TWO WEEKS AGO
BUT THE AUTHORITIES ARE HOPING
SHE STILL MAY HAVE
A NORMAL LEARNING CAPACITY.
Narrator:
HERE WAS A 13-YEAR-OLD
WHO SEEMED LIKE AN INFANT...
A GIRL WHO WOULD
BE KNOWN AS GENIE.
GENIE WAS TAKEN TO CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL IN LOS ANGELES
WHERE SHE IMMEDIATELY
WON THE HEARTS
OF DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS.
Woman:
SHE WAS FRAGILE AND BEAUTIFUL,
ALMOST HAUNTING
AND SO I WAS PULLED,
I WAS VERY DRAWN TO HER
EVEN THOUGH I WAS NERVOUS
AND HAD NO IDEA IN MANY RESPECTS
WHAT TO EXPECT.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS ABOUT TO TEST AN IDEA
IMPORTANT TO SCIENCE
AND SOCIETY...
THAT A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
COULD MAKE UP FOR EVEN
THE MOST NIGHTMARISH OF PASTS.
Woman:
IF YOU MAKE UP A SENTENCE
IN YOUR HEAD
OR YOU WRITE IT DOWN
AND IT HAS, SAY,
TEN, 12 WORDS IN IT
CHANCES ARE YOU CAN LISTEN
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
FOR SOMEONE
TO SAY THE SENTENCE.
Narrator:
HERE AT U.C.L.A.,
SUSAN CURTISS TEACHES STUDENTS
THE ABILITY TO LEARN LANGUAGE.
Curtiss:
AND CHANCES ARE
YOU WILL NEVER
COME ACROSS THAT SENTENCE.
Narrator:
THE STUDENTS BEGIN THEIR STUDY
THROUGH A FAMOUS CASE.
THE CASE NAME
IS GENIE.
THIS IS NOT
THE PERSON'S REAL NAME
BUT WHEN WE THINK
ABOUT WHAT A GENIE IS
A GENIE IS A CREATURE
THAT COMES OUT OF A BOTTLE
OR WHATEVER
BUT EMERGES INTO HUMAN SOCIETY
PAST CHILDHOOD
AND WE ASSUME THE CREATURE
DIDN'T HAVE A HUMAN CHILDHOOD.
Narrator:
SUSAN CURTISS HAS
A SPECIAL CONNECTION
TO THE STORY SHE'S TELLING.
20 YEARS AGO
SHE WAS ASKED TO JOIN A TEAM
WORKING TO REHABILITATE GENIE.
I WAS LITERALLY AT THE RIGHT
PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
I WAS A NEW GRADUATE STUDENT
INTERESTED IN
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
UNENCUMBERED BY FAMILY TIES
OR RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND THEY ASKED ME
IF I WOULD BE INTERESTED.
Narrator:
WHEN CURTISS FIRST
JOINED THE CASE
GENIE HAD A STRANGE "BUNNY WALK"
AND OTHER, ALMOST INHUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS.
GENIE CONSTANTLY SPAT.
SHE SNIFFED AND CLAWED.
SHE BARELY SPOKE
OR MADE ANY NOISES.
Curtiss:
THE INDICATIONS ARE
THAT SHE WAS BEATEN
FOR MAKING NOISE
AND CONSEQUENTLY HAD LEARNED
BASICALLY NOT TO VOCALIZE
AND SHE REALLY DIDN'T VOCALIZE
VERY MUCH AT ALL.
WHEN I FIRST MET HER, SHE
WAS SILENT MOST OF THE TIME.
Narrator:
GENIE ALSO RECEIVED DAILY VISITS
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
FROM JAMES KENT,
HER PSYCHOLOGIST.
KENT RECALLS FIRST MEETING
HIS NEW PATIENT.
I WAS CAPTIVATED BY HER.
I WAS NOT THE LAST PERSON
TO BECOME CAPTIVATED BY HER.
THE STORY, AS WE BEGAN TO...
TO LEARN ABOUT IT
WAS SORT OF ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT, OF COURSE
WOULD REACH OUT
AND GRAB YOU ANYWAY.
BUT SHE HAD A PERSONAL QUALITY
THAT SEEMED
TO ELICIT RESCUE FANTASIES
AND THIS IN A GROUP OF PEOPLE
WHO WERE INTERESTED
IN TAKING CARE OF KIDS
AND WHO SPECIALIZED
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
WHO WERE GOING
TO BE SORT OF POWERED
BY RESCUE FANTASIES ANYWAY.
SHE REACHED OUT
AND GRABBED LOTS OF US.
Narrator:
ONE OF GENIE'S MOST
CAPTIVATING QUALITIES
WAS THE INTENSE WAY SHE EXPLORED
HER NEW ENVIRONMENT.
ODDLY, EVEN STRANGERS WHO
KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HER STORY
SEEMED TO SENSE
HER NEED TO DO SO.
Curtiss:
ONE PARTICULARLY STRIKING MEMORY
OF THOSE EARLY MONTHS
WAS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL MAN
WHO WAS A BUTCHER.
AND HE NEVER ASKED HER NAME
OR ANYTHING ABOUT HER.
THEY JUST CONNECTED
AND COMMUNICATED SOMEHOW.
AND EVERY TIME WE CAME IN...
AND THIS WAS SO
WITH OTHERS AS WELL...
HE WOULD SLIDE OPEN
THE LITTLE WINDOW
AND HAND HER SOMETHING
THAT WASN'T WRAPPED...
A BONE OF SOME SORT,
SOME MEATS, FISH, WHATEVER...
AND ALLOW HER
TO DO HER THING WITH IT.
AND TO DO HER THING,
WHAT HER THING WAS
BASICALLY WAS
TO EXPLORE IT TACTILELY
TO PUT IT UP AGAINST HER LIPS
AND FEEL IT WITH HER LIPS
AND TOUCH IT,
ALMOST AS IF SHE WERE BLIND.
Narrator:
WORD OF THE "WILD CHILD" SPREAD
ATTRACTING SCIENTISTS
FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
ONE OF THEM WAS OKLAHOMA
PSYCHIATRIST JAY SHURLEY.
Shurley:
WHEN INTRODUCED,
I EXTENDED MY HAND.
SHE REACHED OUT WITH HER FINGERS
AND DELICATELY TOUCHED MY HAND.
AND THEN IN A SENSE,
THAT WAS IT.
SHE HAD MADE MY ACQUAINTANCE.
SHE WAS SATISFIED FOR HERSELF
ABOUT ME.
BUT MY REACTION WAS I HAD A
THOUSAND QUESTIONS IMMEDIATELY.
WHO? WHAT? HOW?
HOW DOES THIS COME ABOUT?
WHY IS THIS?
WHY DO I SEE WHAT I'M SEEING?
Narrator:
SHURLEY WAS AN EXPERT
IN SOCIAL ISOLATION.
GENIE WAS THE MOST EXTREME CASE
HE'D EVER SEEN.
Shurley:
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
IS DIABOLICALLY
THE MOST SEVERE PUNISHMENT.
AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, REALLY
QUITE DRAMATIC SYMPTOMS DEVELOP
IN AS LITTLE AS 15 MINUTES
TO AN HOUR
AND CERTAINLY INSIDE
OF TWO OR THREE DAYS
AND TRY TO EXPAND THIS
TO TEN YEARS BOGGLES ONE'S MIND.
Narrator:
SHURLEY WANTED TO ASSESS
HOW WELL GENIE HAD SURVIVED
HER LONG YEARS OF ISOLATION.
HE DIRECTED THE TEAM TO GATHER
INFORMATION ON HER BRAIN WAVES.
FOR FOUR NIGHTS RUNNING,
THEY WIRED GENIE TO INSTRUMENTS
THAT MEASURED THE ELECTRICAL
ACTIVITY IN HER BRAIN
WHILE SHE SLEPT.
WHAT THEY FOUND WAS
AN UNUSUALLY HIGH NUMBER
OF SO-CALLED "SLEEP SPINDLES,"
THE DENSE BUNCHING PATTERNS
THAT LOOK LIKE SPINDLES
ON A SPINNING MACHINE.
THIS WAS AN ABNORMAL
BRAIN WAVE PATTERN.
THE SLEEP STUDIES
RAISED A QUESTION
THAT WOULD PUZZLE
THE GENIE TEAM FOR YEARS:
WAS GENIE BRAIN-DAMAGED
FROM HER YEARS OF ABUSE
OR HAD SHE BEEN RETARDED
FROM BIRTH?
WHEN GENIE WAS A BABY
HER FATHER APPARENTLY
DECIDED SHE WAS RETARDED.
HE INSISTED ON KEEPING HER
ISOLATED BECAUSE OF THAT.
AUTHORITIES PIECED TOGETHER
THESE FEW FACTS
IN THE EARLY WEEKS.
GENIE'S STRANGE
FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES
MADE IT HARD TO LEARN MORE.
GENIE'S MOTHER, WEAK AND NEARLY
BLIND, CLAIMED THAT SHE, TOO
HAD BEEN A VICTIM
OF HER DOMINEERING HUSBAND.
GENIE'S FATHER, SHORTLY AFTER
AUTHORITIES DISCOVERED GENIE
SHOT AND KILLED HIMSELF.
THE SUICIDE ONLY ADDED
TO THE INTEREST IN GENIE'S CASE.
SHE WAS A PRIZED PATIENT,
AND IN THE MONTHS TO COME
THE NUMBER OF VISITING
SCIENTISTS INCREASED.
GENIE'S NEW CELEBRITY STATUS
MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A DEBATE
HOW SHOULD HER CASE BE HANDLED?
JAMES KENT'S PLAN
WAS THE FIRST TO BE ADOPTED.
HE BELIEVED GENIE
COULD GET BETTER
IF SHE WERE ALLOWED
TO FORM RELATIONSHIPS
AND HE WAS ENCOURAGED
WHEN SHE STARTED TO DO SO.
Kent:
UP UNTIL ONE PARTICULAR DAY
GENIE DIDN'T SEEM TO RESPOND
IN ANY SPECIAL WAY
TO MY COMING OR GOING
AT THE END OF OUR SESSIONS.
THEN ONE DAY WHEN I LEFT
HER EXPRESSION CHANGED FROM
SORT OF HAPPY TO SAD TO INDICATE
THAT THERE WAS SOME SADNESS
IN THE SEPARATION FOR HER.
AND IT WAS THE FIRST INDICATION
THAT I HAD
THAT WE WERE BEGINNING
TO FORM THIS RELATIONSHIP.
I THOUGHT IF AS LONG AS SHE HAD
THE CAPACITY TO FORM ATTACHMENTS
SHE HAD A CAPACITY TO LEARN
SHE HAD THE CAPACITY
TO GET BETTER.
Narrator:
BY THE END OF MAY,
SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED
TO ADD TO THE HOPES
FOR GENIE'S FUTURE.
IT WAS A BREAKTHROUGH
THAT EVERYONE HAD WAITED FOR.
IT WAS CAPTURED ON VIDEOTAPE
BY JEAN BUTLER
GENIE'S SPECIAL
EDUCATION TEACHER.
HERE IN A CLASSROOM
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
BUTLER IS TEACHING GENIE
TO TIE HER OWN SHOES.
BUTLER IS ABOUT TO TELL GENIE
"YOU DO IT; THEN WE CAN TELL
DOCTOR KENT WHAT YOU CAN DO."
LISTEN TO GENIE'S REACTION.
YOU DO IT,
YOU DO IT.
THEN WE CAN...
WE'LL TELL DOCTOR
KENT WHAT YOU CAN DO.
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR KENT,
UH-HUH.
Narrator:
GENIE SAID THE WORD "DOCTOR."
RIGHT THERE
IT SAYS THAT.
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR KENT.
Narrator:
IT WAS ONE OF OVER 100 WORDS
SHE KNEW BY THAT SPRING.
TIE IT?
TIE.
TIE IT, UH-HUH.
Narrator:
SHE WAS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND
BUT GENIE WAS REPEATING WORDS.
GENIE WAS BEGINNING TO TALK.
Curtiss:
I COULD TELL
AS ALL OTHERS COULD
JUST LOOKING AT HER,
THAT THERE WAS A LOT TO GENIE
AND THAT WHAT WE HAD
TO DO WAS TO MAKE SURE
WE GAVE HER OPPORTUNITIES
TO EXPRESS
FIND A WAY TO TAKE WHAT
WAS LATENT AND EXPRESS IT
OR SOMEHOW THEN,
YOU KNOW, ACQUIRE IT
BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL
JUST SEEMED SO GREAT.
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE,
GENIE SEEMED TO BE THRIVING.
HER MENTAL AND PHYSICAL GROWTH
SINCE COMING TO CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL WAS OBVIOUS.
GENIE'S PROGRESS GAVE BIRTH
TO A DARING HOPE...
SHE MIGHT FULLY RECOVER,
AND SCIENCE MIGHT LEARN HOW.
HER DOCTORS EVEN PUBLICLY
PREDICTED SUCCESS.
THEIR CONFIDENCE WAS AN EERIE
ECHO OF A MOMENT FROM THE PAST...
AN ECHO OF ANOTHER CASE
LIKE GENIE'S
THAT PRECEDED HERS
BY NEARLY 200 YEARS.
THE CASE BEGAN IN 1800
WHEN CITIZENS OF THIS REGION
IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
DISCOVERED A REMARKABLE CREATURE
WHO HAD CREPT OUT
OF THE NEARBY FOREST.
HE WAS ANIMAL IN BEHAVIOR,
HUMAN IN FORM, MUTE AND NAKED.
HE WAS A WILD CHILD.
HE WOULD BE KNOWN AS VICTOR,
AND THIS STATUE WOULD BE ERECTED
TO MARK HIS ENTRY
INTO CIVILIZATION.
CITIZENS IN THE VILLAGE
WHERE VICTOR WAS DISCOVERED
GUESSED HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD.
HIS FOOD PREFERENCES,
HIS LACK OF SPEECH
AND THE SCARS ON HIS BODY
INDICATED HE HAD BEEN IN
THE WILD FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE.
VICTOR'S STORY INTRIGUED
HISTORIAN AND PSYCHOLOGIST
HARLAN LANE.
AROUND THE TIME
DOCTORS IN LOS ANGELES
WERE FOLLOWING GENIE'S CASE
LANE WAS IN FRANCE
TRACKING VICTOR'S STORY.
Lane:
SHORTLY AFTER
THE BOY WAS CAPTURED
A BIOLOGY PROFESSOR TOOK
A VERY CAREFUL LOOK AT HIM
NAME OF BONATERRE.
BONATERRE TELLS A STORY
OF TREMENDOUS INDIFFERENCE
TO COLD THAT VICTOR HAD.
ONE DAY HE TOOK HIM
AND TOOK OFF ALL HIS CLOTHES
AND THE BOY WAS THRILLED
TO HAVE HIS CLOTHES TAKEN OFF.
AND HE STARTED LEADING HIM
INTO THE OUTDOORS
AND IT WAS SURROUNDED
BY SNOW AT THAT TIME.
AND VICTOR, FAR FROM PROTESTING,
WAS FILLED WITH JOY.
HE GAVE OUT CRIES OF JOY
AND PULLED BONATERRE
OUT THE DOORS
AND WANTED TO GET OUT
INTO THE SNOW.
ON OTHER OCCASIONS
HE WAS ACTUALLY OUT IN THE SNOW
BARE NAKED, LEAPING ABOUT
THROWING THE SNOW IN THE AIR,
EATING SNOW.
BONATERRE CONCLUDES,
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO CONCLUDE
THAT OUR SENSITIVITY
TO TEMPERATURE
IS VERY MUCH INFLUENCED
BY OUR LIFE EXPERIENCES.
Narrator:
WORD OF THE WILD CHILD
TRAVELED NORTH TO PARIS
WHERE THE FIRST ANTHROPOLOGICAL
SOCIETY HAD JUST FORMED.
IT WAS THE END
OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
A TIME OF ENORMOUS DISCOVERY
AND DEBATE.
Lane:
VICTOR WALKED INTO THE MIDDLE
OF A RAGING DEBATE.
HIS TIMING WAS INCREDIBLE.
WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?
WHAT SEPARATES MAN
FROM THE BEASTS?
IS IT HUMAN APPEARANCE?
WELL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL
EXPEDITIONS WERE RETURNING
WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF RACES
AND PARISIANS WERE NOT
SO CLEAR ON HUMAN APPEARANCE.
IS IT WALKING UPRIGHT?
BUT ORANGUTANS WALKED UPRIGHT.
IS IT LANGUAGE?
FIRST REPORTS WERE
THAT VICTOR HAD NO LANGUAGE.
THEN AGAIN,
PERHAPS HE COULD LEARN SOME.
IN ANY CASE, PHILOSOPHERS,
ANATOMISTS AND THEIR ILK
WERE CONVINCED
THAT CAREFUL STUDY OF VICTOR
COULD FINALLY ANSWER
THE QUESTION:
"WHAT IS IT
THAT MAKES US HUMAN?"
Narrator:
WITH VICTOR,
PARISIANS HAD A CHANCE
TO SEE HUMAN NATURE STRIPPED
OF SOCIETY AND CULTURE.
THIS WAS A SITUATION
NO ONE WOULD SET OUT
TO CREATE ON PURPOSE.
IT WAS THEREFORE REFERRED TO
AS THE "FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT."
SCIENTISTS IN PARIS
QUICKLY SUMMONED VICTOR
FROM THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
ALTHOUGH VICTOR COULD HEAR, THEY
BROUGHT HIM TO THIS SCHOOL...
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
FOR THE DEAF.
OKAY, WE'RE AT THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF
AND IT HAPPENED RIGHT HERE.
THE GARDENER FROM RODEZ BRINGS
THE WILD BOY RIGHT THROUGH HERE
INTO THE COURTYARD.
AND I GUESS THEY WERE EXPECTED
AND THE DIRECTOR,
THE ABBE SICARD, COMES OUT.
AND... COME ON IN...
THEY WOULD MEET ABOUT HERE.
SICARD COMES OUT,
AND WHAT DOES HE SEE?
NOT A NICE, LITTLE BOURGEOIS
DEAF KID IN THE SCHOOL UNIFORM
HIS NEW PUPIL
BUT A RAGING, SPITTING,
SNARLING, FILTHY SAVAGE
DEFECATING WHERE HE IS,
URINATING WHERE HE IS
BITING, COVERED WITH SCARS
LONG HAIR, WADDED, YELLOW TEETH,
LONG FINGERNAILS, A SAVAGE.
SICARD HAD NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN HIS LIFE
SO HE BACKS OFF.
WHAT'S HE GOING TO DO?
HE'S JUST HIRED
A YOUNG PHYSICIAN
FROM THE MILITARY HOSPITAL
UP THE STREET
A FELLOW BY THE NAME
OF JEAN-MARC ITARD.
SO HE CALLS, "ITARD! ITARD!"
Narrator:
JEAN-MARC ITARD WAS
A 26-YEAR-OLD MEDICAL STUDENT
WHO WAS READY TO MAKE HIS MARK.
HE SAW THE WILD BOY
AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
Lane:
ITARD WAS AN INTERESTING MAN.
HOW'S HE GOING
TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF
A PLACE FOR HIMSELF IN MEDICINE
AND IN THE INTELLECTUAL
EXCITEMENT OF THE TIME?
BECAUSE HE WAS
A BRILLIANT FELLOW
AND HE READ PHILOSOPHY ASTUTELY,
HE STUDIED MEDICINE.
WELL, THE ANSWER WAS
THAT HERE WAS A CHANCE
THAT WOULD MAKE OR BREAK HIM.
IF HE COULD ACTUALLY
CIVILIZE A WILD CHILD...
THE FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY
TO DO SO...
WHY, HE WOULD BE A FIGURE
DOWN THROUGH HISTORY.
EVEN IN THE 20th CENTURY,
PEOPLE MIGHT BE DISCUSSING HIM.
Narrator:
ITARD'S AMBITIONS WOULD PAY OFF.
NOT ONLY WOULD PEOPLE
IN THE 20th CENTURY
STILL BE DISCUSSING HIM
BUT THE FAMOUS FRENCH DIRECTOR
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT
WOULD PLAY ITARD
IN A MOVIE ABOUT THE CASE.
THE MOVIE ILLUSTRATES
THE RISK ITARD TOOK.
MORE EXPERIENCED
DOCTORS CONCLUDED
VICTOR WAS PROFOUNDLY RETARDED
FROM BIRTH
AND UNABLE TO LEARN.
ITARD, THOUGH, BELIEVED
THAT VICTOR HAD BECOME RETARDED
BECAUSE OF HIS YEARS
OF LIVING IN THE WILD.
HE BELIEVED HE COULD
CIVILIZE VICTOR.
ITARD'S DIARY OF HIS WORK
WITH VICTOR
MAKES THIS ONE OF
THE MOST DOCUMENTED CASES
OF WILD CHILDREN
THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
IN FACT, THE DIARY SERVED AS
THE BASIS FOR TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE
CALLED THE WILD CHILD.
IN LOS ANGELES,
TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE PREMIERED
AT THE LOS FELIZ THEATER
IN HOLLYWOOD.
ONE OF THE STRANGEST CHAPTERS
OF THIS STORY
IS THE TIMING OF THE PREMIER.
FOR TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE ABOUT
HISTORY'S MOST FAMOUS WILD CHILD
OPENED EXACTLY ONE WEEK
AFTER GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
IN TRUE HOLLYWOOD FASHION
THE GENIE TEAM TOOK ADVANTAGE
OF THIS COINCIDENCE.
THEY ARRANGED THEIR
OWN PRIVATE SCREENING.
IN CHARGE OF THIS EVENT
WAS HOSPITAL CHIEF
OF PSYCHIATRY HOWARD HANSEN.
Hansen:
WELL, THAT AFTERNOON AT 4:30
WE LEFT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL,
AND WE PARADED UP THE STREET.
WE HAD AN ENTOURAGE UP THE
STREET TO THE LOS FELIZ THEATER.
IT WAS AWE-INSPIRING TO US
BECAUSE HERE WAS
THE FIRST CASE THAT HAD BEEN
DOCUMENTED IN ANY SCIENTIFIC WAY
AND HERE WE WERE HAVING
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SEE A FILM PORTRAYAL OF THAT.
Narrator:
HERE WAS HISTORY'S
STAMP OF APPROVAL
FOR DARING TO REHABILITATE
A WILD CHILD.
ITARD INSPIRED EVERYONE
AT THE SCREENING.
AFTERWARDS, EVERYBODY
WAS SHOCKED AND STUNNED.
THEY JUST SAT
IN SILENCE FOR A BIT
BECAUSE THE FILM WAS
SO POWERFUL IN ITSELF
AND THEN THE ANALOGY
WITH GENIE BEGAN TO HIT.
IT WAS LIKE HERE HISTORY
WAS REPEATING ITSELF
AND EVERYBODY THERE THOUGHT
"HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO LEARN SOMETHING."
Narrator:
THE SCREENING WAS PART
OF A SPECIAL CONFERENCE
FOR WHICH THE GENIE TEAM
INVITED CONSULTANTS
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF MENTAL HEALTH HAD AGREED
TO FUND A SCIENTIFIC
PROJECT ON GENIE.
NOW IT WAS TIME TO FOCUS
THE DIRECTION OF RESEARCH.
IT SOON BECAME CLEAR, THOUGH
THAT PARTICIPANTS
WERE UNLIKELY TO AGREE
ON ONE COURSE OF ACTION.
OH, WE WERE OFF
IN A MILLION DIRECTIONS.
I MEAN, EACH EXPERT, EACH PERSON
IN THEIR OWN DISCIPLINE THOUGHT
"OH, WOW, I CAN DO THIS.
I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THAT."
WE WERE FLOODED, FLOODED
WITH OUR OWN ASSOCIATIONS
AND WITH THE PURSUITS THAT
EACH OF US MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT
"WOW, LOOK WHAT WE CAN DO.
"LOOK WHAT WE MIGHT
LEARN FROM THIS...
A GIRL WHO HAS APPEARED
OUT OF NOWHERE."
Narrator:
TO BRING ALL THE PROPOSED PLANS
FOR GENIE INTO FOCUS
THERE WAS ANOTHER PLAYER
ON THE TEAM...
DAVID RIGLER, A PSYCHOLOGIST
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
RIGLER, TOO, WAS HOOKED
ON GENIE'S CASE.
Rigler:
EVERYBODY WHO CAME IN CONTACT
WITH HER WAS ATTRACTED TO HER.
SHE HAD A QUALITY OF SOMEHOW
CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE
WHICH DEVELOPED MORE AND MORE
BUT WAS PRESENT
REALLY FROM THE START.
SHE HAD A WAY OF REACHING OUT
WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING
BUT JUST SOMEHOW BY THE KIND
OF LOOK IN HER EYES
AND PEOPLE WANTED
TO DO THINGS FOR HER.
Narrator:
RIGLER DECIDED
HOW TO FOCUS THE RESEARCH
AROUND GENIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
GENIE WAS NOW 14 YEARS OLD.
THE TIMING WAS FITTING
BECAUSE RIGLER WANTED TO KNOW
COULD THE CLOCK BE TURNED BACK
FOR GENIE?
IN PARTICULAR, COULD A TEENAGER
STILL LEARN TO TALK?
THIS HAD ALREADY BEEN
THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DEBATE
BY THE TIME
GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
IT ALL BEGAN WITH NOAM CHOMSKY,
A YOUNG LINGUIST
AT THE MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.
CHOMSKY DECLARED
THAT WE ACQUIRE LANGUAGE
NOT JUST BECAUSE
WE ARE TAUGHT IT
BUT BECAUSE WE ARE BORN
WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE.
THEY'RE IN OUR GENES.
WE HAVE LANGUAGE, CHOMSKY SAID
BECAUSE OF NATURE,
NOT JUST NURTURE.
THEN, ALONG CAME
A NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST
WHO HAD HIS OWN TWIST
TO THE THEORY.
ERIC LENNEBERG AGREED WE'RE BORN
WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE
BUT THERE IS A DEADLINE
FOR APPLYING THEM.
IF A FIRST LANGUAGE ISN'T
ACQUIRED BY PUBERTY, HE SAID
IT MAY BE TOO LATE.
CHOMSKY AND LENNEBERG
ROCKED THE FIELD.
THEY WERE HOT.
LINGUISTICS WAS IN.
IT WAS A PERFECT TIME
TO TEST THE NEW IDEAS
RECALLS LINGUIST ELISSA NEWPORT.
Newport:
WHAT LENNEBERG PROPOSED
IS WHAT'S CALLED
THE CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS.
HE SUGGESTED THERE'S A PERIOD
IN THE LIFE OF HUMANS
WHEN THEY'RE RIPE
FOR LEARNING LANGUAGES.
WHAT THIS HYPOTHESIS
WAS LOOKING FOR
WAS SOME MORE DIRECT EVIDENCE
BUT OF COURSE, YOU DON'T
DO THESE EXPERIMENTS.
ONE NEVER WISHES TO DEPRIVE
SOMEBODY OF LANGUAGE
DURING THE CRITICAL PERIOD
TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
AT THAT TIME, WHEN THAT WOULD
HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT THING
FOR LENNEBERG'S HYPOTHESIS,
GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
STOVE.
STOVE.
Narrator:
THIS IS WHY SUSAN CURTISS
JOINED THE GENIE TEAM.
SHE WAS A GRADUATE STUDENT
IN LINGUISTICS.
SHE WOULD PUT THE CRITICAL
PERIOD HYPOTHESIS
TO ITS FIRST REAL TEST.
SPOON IS FOUR.
SHARP.
Narrator:
THIS IS ONE
OF THE FIRST VIDEOTAPES
OF CURTISS'S WORK WITH GENIE.
Curtiss:
A SHARP SQUARE.
SHARP SQUARE.
Curtiss:
SHE WANTED, IT SEEMED TO ME,
ALMOST DESPERATELY
TO RECODE HER WORLD
WITH VERBAL LABELS
AND SOMETIMES WE WOULD
JUST STAND AT A WINDOW
AND SHE WOULD POINT
AT A PANORAMA BEFORE US
AND I WOULDN'T KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS
SHE WANTED TO KNOW THE WORD FOR
BUT SHE WOULD PERSIST UNTIL
SHE AT LEAST GOT A NEW WORD.
Narrator:
WHILE CURTISS TRACKED
GENIE'S SPEECH
JAMES KENT CONTINUED WORK
ON HER EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
KENT WAS CONCERNED
THAT WITH THE GROWING NUMBER
OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN HER CASE
GENIE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO FORM
SINGLE, DEPENDABLE RELATIONSHIPS
SO HE SET OUT
TO BE HER SURROGATE PARENT.
Kent:
WANTED TO BE A PART OF HER
SORT OF ORDINARY LIFE
SO I WOULD FREQUENTLY BE THERE
WHEN SHE HAD BREAKFAST
AND WHEN SHE WENT TO BED
READ HER A STORY,
KISS HER GOOD NIGHT
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND GO
AND THEN DO THINGS
DURING THE DAY.
AND WHEN SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH
THINGS LIKE PHYSICAL EXAMS
I WOULD COME ALONG WITH HER
AS THOUGH SHE WERE MY CHILD.
SHE WAS VERY SPECIAL TO ME.
Interviewer:
DID YOU FEEL YOU LOVED HER?
WELL, DOCTORS AREN'T SUPPOSED
TO LOVE THEIR PATIENTS
BUT IF YOU COULD FIND A WORD
THAT MEANT THE SAME THING, YES.
YEAH, I WAS VERY
ATTACHED TO HER.
FIRST TIME SHE SAW
HELIUM BALLOONS
SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE
THAT YOU COULD LET THEM GO UP
AND PULL THEM BACK DOWN AGAIN.
SHE HAD THIS KIND OF LAUGH
SOME PEOPLE HAVE
AND IT'S JUST
A FULL-OUT CHUCKLE.
IT'S SO CONTAGIOUS, EVERYBODY
AROUND THEM STARTS TO LAUGH.
WELL, THEY MADE HER
LAUGH LIKE THAT.
Curtiss:
ONE OF MY MEMORIES WAS
THAT WE WOULD GO TO A PLACE,
SAY A WOOLWORTH'S
WHERE THERE WOULD BE A STAND
OF SPOOLS OF THREAD
AND SPOOLS
WHERE EACH COLOR THREAD
WOULD INCREMENTALLY CHANGE
FROM THE SPOOLS NEXT TO IT.
AND SHE WANTED A WORD
FOR EVERY DIFFERENT HUE.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW.
I MEAN, I HAD A BOX OF
64 CRAYOLA CRAYONS AS A CHILD
AND I REMEMBERED,
YOU KNOW, BURNT SIENNA
AND ALL THESE COLORS THAT I
TRIED TO EXTRACT FROM MY MEMORY
BUT ENGLISH DOESN'T HAVE WORDS
FOR ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT HUES
AND SHE WAS VERY FRUSTRATED
WHEN I WOULD SAY
"VERY DARK BLUE" AND
"VERY, VERY DARK BLUE."
Narrator:
FOR GENIE, EVERY NEW OBJECT
EVERY FIELD TRIP WAS A VISIT
TO A MAGIC KINGDOM.
THE PREVIOUS FALL,
THE WORLD HAD DISCOVERED GENIE.
NOW GENIE COULD
DISCOVER THE WORLD.
Rigler:
THERE WAS A TIME THAT
SHE PASSED A FATHER
AND A LITTLE BOY
WHO WERE COMING OUT OF A SHOP
AND THE LITTLE BOY WAS
CARRYING A TOY FIRE ENGINE
AND THEY JUST PASSED
AND THEN THEY TURNED AROUND
AND CAME BACK.
AND THE BOY, WITHOUT A WORD,
HANDED THE FIRE ENGINE TO GENIE.
SHE NEVER ASKED FOR IT,
SHE NEVER SAID A WORD.
SHE DID THIS KIND OF THING
SOMEHOW TO PEOPLE.
COULD I SEE THINGS
THROUGH HER EYES?
I DON'T BELIEVE I REALLY COULD.
SOMETIMES I COULD UNDERSTAND
AND GUESS PRETTY WELL
WHAT SHE WAS GOING TO DO
BUT THAT WAS FAMILIARITY
AND NOT AN ABILITY, I THINK,
TO EMPATHIZE WITH, UNDERSTAND
THE WAY SHE SAW THE WORLD.
Narrator:
THE SUMMER AFTER HER DISCOVERY
WAS A TIME OF FIRSTS FOR GENIE.
Genie:
WATER!
Butler:
THERE'S A GLASS OF
WATER... YOU CAN.
Narrator:
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
HAPPENED HERE
IN THE HOME OF JEAN BUTLER, HER
TEACHER AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
DO YOU WANT TO
GET SOME WATER?
Narrator:
GENIE MOVED IN.
MM-HMM, YOU
CAN GET WATER.
Narrator:
IT WAS A NEW STEP FOR GENIE:
HER FIRST TRIAL RUN
IN A FOSTER HOME.
Butler:
THIS IS JULY 11,
MRS. BUTLER'S HOUSE.
THIS IS LUNCHTIME.
SHE JUST TOOK THE MILK
AND THE CHOCOLATE MILK
INTO THE BEDROOM.
Narrator:
HERE, BUTLER VIDEOTAPES GENIE'S
PASSION FOR HOARDING THINGS
ESPECIALLY CONTAINERS OF LIQUID.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS
NO OBVIOUS EXPLANATION
THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED
IN OTHER CASES
OF CHILDREN RAISED IN ISOLATION.
GENIE BEGAN LIVING HERE
AFTER BUTLER SAID
SHE HAD EXPOSED GENIE
TO GERMAN MEASLES.
IT BEGAN AS
A TEMPORARY QUARANTINE.
BUTLER WANTED
TO MAKE IT PERMANENT.
Child:
Go backwards!
Narrator:
BUTLER, SHOWN HERE
WITH GENIE AND JAMES KENT
WANTED TO BE GENIE'S
OFFICIAL FOSTER PARENT
AND SHE WANTED TO SEE CHANGES
IN THE HANDLING OF GENIE'S CASE.
BUTLER THOUGHT FREQUENT VISITS
BY TEAM MEMBERS KENT AND SUSAN
CURTISS WERE EXHAUSTING GENIE.
THAT WAS THE SUMMER WHEN
WE WERE THEN BOTH DISALLOWED
INTO JEAN BUTLER'S HOUSE
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE
SUCH A FUN SUMMER.
IT WAS A SUMMER
THAT INCLUDED WEEKS
OF CONCERN AND ANXIETY AND ANGER
BECAUSE HE AND I WERE KICKED OUT
OF JEAN'S HOUSE.
Interviewer:
WHY?
WHY? SHE WAS CRAZY
AND SHE DIDN'T WANT
THE OTHER ATTACHMENTS.
SHE USED TO SAY, "I AM GOING
TO BE THE NEXT ANNIE SULLIVAN.
THIS GIRL IS GOING
TO MAKE ME FAMOUS."
AND WE USED TO JOKE BECAUSE
SHE WAS SO OVERT ABOUT IT
AND WE THOUGHT,
"GOD, EVEN IF SHE HAS THE DESIRE
WHY IS SHE SO WILLING
TO TELL THE REST OF US?"
BUT SHE CERTAINLY FOUND A WAY;
SHE CONCOCTED THIS STORY.
THE WHOLE THING IS UNTRUE.
SHE DIDN'T HAVE GERMAN MEASLES;
SHE HAD A RASH.
Narrator:
THE BICKERING CONTINUED
FOR MORE THAN A MONTH
ACCORDING TO JOURNALS
LEFT BEHIND BY JEAN BUTLER
WHO DIED IN 1988.
Butler:
SHE'S DOING
AN EYE EXAM.
Narrator:
BUTLER WROTE
SHE FEARED GENIE WAS BEING
EXPERIMENTED WITH TOO MUCH.
ARE YOU GOING TO
DO THAT AGAIN?
Narrator:
WHETHER THIS WAS
BUTLER'S TRUE MOTIVATION
IN KEEPING AWAY OTHER
TEAM MEMBERS CANNOT BE KNOWN
BUT IT RAISED AGAIN THE ISSUE
OF HOW GENIE SHOULD BE TREATED:
COULD SHE BE A SCIENTIFIC
SUBJECT AND STILL BE A PATIENT?
ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 13
SOCIAL WORKERS ARRIVED AT
BUTLER'S HOUSE WITH A DECISION
ON HER APPLICATION
TO BE GENIE'S FOSTER PARENT.
PARTLY ON ADVICE FROM CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL, IT WAS REJECTED.
WE WERE NOT SATISFIED
WITH THE QUALITY OF THE CARE
THAT GENIE WAS ABLE...
WELL, HAD AT JEAN BUTLER'S
SO THAT HAD TO BE INTERRUPTED,
AND AGAIN, IT WAS UP TO...
UP TO MANAGEMENT... I.E., US...
TO INTERRUPT THAT.
Narrator:
GENIE RETURNED
TO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS.
A NEW FOSTER PARENT
CAME TO TAKE HER HOME.
IT WAS DAVID RIGLER.
RIGLER DECIDED
TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE CASE.
HE DECIDED TO TAKE OVER
KENT'S ROLE AS THERAPIST
AND ALSO BE GENIE'S
FOSTER PARENT
AND THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR.
Rigler:
ORDINARILY, MENTAL HEALTH
PEOPLE ARE NOT INVOLVED
IN THESE KINDS OF MULTIPLE ROLES
BUT I HAVE TO STRESS
HOW DESPERATE WE WERE
TO FIND A PLACE
THAT WAS APPROPRIATE.
AND I REMEMBER MAKING
THE COMMITMENT IN MY MIND
FOR A THREE-MONTH PERIOD
WHICH OBVIOUSLY
GOT EXTENDED MUCH LONGER.
Interviewer:
HOW LONG WOULD
SHE STAY?
SHE WAS WITH US
APPROXIMATELY FOUR YEARS.
Narrator:
GENIE'S NEW HOME
WAS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD
NEAR CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
SHE LIVED HERE WITH DAVID
RIGLER, HIS WIFE MARILYN
AND THE RIGLER CHILDREN.
Marilyn Rigler:
WE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT TO EXPECT.
WE KNEW THAT GENIE NEEDED
A GREAT DEAL OF HELP
AND ON THE OTHER HAND,
IT WAS VERY EXCITING TO FEEL
THAT PERHAPS WE COULD HELP HER
AND PERHAPS SHE COULD BE
REHABILITATED.
Narrator:
MARILYN, A GRADUATE STUDENT
IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
WAS GENIE'S NEW TEACHER.
SHE SOON FOUND HERSELF GIVING
GENIE UNCONVENTIONAL LESSONS.
GENIE WOULD ERUPT
IN SILENT STORMS OF RAGE
TUGGING AND TEARING
HER OWN BODY.
TO TURN GENIE'S
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE ANGER OUTWARD
MARILYN TAUGHT HER
HOW TO HAVE A FIT...
HOW TO SLAM DOORS
AND STAMP HER FEET.
EVENTUALLY,
MARILYN ENCOURAGED GENIE
TO TURN HER PAIN
AND ANGER INTO WORDS.
Marilyn:
AND THERE CAME A TIME
WHEN SHE COULD SAY, "ROUGH TIME"
AND SOMETIMES SHE COULD TELL YOU
THE DEGREE OF HOW UPSET SHE WAS
BY WAVING ONE FINGER,
WHICH MEANT SHE WAS VERY UPSET
OR KIND OF WAVING HER HAND,
WHICH MEANT SHE WAS UPSET
BUT IT WASN'T GOING
TO BE A BIG DEAL.
"I"...
"I JUMP."
"JUMP," YEAH.
YES, LET'S SEE YOU JUMP.
JUMP.
GOOD! CAN YOU
JUMP SOME MORE?
JUMP!
Narrator:
ONE OF MARILYN'S FIRST TASKS
WAS TO AWAKEN IN GENIE
A SENSE OF HER CONNECTION
TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD.
"MARCH."
"MARCH."
TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING.
Narrator:
LIKE HER HISTORIC
COUNTERPART VICTOR
GENIE SEEMED DISCONNECTED
FROM CERTAIN BODILY SENSATIONS.
Marilyn:
I WOULD ALLOW HER
TO RUN HER OWN BATH WATER
OR HER OWN SHOWER WATER
AND WHEN I WOULD TOUCH IT,
I WOULD REALIZE
THAT IT WAS ICY COLD
AND I WOULD SAY,
"OH, THIS IS SO COLD.
YOU'RE GOING TO FREEZE."
AND IT WAS AS THOUGH
IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
Narrator:
IN THEIR NEW ROLE
AS GENIE'S FOSTER PARENTS
THE RIGLERS WERE
SUDDENLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR A CHILD WHO NEEDED
FULL-TIME SUPERVISION.
I LIKE DAVID.
Narrator:
THEY ALSO TOOK RESPONSIBILITY
FOR GENIE'S THERAPY...
ATTEMPTS TO HELP HER GRAPPLE
WITH THE HORROR
OF HER CHILDHOOD.
OKAY, BABY,
OPEN YOUR MOUTH.
Narrator:
IN THIS PRIMITIVE
ROLE-PLAYING EXERCISE
MARILYN PRETENDS
TO BE GENIE'S MOTHER.
HURRY UP!
HURRY UP, BECAUSE
THERE ISN'T ANY TIME.
FATHER'S GOING
TO BE ANGRY.
Narrator:
MARILYN TRIES TO ELICIT
MEMORIES OF GENIE'S PAST.
Marilyn:
I WONDER WHAT
YOU'RE THINKING.
DEAD FATHER, FATHER DEAD.
DEAD.
DEAD FATHER.
Marilyn:
YOU WANT TO SEE
YOUR FATHER?
YOUR FATHER
IS NOT LIVING.
NOT LIVING?
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHAT IT WAS LIKE
WHEN YOU LIVED
AT HOME?
WHAT WERE YOU
SITTING ON
WHEN YOU ATE
THE CEREAL?
IN THE POTTY.
IN THE
POTTY CHAIR?
MM-HMM, POTTY CHAIR.
WHERE DID
YOU STAY
WHEN YOU LIVED
AT HOME?
WHERE DID
YOU LIVE?
WHERE DID
YOU SLEEP?
IN POTTY CHAIR.
YOU SLEPT IN
THE POTTY CHAIR?
MM-HMM, IN A POTTY CHAIR.
Narrator:
WHILE THIS VIDEOTAPE SHOWS
HOW DISTRESSED GENIE WAS
BY HER CHILDHOOD
IT ALSO REVEALS
A DEVELOPMENTAL BREAKTHROUGH:
GENIE WAS USING LANGUAGE
TO DESCRIBE PAST EVENTS.
I LIKE MY TOY.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS TALKING
ABOUT THINGS THAT HAPPENED
BEFORE WORDS WERE
A PART OF HER WORLD.
FOR A CHILD WHO BARELY SPOKE
JUST A SHORT TIME AGO
GENIE WAS DOING REMARKABLY WELL
WITH LANGUAGE.
SUSAN CURTISS CONTINUED
TO TRACK HER PROGRESS.
"MONK."
YEAH, RIGHT.
"MONK."
"MONK"!
RIGHT!
Narrator:
GENIE COULD READ SIMPLE WORDS.
HER VOCABULARY WAS GROWING.
HERE, SHE IS ABOUT TO SAY,
"I LIKE LOG."
"I LIKE LOG."
Curtiss:
LET ME SEE...
THE LOG?
"I LIKE LOG."
YOU FOUND A PICTURE
OF A LOG.
I DIDN'T
EVEN KNOW
YOU KNEW WHAT
A LOG WAS.
WHERE DO YOU
SEE A LOG?
Curtiss:
I WAS STRUCK
WITH HOW DIFFERENT
THE WORDS THAT SHE KNEW WERE
FROM THE VOCABULARY WORDS
THAT YOUNG CHILDREN WOULD KNOW
WHEN THEY'RE ACQUIRING
A FIRST LANGUAGE.
SHE HAD WORDS FOR EMOTIONS:
"ANGRY," "SAD,"
"EXCITED," "HAPPY."
SHE HAD WORDS...
COLOR WORDS, SHAPE WORDS:
"SQUARE," "RECTANGLE."
I LIKE CIRCLE.
YOU LIKE CIRCLES.
I LIKE CIRCLE.
Narrator:
GENIE SEEMED TO BE PULLING OFF
A LINGUISTICS COUP.
SHE HAD PASSED
THE CRITICAL AGE OF PUBERTY
BUT SHE SEEMED TO BE LEARNING
A FIRST LANGUAGE.
CURTISS BEGAN DOUBTING
THE NOTION
THAT THERE WAS A DEADLINE
FOR DOING SO.
Curtiss:
MY EARLY IDEAS WERE THAT
THE SKY MIGHT BE THE LIMIT.
ROUND.
I COULDN'T HELP THINKING
THAT SHE MIGHT, IN FACT,
JUST BE ABLE... BE ABLE TO SHOW
THAT PEOPLE REALLY WERE WRONG.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS AT LAST SETTLED
INTO HER NEW LIFE.
SHE EVEN WENT
TO A NURSERY SCHOOL.
HOPES GREW
THAT UNLIKE OTHER CASES
OF CHILDREN ISOLATED
FROM SOCIETY
GENIE'S COULD HAVE
A HAPPY ENDING.
AT THE PARIS INSTITUTE
FOR THE DEAF
GENIE'S HISTORIC COUNTERPART
ALSO SEEMED TO FLOURISH
WHEN REUNITED WITH CIVILIZATION.
UNE.
Narrator:
AS SHOWN IN TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE,
VICTOR RESPONDED SUCCESSFULLY
TO METHODS USED
TO TEACH THE DEAF.
VICTOR'S TEACHER CREATED
HIS OWN METHODS AS WELL:
ITARD USED CUT-OUT LETTERS
FOR LESSONS THAT ARE STILL USED
IN KINDERGARTENS
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
HE HAD A KNACK
FOR GRADUALLY INCREASING
THE COMPLEXITY
OF VICTOR'S TASKS.
Lane:
ITARD IS TEACHING VICTOR
TO READ SIMPLE PHRASES
LIKE "TO THROW A KEY," SO HE
WRITES "THROW KEY" IN FRENCH
AND THEN FLINGS A KEY, THEN
EXPECTS VICTOR TO DO THE SAME.
VICTOR'S DOING WELL.
HE'S READING THE SENTENCES,
PERFORMING THE ACTIONS
BUT ITARD DOESN'T TRUST IT.
IT COULD BE BY SHEER MEMORY.
SO HE DECIDES TO SCRAMBLE
THE NOUNS AND VERBS
AND GET SOME WEIRD COMBINATIONS
LIKE "TO TEAR A STONE,"
"TO CUT A CUP," "TO EAT A BROOM"
PRESENTS "TEAR A STONE"
TO VICTOR
AND HE SHOWS SOME INGENUITY.
HE GETS A HAMMER
AND HE SMASHES THE STONE.
"CUT A CUP"... PICKS UP THE CUP
AND HURLS IT ON THE FLOOR
AND IT SHATTERS.
"EAT A BROOM"...
THIS TIME HE CHANGES THE NOUN
GOES OFF AND GETS A PIECE
OF BREAD AND DEVOURS IT.
THIS WAS ITARD, CONSTANTLY
ANALYZING, UPPING THE ANTE
PUSHING THE KID
TOWARDS CIVILIZATION
TOWARD THE SKILLS THAT WE HAVE
AND VICTOR GENERALLY RISING
TO THE CHALLENGE
EACH TIME TAKING THE SMALL STEP.
THIS WAS THE KIND OF STRUGGLE
THEY ENGAGED IN TOGETHER
FOR SIX YEARS.
Narrator:
INDEED, FOR A WHILE,
TEACHER AND PUPIL WERE JOINED
IN A SHARED MISSION
OF AWAKENING.
LAIT.
BIEN.
Narrator:
AND THIS IS AS FAR
AS FILM DIRECTOR TRUFFAUT
TAKES HIS VERSION OF THE STORY.
MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME,
"WHAT DO YOU THINK
OF THE TRUFFAUT FILM THE WILD
CHILD... L'ENFANT SAUVAGE?"
I THINK THAT IT WAS
A PRETTY SOLID JOB
OF FOLLOWING ITARD'S REPORTS.
Lane:
BUT I DO HAVE ONE EXCEPTION.
AT THE END OF THE FILM
THE CHILD CLIMBS THE STAIRS
AND THE IDEA IS
THAT HE'S WALKING OFF
INTO A FUTURE
OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
IN WHICH HE MAY EVEN WRITE
HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AND THAT'S SIMPLY FALSE.
Narrator:
IN REALITY,
THE HISTORY BOOKS SHOW
THAT VICTOR'S PROGRESS
SLOWED DOWN.
ITARD REPORTED WHILE VICTOR
KNEW HOW TO READ SIMPLE WORDS
HE NEVER REALLY LEARNED
HOW TO TALK.
ITARD RECOMMENDED THAT THE
FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT BE STOPPED.
Lane:
YOU KNOW, WE ATTRIBUTED
TO ITARD THIS MOTIVE
OF WANTING TO USE VICTOR
TO BUILD HIS OWN CAREER
AND I THINK THAT WAS TRUE.
WHEN THE POINT CAME THAT HE WAS
NO LONGER SERVING VICTOR
NOR SERVING SCIENCE
OR HIS CAREER
HE ABANDONED HIM, HE LET HIM GO.
ITARD GAVE UP.
HE ASKED MADAME GUERIN, THE
HOUSEKEEPER, TO TAKE THE BOY IN
DOWN THE STREET
FROM THE DEAF SCHOOL
AND THERE THEY LIVED A RATHER
GRAY, SAD, FORLORN EXISTENCE
THE TWO OF THEM.
SO THE STORY IS NOT AS ROMANTIC
AS TRUFFAUT
WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE.
Narrator:
VICTOR LIVED HIS LAST DAYS
AT THIS VERY SPOT IN PARIS.
HE DIED IN HIS 40s IN 1828.
VICTOR'S STORY DID NOT END WELL.
IN LOS ANGELES,
MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER
GENIE'S CAREGIVERS WERE WORKING
TO ENSURE THAT THEIR PUPIL
FARED BETTER.
WHEN WILL YOU SEE
YOUR MAMA IN THE HOUSE?
Narrator:
WHEN GENIE USED GESTURES
A LOT TO COMMUNICATE
THE RIGLERS ARRANGED FOR HER
TO LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE.
I...
I...
WILL...
WILL...
SEE MAMA...
SATURDAY!
SATURDAY!
RIGHT!
Narrator:
CRITICS FAULT VICTOR'S TEACHER
FOR EMPHASIZING
SPOKEN SPEECH.
THE RIGLERS TRIED
TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE.
WHEN WE'RE
ALL FINISHED.
Narrator:
THE WEEKS TURNED INTO MONTHS,
THE MONTHS INTO YEARS
AND DAVID RIGLER,
WHO WAS SCIENTIST, THERAPIST
AND FOSTER PARENT TO GENIE,
SEEMED TO FIND A WAY
TO JUGGLE ALL THOSE ROLES.
IN REALITY, THE JUGGLING ACT
HAD STARTED TO FALL APART.
Marilyn:
THIS IS THE PAPER
THAT'S UNFOLDED.
Narrator:
FOR YEARS, RIGLER HAD TROUBLE
MANAGING THE RESEARCH PART
OF THE CASE.
CURTISS'S LANGUAGE
STUDIES PROCEEDED
BUT RIGLER HAD BEEN GETTING
GOVERNMENT MONEY TO DO MORE.
INDEED, HE GATHERED
HUNDREDS OF VIDEOS
HE SUPERVISED COUNTLESS TESTS
BUT HE NEVER CLEARLY DEFINED
HIS OWN RESEARCH.
SHOW ME THE SHOE
THAT'S UNTIED.
TIE.
UNTIED.
Narrator:
TO ADD TO THE MURKINESS
OF THE STUDY
WAS AN UNRESOLVED QUESTION
WHICH WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT
TO DRAW FIRM
SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSIONS:
WAS GENIE BRAIN-DAMAGED
FROM BIRTH?
TEAM MEMBERS DISAGREED.
Shurley:
MY IMPRESSION WAS CLEARLY
THAT GENIE WAS
MENTALLY RETARDED FROM BIRTH
BASED ON, FOR EXAMPLE,
MY SLEEP STUDY
WHICH SHOWED
THESE EXTREME SPINDLES
WHICH ARE FAIRLY CHARACTERISTIC
OF SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION.
Curtiss:
GENIE, ALTHOUGH
FUNCTIONALLY RETARDED
BECAUSE SHE HAD HARDLY LIVED AND
EXPERIENCED THE WORLD AROUND HER
WAS NOT MENTALLY DEFICIENT
IN ANY SENSE
IN WHICH WE TYPICALLY THINK OF
AS MENTALLY DEFICIENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, ON PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTS THAT MEASURE MENTAL AGE
EVERY YEAR AFTER
SHE HAD BEEN FOUND
HER MENTAL AGE
INCREASED ONE YEAR.
THIS IS JUST NOT SOMETHING
THAT HAPPENS IN A PERSON...
WITH A CHILD OR AN ADULT...
WHO'S MENTALLY RETARDED.
Narrator:
THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT WAS
FUNDING THE RESEARCH PROJECT
GREW UNEASY WITH THE SCIENTIFIC
AMBIGUITIES OF GENIE'S CASE.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF MENTAL HEALTH
WAS LOOKING FOR PAYBACK
FOR THE YEARS OF MONEY
IT POURED INTO THE STUDY
AND IT WASN'T FINDING ANY.
AFTER REPEATED WARNINGS,
IN THE FALL OF '74
N.I.M.H. STOPPED FUNDING
THE GENIE PROJECT
CITING A FAILURE TO COLLECT DATA
IN A SCIENTIFICALLY
MEANINGFUL WAY.
NOBODY KNEW EXACTLY
HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS.
WE WERE DOING OUR BEST...
WE GOT THE BEST KIND OF COUNSEL,
THE BEST KIND OF ADVICE
WE HAD TO SORT THAT OUT
AND TAKE THAT AS IT CAME
BUT WE DID THE VERY BEST
WE KNEW HOW
AND WE BELIEVED
THAT NOBODY KNEW ANY BETTER.
Narrator:
IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE LOSS
OF THEIR RESEARCH GRANT
THE RIGLERS DECIDED TO END
THEIR FOSTER CARE OF GENIE.
THEIR DECISION CAUSED CONCERN
AMONG THEIR COLLEAGUES.
IT'S NOT THAT IT CAME
AS A SURPRISE TO US
OR SHOULDN'T HAVE.
WE HAD A LOT OF CONSULTANTS
AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS
WE WERE ASKED OFTEN
BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON
IS "WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN HERE
WHEN THE HOSPITAL GOES AWAY
"IF THE RESEARCH GRANT
GOES AWAY
"IF ALL OF THE INTEREST IN HOW
THIS YOUNGSTER IS DEVELOPING
"WHEN THE RESEARCHERS
FOLD THEIR TENTS AND GO AWAY
WHO'S GOING TO STAY BEHIND
WITH GENIE?"
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS
CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT...
THE FACT THAT
"SHOULD WE NOT TAKE GENIE?"
BECAUSE WE DID NOT PLAN
TO HAVE HER FOREVER.
AND THAT WAS SOMETHING
THAT WE...
WE TALKED ABOUT VERY ACTIVELY
AND WE FINALLY DECIDED THAT
IF WE COULD GIVE HER A GOOD HOME
WITH MUCH LOVE
AND REHABILITATION
WITHIN THAT HOME...
NURTURING, CARETAKING
AND... AND GOOD THINGS...
THAT THAT WOULD GIVE HER
THE ABILITY TO COPE
AT SOME LATER TIME
SO THAT SHE WOULD HAVE A GOOD
FOUNDATION AND A STABLE HOME
AND THAT WAS OUR REASONING.
WHAT IS ON
THE RED BOX?
Narrator:
FOR LINGUIST SUSAN CURTISS
IT WAS TIME TO SUM UP
HER YEARS OF WORK WITH GENIE.
A CLEAR PICTURE WAS EMERGING
IN HER DATA
BUT FOR GENIE,
THAT PICTURE WAS NOT PROMISING.
HERE, WHEN ASKED
TO MAKE A QUESTION
GENIE COMES UP WITH
"WHAT RED BLUE IS IN?"
Curtiss:
"WHAT RED
BLUE IS IN?"
DOES THAT
MAKE SENSE?
IS THAT A
SILLY QUESTION?
Narrator:
GENIE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE
TO PUT WORDS TOGETHER
IN A NORMAL, GRAMMATICAL WAY.
THIS SEEMED TO SUPPORT THE IDEA
OF A CRITICAL PERIOD
FOR ACQUIRING LANGUAGE.
Curtiss:
IN GENIE'S CASE
THE VOCABULARY WAS
WHAT SHE WAS GOOD AT
CONVEYING MESSAGES WAS
WHAT SHE WAS GOOD AT
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT A SENTENCE
THAT SHE WOULD UTTER
IT WOULDN'T BE GRAMMATICAL.
SO SHE MIGHT SAY THINGS
LIKE, "SPOT CHEW GLOVE,"
"APPLESAUCE BUY STORE"
WHERE THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR:
"THE DOG, NAMED SPOT,
CHEWED THE GLOVE"
OR "WE NEED TO BUY APPLESAUCE
AT THE STORE."
BUT IN BOTH OF THESE CASES
YOU CAN SEE
THEY'RE NOT SENTENCES
OF ENGLISH.
WE WOULDN'T SAY,
"APPLESAUCE BUY STORE"
WE WOULD SAY, "WE NEED TO BUY
APPLESAUCE AT THE STORE"
OR SOMETHING THAT IS
AN ACTUAL SENTENCE OF ENGLISH.
Narrator:
MUCH OF THE LANGUAGE RESEARCH
ON GENIE WAS COMPLETED BY 1975
A PIVOTAL YEAR FOR HER.
THAT SUMMER, SHE RETURNED HERE,
TO HER CHILDHOOD HOME
TO LIVE WITH HER MOTHER.
GENIE'S MOTHER
HAD BEEN ACQUITTED
OF CHILD ABUSE CHARGES.
SHE WANTED TO RESUME CARE
OF HER DAUGHTER.
BUT SHE SOON FOUND IT
TOO DIFFICULT.
THUS BEGAN ANOTHER SAD CHAPTER
IN GENIE'S LIFE...
A SERIES OF PLACEMENTS
IN FOSTER HOMES.
Hansen:
GENIE WAS SUBJECTED TO ABUSE,
TO PUNISHMENT, TO HARASSMENT
TO THE EXTREME
IN SOME OF THESE HOMES.
THEN SHE WOULD BE MOVED AGAIN
TO ANOTHER HOME,
AND ANOTHER HOME
AND MEANWHILE,
WE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT
UNTIL THE BOMBSHELL HIT.
THE BOMBSHELL.
A LAWSUIT.
A LAWSUIT?
AGAINST HANSEN,
RIGLER, KENT, CURTISS
AND CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
OF LOS ANGELES.
Narrator:
LIKE VICTOR'S,
GENIE'S CASE HAD NOT ENDED WELL
AND NOW, THERE WAS A MODERN
AMERICAN TWIST TO HER STORY...
A LAWSUIT.
THE LAWSUIT, FILED BY GENIE'S
MOTHER, CHARGED THE GENIE TEAM
WITH "EXCESSIVE
AND OUTRAGEOUS TESTING."
WE'RE GOING TO BE
FINISHED SOON.
AS SOON AS YOU PUT
ALL THOSE CARDS IN BOXES
WE'RE GOING TO BE
ALL FINISHED.
Narrator:
THE LAWSUIT CLAIMED
THE RESEARCHERS GAVE TESTING
PRIORITY OVER GENIE'S WELFARE
PUSHING HER BEYOND THE LIMITS
OF HER ENDURANCE.
LOOK CAREFULLY.
DARK.
IT'S DARK, YES.
DARK.
DARK.
DARK.
WHICH BOX DOES
THAT BELONG IN? NO.
Narrator:
THE LAWYERS SUING
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
WERE LOUISE MONACO
AND SAMUEL PAZ.
Monaco:
THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD CLUES
THAT THEY WERE GOING
AT THINGS WRONGLY
BECAUSE THEY WERE
GETTING VISITS
FROM N.I.M.H., THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
TELLING THEM, "YOU GOT
ALL THESE VIDEOS
"BUT THEY'RE NOT INDEXED,
THEY'RE NOT CATALOGUED
"THEY'RE ALL THROWN
IN A DRAWER.
"YOU'RE DOING TESTS
THAT HAVE NO
SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE."
AND THEY WERE DOING
TESTS REPETITIVELY
WHICH LOSE
THEIR VALIDITY
WITH THE REPETITIVENESS.
YEAH, WITH
CERTAIN TESTS
IF YOU ADMINISTER THEM
WITHIN A YEAR
YOU'RE JUST MEASURING
HOW FAMILIAR THE SUBJECT
IS WITH THE TEST.
OKAY, NOW TRY IT AGAIN.
HERE, YOU DO IT.
PUT THEM IN THE BOX
BUT I WANT YOU
TO WORK FAST.
COME ON,
LET'S WORK FAST.
Rigler:
IT WAS OUR JOB
TO MEASURE HER PROGRESS
TO DETERMINE WHAT
CHANGES WERE TAKING PLACE.
INDEED, IF WE HAD NOT DONE
AS MUCH AS WE DID
WE WOULD HAVE
REALLY NOT FULFILLED
THE PURPOSES OF OUR GRANT.
BUT, IN ADDITION TO THAT,
THE TESTING THAT SHE UNDERWENT
WAS BY AND LARGE
FUN EXPERIENCES FOR HER.
Narrator:
DEPOSITIONS WERE TAKEN,
EXPERTS WERE SUMMONED
AND WHILE THE SUIT
WAS EVENTUALLY SETTLED
IT RAISED AN IMPORTANT QUESTION:
DID THE TEAM GO AS FAR
AS IT COULD GO IN TREATING GENIE
OR DID THE RESEARCH
GET IN THE WAY?
WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD
NOT TO EXPLOIT THE CASE
UM... IN A WAY THAT WOULD
IMPINGE ON HER PRIVACY
UM... OR IMPACT ON HER
PSYCHOLOGICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY.
AND THAT WASN'T DIFFICULT
BECAUSE OF THE FEELINGS
WE HAD FOR HER.
I DON'T THINK
THEY STARTED OUT
WITH THE NOTION OF
"LET'S EXPLOIT HER
FOR ALL THE MONEY
WE CAN GET."
I THINK MAYBE
EVERYBODY STARTED OUT
ONE,
THEY WANTED TO HELP HER
BUT TWO, THIS WAS
LIKE THE BIGGEST THING
THAT HAD HIT TOWN IN
QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS.
IT WAS RIGHT ON THE HEELS
OF TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE
THE WILD CHILD
HENCE THE NAME
THAT WAS GIVEN TO HER.
WHEN THEY HAD SEMINARS
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
THEY SHOWED THE MOVIE
AND SO THIS WAS LIKE
A WORLDWIDE ATTRACTION.
SO I THINK IT WAS REAL EASY
TO GET SIDETRACKED.
Narrator:
DESPITE ALL SHE'D BEEN THROUGH,
GENIE'S TROUBLES WERE NOT OVER.
IN HER FIRST FOSTER HOME
GENIE WAS SEVERELY PUNISHED
FOR VOMITING.
A LONG
TIME AGO?
Narrator:
THE EXPERIENCE
WAS SO TRAUMATIZING
GENIE ENDED UP
BACK IN CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
WHERE THE RIGLERS
OFFERED ASSISTANCE.
YOU COULDN'T
HELP IT.
SO NOW YOU'RE KEEPING
YOUR MOUTH CLOSED
SO YOU WON'T VOMIT.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS AFRAID
TO OPEN HER MOUTH.
SHE REGRESSED TO THE ONLY WAY
SHE KNEW HOW TO BE UNDER SIEGE...
COMPLETELY SILENT.
THIS WOULD BE
ONE OF THE LAST TIMES
THE RIGLERS VIDEOTAPED GENIE.
GENIE NOW LIVES
IN AN ADULT-CARE FOSTER HOME
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
IT'S AT LEAST THE SIXTH HOME
SHE HAS LIVED IN
SINCE THE RESEARCH
PROJECT ENDED.
Lane:
WHAT DO WE TAKE AWAY
FROM THIS REALLY SAD STORY?
THERE'S AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
IN THIS KIND OF RESEARCH.
IF YOU WANT TO DO
RIGOROUS SCIENCE
THEN GENIE'S INTERESTS ARE GOING
TO COME SECOND SOME OF THE TIME.
IF YOU ONLY CARE
ABOUT HELPING GENIE
THEN YOU WOULDN'T DO A LOT
OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THE TWO
ROLES, SCIENTIST AND THERAPIST
WERE COMBINED IN ONE PERSON
IN HER CASE.
SO I THINK FUTURE GENERATIONS
ARE GOING TO STUDY GENIE'S CASE
NOT ONLY FOR WHAT IT CAN
TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
BUT ALSO FOR
WHAT IT CAN TEACH US
ABOUT THE REWARDS AND THE RISKS
OF CONDUCTING
THE FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT.
A PRODUCTION OF WGBH BOSTON
THE SHOCKING STORY OF A GIRL
WHO SPENT HER CHILDHOOD
LOCKED IN A BEDROOM.
THE GIRL REPORTEDLY
WAS STILL WEARING DIAPERS
WHEN DISCOVERED TWO WEEKS AGO.
RAISED IN ISOLATION,
GENIE WAS A "WILD CHILD"
UNCIVILIZED, BARELY ABLE
TO WALK OR TALK.
Woman:
THE INDICATIONS ARE
THAT SHE WAS BEATEN
FOR MAKING NOISE.
WITH FOOTAGE NEVER BEFORE
SEEN ON TELEVISION
NOVA FOLLOWS THE CONTROVERSIAL
EFFORTS TO UNLOCK
Narrator:
ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE
CIVILIZED SOCIETY
COMES ACROSS A "WILD CHILD"...
A CHILD WHO HAS GROWN UP
IN SEVERE ISOLATION
WITH VIRTUALLY NO HUMAN CONTACT.
THIS IS THE STORY
OF SUCH A CASE.
THE STORY BEGINS IN LOS ANGELES
ON NOVEMBER 4, 1970.
Walter Cronkite:
OFFICIALS IN THE LOS ANGELES
SUBURB OF ARCADIA
HAVE TAKEN CUSTODY OF
A 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL WHO, THEY SAY
WAS KEPT IN SUCH ISOLATION
BY HER PARENTS
THAT SHE NEVER EVEN
LEARNED TO TALK.
HER ELDERLY PARENTS HAVE BEEN
CHARGED WITH CHILD ABUSE.
Narrator:
THIS IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
A CHILD WAS LOCKED IN A ROOM
AND TIED TO A POTTY CHAIR
FOR MOST OF HER LIFE.
COMPLETELY RESTRAINED,
SHE WAS FORCED TO SIT ALONE
DAY AFTER DAY,
AND OFTEN THROUGH THE NIGHT.
SHE HAD LITTLE TO LOOK AT
AND NO ONE TO TALK TO
FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS.
Cronkite:
THE GIRL REPORTEDLY WAS
UTTERING INFANTILE NOISES
AND STILL WEARING DIAPERS
WHEN A SOCIAL WORKER DISCOVERED
THE CASE TWO WEEKS AGO
BUT THE AUTHORITIES ARE HOPING
SHE STILL MAY HAVE
A NORMAL LEARNING CAPACITY.
Narrator:
HERE WAS A 13-YEAR-OLD
WHO SEEMED LIKE AN INFANT...
A GIRL WHO WOULD
BE KNOWN AS GENIE.
GENIE WAS TAKEN TO CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL IN LOS ANGELES
WHERE SHE IMMEDIATELY
WON THE HEARTS
OF DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS.
Woman:
SHE WAS FRAGILE AND BEAUTIFUL,
ALMOST HAUNTING
AND SO I WAS PULLED,
I WAS VERY DRAWN TO HER
EVEN THOUGH I WAS NERVOUS
AND HAD NO IDEA IN MANY RESPECTS
WHAT TO EXPECT.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS ABOUT TO TEST AN IDEA
IMPORTANT TO SCIENCE
AND SOCIETY...
THAT A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
COULD MAKE UP FOR EVEN
THE MOST NIGHTMARISH OF PASTS.
Woman:
IF YOU MAKE UP A SENTENCE
IN YOUR HEAD
OR YOU WRITE IT DOWN
AND IT HAS, SAY,
TEN, 12 WORDS IN IT
CHANCES ARE YOU CAN LISTEN
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
FOR SOMEONE
TO SAY THE SENTENCE.
Narrator:
HERE AT U.C.L.A.,
SUSAN CURTISS TEACHES STUDENTS
THE ABILITY TO LEARN LANGUAGE.
Curtiss:
AND CHANCES ARE
YOU WILL NEVER
COME ACROSS THAT SENTENCE.
Narrator:
THE STUDENTS BEGIN THEIR STUDY
THROUGH A FAMOUS CASE.
THE CASE NAME
IS GENIE.
THIS IS NOT
THE PERSON'S REAL NAME
BUT WHEN WE THINK
ABOUT WHAT A GENIE IS
A GENIE IS A CREATURE
THAT COMES OUT OF A BOTTLE
OR WHATEVER
BUT EMERGES INTO HUMAN SOCIETY
PAST CHILDHOOD
AND WE ASSUME THE CREATURE
DIDN'T HAVE A HUMAN CHILDHOOD.
Narrator:
SUSAN CURTISS HAS
A SPECIAL CONNECTION
TO THE STORY SHE'S TELLING.
20 YEARS AGO
SHE WAS ASKED TO JOIN A TEAM
WORKING TO REHABILITATE GENIE.
I WAS LITERALLY AT THE RIGHT
PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
I WAS A NEW GRADUATE STUDENT
INTERESTED IN
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
UNENCUMBERED BY FAMILY TIES
OR RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND THEY ASKED ME
IF I WOULD BE INTERESTED.
Narrator:
WHEN CURTISS FIRST
JOINED THE CASE
GENIE HAD A STRANGE "BUNNY WALK"
AND OTHER, ALMOST INHUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS.
GENIE CONSTANTLY SPAT.
SHE SNIFFED AND CLAWED.
SHE BARELY SPOKE
OR MADE ANY NOISES.
Curtiss:
THE INDICATIONS ARE
THAT SHE WAS BEATEN
FOR MAKING NOISE
AND CONSEQUENTLY HAD LEARNED
BASICALLY NOT TO VOCALIZE
AND SHE REALLY DIDN'T VOCALIZE
VERY MUCH AT ALL.
WHEN I FIRST MET HER, SHE
WAS SILENT MOST OF THE TIME.
Narrator:
GENIE ALSO RECEIVED DAILY VISITS
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
FROM JAMES KENT,
HER PSYCHOLOGIST.
KENT RECALLS FIRST MEETING
HIS NEW PATIENT.
I WAS CAPTIVATED BY HER.
I WAS NOT THE LAST PERSON
TO BECOME CAPTIVATED BY HER.
THE STORY, AS WE BEGAN TO...
TO LEARN ABOUT IT
WAS SORT OF ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT, OF COURSE
WOULD REACH OUT
AND GRAB YOU ANYWAY.
BUT SHE HAD A PERSONAL QUALITY
THAT SEEMED
TO ELICIT RESCUE FANTASIES
AND THIS IN A GROUP OF PEOPLE
WHO WERE INTERESTED
IN TAKING CARE OF KIDS
AND WHO SPECIALIZED
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
WHO WERE GOING
TO BE SORT OF POWERED
BY RESCUE FANTASIES ANYWAY.
SHE REACHED OUT
AND GRABBED LOTS OF US.
Narrator:
ONE OF GENIE'S MOST
CAPTIVATING QUALITIES
WAS THE INTENSE WAY SHE EXPLORED
HER NEW ENVIRONMENT.
ODDLY, EVEN STRANGERS WHO
KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HER STORY
SEEMED TO SENSE
HER NEED TO DO SO.
Curtiss:
ONE PARTICULARLY STRIKING MEMORY
OF THOSE EARLY MONTHS
WAS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL MAN
WHO WAS A BUTCHER.
AND HE NEVER ASKED HER NAME
OR ANYTHING ABOUT HER.
THEY JUST CONNECTED
AND COMMUNICATED SOMEHOW.
AND EVERY TIME WE CAME IN...
AND THIS WAS SO
WITH OTHERS AS WELL...
HE WOULD SLIDE OPEN
THE LITTLE WINDOW
AND HAND HER SOMETHING
THAT WASN'T WRAPPED...
A BONE OF SOME SORT,
SOME MEATS, FISH, WHATEVER...
AND ALLOW HER
TO DO HER THING WITH IT.
AND TO DO HER THING,
WHAT HER THING WAS
BASICALLY WAS
TO EXPLORE IT TACTILELY
TO PUT IT UP AGAINST HER LIPS
AND FEEL IT WITH HER LIPS
AND TOUCH IT,
ALMOST AS IF SHE WERE BLIND.
Narrator:
WORD OF THE "WILD CHILD" SPREAD
ATTRACTING SCIENTISTS
FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
ONE OF THEM WAS OKLAHOMA
PSYCHIATRIST JAY SHURLEY.
Shurley:
WHEN INTRODUCED,
I EXTENDED MY HAND.
SHE REACHED OUT WITH HER FINGERS
AND DELICATELY TOUCHED MY HAND.
AND THEN IN A SENSE,
THAT WAS IT.
SHE HAD MADE MY ACQUAINTANCE.
SHE WAS SATISFIED FOR HERSELF
ABOUT ME.
BUT MY REACTION WAS I HAD A
THOUSAND QUESTIONS IMMEDIATELY.
WHO? WHAT? HOW?
HOW DOES THIS COME ABOUT?
WHY IS THIS?
WHY DO I SEE WHAT I'M SEEING?
Narrator:
SHURLEY WAS AN EXPERT
IN SOCIAL ISOLATION.
GENIE WAS THE MOST EXTREME CASE
HE'D EVER SEEN.
Shurley:
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
IS DIABOLICALLY
THE MOST SEVERE PUNISHMENT.
AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, REALLY
QUITE DRAMATIC SYMPTOMS DEVELOP
IN AS LITTLE AS 15 MINUTES
TO AN HOUR
AND CERTAINLY INSIDE
OF TWO OR THREE DAYS
AND TRY TO EXPAND THIS
TO TEN YEARS BOGGLES ONE'S MIND.
Narrator:
SHURLEY WANTED TO ASSESS
HOW WELL GENIE HAD SURVIVED
HER LONG YEARS OF ISOLATION.
HE DIRECTED THE TEAM TO GATHER
INFORMATION ON HER BRAIN WAVES.
FOR FOUR NIGHTS RUNNING,
THEY WIRED GENIE TO INSTRUMENTS
THAT MEASURED THE ELECTRICAL
ACTIVITY IN HER BRAIN
WHILE SHE SLEPT.
WHAT THEY FOUND WAS
AN UNUSUALLY HIGH NUMBER
OF SO-CALLED "SLEEP SPINDLES,"
THE DENSE BUNCHING PATTERNS
THAT LOOK LIKE SPINDLES
ON A SPINNING MACHINE.
THIS WAS AN ABNORMAL
BRAIN WAVE PATTERN.
THE SLEEP STUDIES
RAISED A QUESTION
THAT WOULD PUZZLE
THE GENIE TEAM FOR YEARS:
WAS GENIE BRAIN-DAMAGED
FROM HER YEARS OF ABUSE
OR HAD SHE BEEN RETARDED
FROM BIRTH?
WHEN GENIE WAS A BABY
HER FATHER APPARENTLY
DECIDED SHE WAS RETARDED.
HE INSISTED ON KEEPING HER
ISOLATED BECAUSE OF THAT.
AUTHORITIES PIECED TOGETHER
THESE FEW FACTS
IN THE EARLY WEEKS.
GENIE'S STRANGE
FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES
MADE IT HARD TO LEARN MORE.
GENIE'S MOTHER, WEAK AND NEARLY
BLIND, CLAIMED THAT SHE, TOO
HAD BEEN A VICTIM
OF HER DOMINEERING HUSBAND.
GENIE'S FATHER, SHORTLY AFTER
AUTHORITIES DISCOVERED GENIE
SHOT AND KILLED HIMSELF.
THE SUICIDE ONLY ADDED
TO THE INTEREST IN GENIE'S CASE.
SHE WAS A PRIZED PATIENT,
AND IN THE MONTHS TO COME
THE NUMBER OF VISITING
SCIENTISTS INCREASED.
GENIE'S NEW CELEBRITY STATUS
MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A DEBATE
HOW SHOULD HER CASE BE HANDLED?
JAMES KENT'S PLAN
WAS THE FIRST TO BE ADOPTED.
HE BELIEVED GENIE
COULD GET BETTER
IF SHE WERE ALLOWED
TO FORM RELATIONSHIPS
AND HE WAS ENCOURAGED
WHEN SHE STARTED TO DO SO.
Kent:
UP UNTIL ONE PARTICULAR DAY
GENIE DIDN'T SEEM TO RESPOND
IN ANY SPECIAL WAY
TO MY COMING OR GOING
AT THE END OF OUR SESSIONS.
THEN ONE DAY WHEN I LEFT
HER EXPRESSION CHANGED FROM
SORT OF HAPPY TO SAD TO INDICATE
THAT THERE WAS SOME SADNESS
IN THE SEPARATION FOR HER.
AND IT WAS THE FIRST INDICATION
THAT I HAD
THAT WE WERE BEGINNING
TO FORM THIS RELATIONSHIP.
I THOUGHT IF AS LONG AS SHE HAD
THE CAPACITY TO FORM ATTACHMENTS
SHE HAD A CAPACITY TO LEARN
SHE HAD THE CAPACITY
TO GET BETTER.
Narrator:
BY THE END OF MAY,
SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED
TO ADD TO THE HOPES
FOR GENIE'S FUTURE.
IT WAS A BREAKTHROUGH
THAT EVERYONE HAD WAITED FOR.
IT WAS CAPTURED ON VIDEOTAPE
BY JEAN BUTLER
GENIE'S SPECIAL
EDUCATION TEACHER.
HERE IN A CLASSROOM
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
BUTLER IS TEACHING GENIE
TO TIE HER OWN SHOES.
BUTLER IS ABOUT TO TELL GENIE
"YOU DO IT; THEN WE CAN TELL
DOCTOR KENT WHAT YOU CAN DO."
LISTEN TO GENIE'S REACTION.
YOU DO IT,
YOU DO IT.
THEN WE CAN...
WE'LL TELL DOCTOR
KENT WHAT YOU CAN DO.
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR KENT,
UH-HUH.
Narrator:
GENIE SAID THE WORD "DOCTOR."
RIGHT THERE
IT SAYS THAT.
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR KENT.
Narrator:
IT WAS ONE OF OVER 100 WORDS
SHE KNEW BY THAT SPRING.
TIE IT?
TIE.
TIE IT, UH-HUH.
Narrator:
SHE WAS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND
BUT GENIE WAS REPEATING WORDS.
GENIE WAS BEGINNING TO TALK.
Curtiss:
I COULD TELL
AS ALL OTHERS COULD
JUST LOOKING AT HER,
THAT THERE WAS A LOT TO GENIE
AND THAT WHAT WE HAD
TO DO WAS TO MAKE SURE
WE GAVE HER OPPORTUNITIES
TO EXPRESS
FIND A WAY TO TAKE WHAT
WAS LATENT AND EXPRESS IT
OR SOMEHOW THEN,
YOU KNOW, ACQUIRE IT
BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL
JUST SEEMED SO GREAT.
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE,
GENIE SEEMED TO BE THRIVING.
HER MENTAL AND PHYSICAL GROWTH
SINCE COMING TO CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL WAS OBVIOUS.
GENIE'S PROGRESS GAVE BIRTH
TO A DARING HOPE...
SHE MIGHT FULLY RECOVER,
AND SCIENCE MIGHT LEARN HOW.
HER DOCTORS EVEN PUBLICLY
PREDICTED SUCCESS.
THEIR CONFIDENCE WAS AN EERIE
ECHO OF A MOMENT FROM THE PAST...
AN ECHO OF ANOTHER CASE
LIKE GENIE'S
THAT PRECEDED HERS
BY NEARLY 200 YEARS.
THE CASE BEGAN IN 1800
WHEN CITIZENS OF THIS REGION
IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
DISCOVERED A REMARKABLE CREATURE
WHO HAD CREPT OUT
OF THE NEARBY FOREST.
HE WAS ANIMAL IN BEHAVIOR,
HUMAN IN FORM, MUTE AND NAKED.
HE WAS A WILD CHILD.
HE WOULD BE KNOWN AS VICTOR,
AND THIS STATUE WOULD BE ERECTED
TO MARK HIS ENTRY
INTO CIVILIZATION.
CITIZENS IN THE VILLAGE
WHERE VICTOR WAS DISCOVERED
GUESSED HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD.
HIS FOOD PREFERENCES,
HIS LACK OF SPEECH
AND THE SCARS ON HIS BODY
INDICATED HE HAD BEEN IN
THE WILD FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE.
VICTOR'S STORY INTRIGUED
HISTORIAN AND PSYCHOLOGIST
HARLAN LANE.
AROUND THE TIME
DOCTORS IN LOS ANGELES
WERE FOLLOWING GENIE'S CASE
LANE WAS IN FRANCE
TRACKING VICTOR'S STORY.
Lane:
SHORTLY AFTER
THE BOY WAS CAPTURED
A BIOLOGY PROFESSOR TOOK
A VERY CAREFUL LOOK AT HIM
NAME OF BONATERRE.
BONATERRE TELLS A STORY
OF TREMENDOUS INDIFFERENCE
TO COLD THAT VICTOR HAD.
ONE DAY HE TOOK HIM
AND TOOK OFF ALL HIS CLOTHES
AND THE BOY WAS THRILLED
TO HAVE HIS CLOTHES TAKEN OFF.
AND HE STARTED LEADING HIM
INTO THE OUTDOORS
AND IT WAS SURROUNDED
BY SNOW AT THAT TIME.
AND VICTOR, FAR FROM PROTESTING,
WAS FILLED WITH JOY.
HE GAVE OUT CRIES OF JOY
AND PULLED BONATERRE
OUT THE DOORS
AND WANTED TO GET OUT
INTO THE SNOW.
ON OTHER OCCASIONS
HE WAS ACTUALLY OUT IN THE SNOW
BARE NAKED, LEAPING ABOUT
THROWING THE SNOW IN THE AIR,
EATING SNOW.
BONATERRE CONCLUDES,
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO CONCLUDE
THAT OUR SENSITIVITY
TO TEMPERATURE
IS VERY MUCH INFLUENCED
BY OUR LIFE EXPERIENCES.
Narrator:
WORD OF THE WILD CHILD
TRAVELED NORTH TO PARIS
WHERE THE FIRST ANTHROPOLOGICAL
SOCIETY HAD JUST FORMED.
IT WAS THE END
OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
A TIME OF ENORMOUS DISCOVERY
AND DEBATE.
Lane:
VICTOR WALKED INTO THE MIDDLE
OF A RAGING DEBATE.
HIS TIMING WAS INCREDIBLE.
WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?
WHAT SEPARATES MAN
FROM THE BEASTS?
IS IT HUMAN APPEARANCE?
WELL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL
EXPEDITIONS WERE RETURNING
WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF RACES
AND PARISIANS WERE NOT
SO CLEAR ON HUMAN APPEARANCE.
IS IT WALKING UPRIGHT?
BUT ORANGUTANS WALKED UPRIGHT.
IS IT LANGUAGE?
FIRST REPORTS WERE
THAT VICTOR HAD NO LANGUAGE.
THEN AGAIN,
PERHAPS HE COULD LEARN SOME.
IN ANY CASE, PHILOSOPHERS,
ANATOMISTS AND THEIR ILK
WERE CONVINCED
THAT CAREFUL STUDY OF VICTOR
COULD FINALLY ANSWER
THE QUESTION:
"WHAT IS IT
THAT MAKES US HUMAN?"
Narrator:
WITH VICTOR,
PARISIANS HAD A CHANCE
TO SEE HUMAN NATURE STRIPPED
OF SOCIETY AND CULTURE.
THIS WAS A SITUATION
NO ONE WOULD SET OUT
TO CREATE ON PURPOSE.
IT WAS THEREFORE REFERRED TO
AS THE "FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT."
SCIENTISTS IN PARIS
QUICKLY SUMMONED VICTOR
FROM THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
ALTHOUGH VICTOR COULD HEAR, THEY
BROUGHT HIM TO THIS SCHOOL...
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
FOR THE DEAF.
OKAY, WE'RE AT THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF
AND IT HAPPENED RIGHT HERE.
THE GARDENER FROM RODEZ BRINGS
THE WILD BOY RIGHT THROUGH HERE
INTO THE COURTYARD.
AND I GUESS THEY WERE EXPECTED
AND THE DIRECTOR,
THE ABBE SICARD, COMES OUT.
AND... COME ON IN...
THEY WOULD MEET ABOUT HERE.
SICARD COMES OUT,
AND WHAT DOES HE SEE?
NOT A NICE, LITTLE BOURGEOIS
DEAF KID IN THE SCHOOL UNIFORM
HIS NEW PUPIL
BUT A RAGING, SPITTING,
SNARLING, FILTHY SAVAGE
DEFECATING WHERE HE IS,
URINATING WHERE HE IS
BITING, COVERED WITH SCARS
LONG HAIR, WADDED, YELLOW TEETH,
LONG FINGERNAILS, A SAVAGE.
SICARD HAD NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN HIS LIFE
SO HE BACKS OFF.
WHAT'S HE GOING TO DO?
HE'S JUST HIRED
A YOUNG PHYSICIAN
FROM THE MILITARY HOSPITAL
UP THE STREET
A FELLOW BY THE NAME
OF JEAN-MARC ITARD.
SO HE CALLS, "ITARD! ITARD!"
Narrator:
JEAN-MARC ITARD WAS
A 26-YEAR-OLD MEDICAL STUDENT
WHO WAS READY TO MAKE HIS MARK.
HE SAW THE WILD BOY
AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
Lane:
ITARD WAS AN INTERESTING MAN.
HOW'S HE GOING
TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF
A PLACE FOR HIMSELF IN MEDICINE
AND IN THE INTELLECTUAL
EXCITEMENT OF THE TIME?
BECAUSE HE WAS
A BRILLIANT FELLOW
AND HE READ PHILOSOPHY ASTUTELY,
HE STUDIED MEDICINE.
WELL, THE ANSWER WAS
THAT HERE WAS A CHANCE
THAT WOULD MAKE OR BREAK HIM.
IF HE COULD ACTUALLY
CIVILIZE A WILD CHILD...
THE FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY
TO DO SO...
WHY, HE WOULD BE A FIGURE
DOWN THROUGH HISTORY.
EVEN IN THE 20th CENTURY,
PEOPLE MIGHT BE DISCUSSING HIM.
Narrator:
ITARD'S AMBITIONS WOULD PAY OFF.
NOT ONLY WOULD PEOPLE
IN THE 20th CENTURY
STILL BE DISCUSSING HIM
BUT THE FAMOUS FRENCH DIRECTOR
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT
WOULD PLAY ITARD
IN A MOVIE ABOUT THE CASE.
THE MOVIE ILLUSTRATES
THE RISK ITARD TOOK.
MORE EXPERIENCED
DOCTORS CONCLUDED
VICTOR WAS PROFOUNDLY RETARDED
FROM BIRTH
AND UNABLE TO LEARN.
ITARD, THOUGH, BELIEVED
THAT VICTOR HAD BECOME RETARDED
BECAUSE OF HIS YEARS
OF LIVING IN THE WILD.
HE BELIEVED HE COULD
CIVILIZE VICTOR.
ITARD'S DIARY OF HIS WORK
WITH VICTOR
MAKES THIS ONE OF
THE MOST DOCUMENTED CASES
OF WILD CHILDREN
THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
IN FACT, THE DIARY SERVED AS
THE BASIS FOR TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE
CALLED THE WILD CHILD.
IN LOS ANGELES,
TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE PREMIERED
AT THE LOS FELIZ THEATER
IN HOLLYWOOD.
ONE OF THE STRANGEST CHAPTERS
OF THIS STORY
IS THE TIMING OF THE PREMIER.
FOR TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE ABOUT
HISTORY'S MOST FAMOUS WILD CHILD
OPENED EXACTLY ONE WEEK
AFTER GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
IN TRUE HOLLYWOOD FASHION
THE GENIE TEAM TOOK ADVANTAGE
OF THIS COINCIDENCE.
THEY ARRANGED THEIR
OWN PRIVATE SCREENING.
IN CHARGE OF THIS EVENT
WAS HOSPITAL CHIEF
OF PSYCHIATRY HOWARD HANSEN.
Hansen:
WELL, THAT AFTERNOON AT 4:30
WE LEFT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL,
AND WE PARADED UP THE STREET.
WE HAD AN ENTOURAGE UP THE
STREET TO THE LOS FELIZ THEATER.
IT WAS AWE-INSPIRING TO US
BECAUSE HERE WAS
THE FIRST CASE THAT HAD BEEN
DOCUMENTED IN ANY SCIENTIFIC WAY
AND HERE WE WERE HAVING
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SEE A FILM PORTRAYAL OF THAT.
Narrator:
HERE WAS HISTORY'S
STAMP OF APPROVAL
FOR DARING TO REHABILITATE
A WILD CHILD.
ITARD INSPIRED EVERYONE
AT THE SCREENING.
AFTERWARDS, EVERYBODY
WAS SHOCKED AND STUNNED.
THEY JUST SAT
IN SILENCE FOR A BIT
BECAUSE THE FILM WAS
SO POWERFUL IN ITSELF
AND THEN THE ANALOGY
WITH GENIE BEGAN TO HIT.
IT WAS LIKE HERE HISTORY
WAS REPEATING ITSELF
AND EVERYBODY THERE THOUGHT
"HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO LEARN SOMETHING."
Narrator:
THE SCREENING WAS PART
OF A SPECIAL CONFERENCE
FOR WHICH THE GENIE TEAM
INVITED CONSULTANTS
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF MENTAL HEALTH HAD AGREED
TO FUND A SCIENTIFIC
PROJECT ON GENIE.
NOW IT WAS TIME TO FOCUS
THE DIRECTION OF RESEARCH.
IT SOON BECAME CLEAR, THOUGH
THAT PARTICIPANTS
WERE UNLIKELY TO AGREE
ON ONE COURSE OF ACTION.
OH, WE WERE OFF
IN A MILLION DIRECTIONS.
I MEAN, EACH EXPERT, EACH PERSON
IN THEIR OWN DISCIPLINE THOUGHT
"OH, WOW, I CAN DO THIS.
I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THAT."
WE WERE FLOODED, FLOODED
WITH OUR OWN ASSOCIATIONS
AND WITH THE PURSUITS THAT
EACH OF US MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT
"WOW, LOOK WHAT WE CAN DO.
"LOOK WHAT WE MIGHT
LEARN FROM THIS...
A GIRL WHO HAS APPEARED
OUT OF NOWHERE."
Narrator:
TO BRING ALL THE PROPOSED PLANS
FOR GENIE INTO FOCUS
THERE WAS ANOTHER PLAYER
ON THE TEAM...
DAVID RIGLER, A PSYCHOLOGIST
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
RIGLER, TOO, WAS HOOKED
ON GENIE'S CASE.
Rigler:
EVERYBODY WHO CAME IN CONTACT
WITH HER WAS ATTRACTED TO HER.
SHE HAD A QUALITY OF SOMEHOW
CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE
WHICH DEVELOPED MORE AND MORE
BUT WAS PRESENT
REALLY FROM THE START.
SHE HAD A WAY OF REACHING OUT
WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING
BUT JUST SOMEHOW BY THE KIND
OF LOOK IN HER EYES
AND PEOPLE WANTED
TO DO THINGS FOR HER.
Narrator:
RIGLER DECIDED
HOW TO FOCUS THE RESEARCH
AROUND GENIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
GENIE WAS NOW 14 YEARS OLD.
THE TIMING WAS FITTING
BECAUSE RIGLER WANTED TO KNOW
COULD THE CLOCK BE TURNED BACK
FOR GENIE?
IN PARTICULAR, COULD A TEENAGER
STILL LEARN TO TALK?
THIS HAD ALREADY BEEN
THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DEBATE
BY THE TIME
GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
IT ALL BEGAN WITH NOAM CHOMSKY,
A YOUNG LINGUIST
AT THE MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.
CHOMSKY DECLARED
THAT WE ACQUIRE LANGUAGE
NOT JUST BECAUSE
WE ARE TAUGHT IT
BUT BECAUSE WE ARE BORN
WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE.
THEY'RE IN OUR GENES.
WE HAVE LANGUAGE, CHOMSKY SAID
BECAUSE OF NATURE,
NOT JUST NURTURE.
THEN, ALONG CAME
A NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST
WHO HAD HIS OWN TWIST
TO THE THEORY.
ERIC LENNEBERG AGREED WE'RE BORN
WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE
BUT THERE IS A DEADLINE
FOR APPLYING THEM.
IF A FIRST LANGUAGE ISN'T
ACQUIRED BY PUBERTY, HE SAID
IT MAY BE TOO LATE.
CHOMSKY AND LENNEBERG
ROCKED THE FIELD.
THEY WERE HOT.
LINGUISTICS WAS IN.
IT WAS A PERFECT TIME
TO TEST THE NEW IDEAS
RECALLS LINGUIST ELISSA NEWPORT.
Newport:
WHAT LENNEBERG PROPOSED
IS WHAT'S CALLED
THE CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS.
HE SUGGESTED THERE'S A PERIOD
IN THE LIFE OF HUMANS
WHEN THEY'RE RIPE
FOR LEARNING LANGUAGES.
WHAT THIS HYPOTHESIS
WAS LOOKING FOR
WAS SOME MORE DIRECT EVIDENCE
BUT OF COURSE, YOU DON'T
DO THESE EXPERIMENTS.
ONE NEVER WISHES TO DEPRIVE
SOMEBODY OF LANGUAGE
DURING THE CRITICAL PERIOD
TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
AT THAT TIME, WHEN THAT WOULD
HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT THING
FOR LENNEBERG'S HYPOTHESIS,
GENIE WAS DISCOVERED.
STOVE.
STOVE.
Narrator:
THIS IS WHY SUSAN CURTISS
JOINED THE GENIE TEAM.
SHE WAS A GRADUATE STUDENT
IN LINGUISTICS.
SHE WOULD PUT THE CRITICAL
PERIOD HYPOTHESIS
TO ITS FIRST REAL TEST.
SPOON IS FOUR.
SHARP.
Narrator:
THIS IS ONE
OF THE FIRST VIDEOTAPES
OF CURTISS'S WORK WITH GENIE.
Curtiss:
A SHARP SQUARE.
SHARP SQUARE.
Curtiss:
SHE WANTED, IT SEEMED TO ME,
ALMOST DESPERATELY
TO RECODE HER WORLD
WITH VERBAL LABELS
AND SOMETIMES WE WOULD
JUST STAND AT A WINDOW
AND SHE WOULD POINT
AT A PANORAMA BEFORE US
AND I WOULDN'T KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS
SHE WANTED TO KNOW THE WORD FOR
BUT SHE WOULD PERSIST UNTIL
SHE AT LEAST GOT A NEW WORD.
Narrator:
WHILE CURTISS TRACKED
GENIE'S SPEECH
JAMES KENT CONTINUED WORK
ON HER EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
KENT WAS CONCERNED
THAT WITH THE GROWING NUMBER
OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN HER CASE
GENIE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO FORM
SINGLE, DEPENDABLE RELATIONSHIPS
SO HE SET OUT
TO BE HER SURROGATE PARENT.
Kent:
WANTED TO BE A PART OF HER
SORT OF ORDINARY LIFE
SO I WOULD FREQUENTLY BE THERE
WHEN SHE HAD BREAKFAST
AND WHEN SHE WENT TO BED
READ HER A STORY,
KISS HER GOOD NIGHT
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND GO
AND THEN DO THINGS
DURING THE DAY.
AND WHEN SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH
THINGS LIKE PHYSICAL EXAMS
I WOULD COME ALONG WITH HER
AS THOUGH SHE WERE MY CHILD.
SHE WAS VERY SPECIAL TO ME.
Interviewer:
DID YOU FEEL YOU LOVED HER?
WELL, DOCTORS AREN'T SUPPOSED
TO LOVE THEIR PATIENTS
BUT IF YOU COULD FIND A WORD
THAT MEANT THE SAME THING, YES.
YEAH, I WAS VERY
ATTACHED TO HER.
FIRST TIME SHE SAW
HELIUM BALLOONS
SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE
THAT YOU COULD LET THEM GO UP
AND PULL THEM BACK DOWN AGAIN.
SHE HAD THIS KIND OF LAUGH
SOME PEOPLE HAVE
AND IT'S JUST
A FULL-OUT CHUCKLE.
IT'S SO CONTAGIOUS, EVERYBODY
AROUND THEM STARTS TO LAUGH.
WELL, THEY MADE HER
LAUGH LIKE THAT.
Curtiss:
ONE OF MY MEMORIES WAS
THAT WE WOULD GO TO A PLACE,
SAY A WOOLWORTH'S
WHERE THERE WOULD BE A STAND
OF SPOOLS OF THREAD
AND SPOOLS
WHERE EACH COLOR THREAD
WOULD INCREMENTALLY CHANGE
FROM THE SPOOLS NEXT TO IT.
AND SHE WANTED A WORD
FOR EVERY DIFFERENT HUE.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW.
I MEAN, I HAD A BOX OF
64 CRAYOLA CRAYONS AS A CHILD
AND I REMEMBERED,
YOU KNOW, BURNT SIENNA
AND ALL THESE COLORS THAT I
TRIED TO EXTRACT FROM MY MEMORY
BUT ENGLISH DOESN'T HAVE WORDS
FOR ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT HUES
AND SHE WAS VERY FRUSTRATED
WHEN I WOULD SAY
"VERY DARK BLUE" AND
"VERY, VERY DARK BLUE."
Narrator:
FOR GENIE, EVERY NEW OBJECT
EVERY FIELD TRIP WAS A VISIT
TO A MAGIC KINGDOM.
THE PREVIOUS FALL,
THE WORLD HAD DISCOVERED GENIE.
NOW GENIE COULD
DISCOVER THE WORLD.
Rigler:
THERE WAS A TIME THAT
SHE PASSED A FATHER
AND A LITTLE BOY
WHO WERE COMING OUT OF A SHOP
AND THE LITTLE BOY WAS
CARRYING A TOY FIRE ENGINE
AND THEY JUST PASSED
AND THEN THEY TURNED AROUND
AND CAME BACK.
AND THE BOY, WITHOUT A WORD,
HANDED THE FIRE ENGINE TO GENIE.
SHE NEVER ASKED FOR IT,
SHE NEVER SAID A WORD.
SHE DID THIS KIND OF THING
SOMEHOW TO PEOPLE.
COULD I SEE THINGS
THROUGH HER EYES?
I DON'T BELIEVE I REALLY COULD.
SOMETIMES I COULD UNDERSTAND
AND GUESS PRETTY WELL
WHAT SHE WAS GOING TO DO
BUT THAT WAS FAMILIARITY
AND NOT AN ABILITY, I THINK,
TO EMPATHIZE WITH, UNDERSTAND
THE WAY SHE SAW THE WORLD.
Narrator:
THE SUMMER AFTER HER DISCOVERY
WAS A TIME OF FIRSTS FOR GENIE.
Genie:
WATER!
Butler:
THERE'S A GLASS OF
WATER... YOU CAN.
Narrator:
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
HAPPENED HERE
IN THE HOME OF JEAN BUTLER, HER
TEACHER AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
DO YOU WANT TO
GET SOME WATER?
Narrator:
GENIE MOVED IN.
MM-HMM, YOU
CAN GET WATER.
Narrator:
IT WAS A NEW STEP FOR GENIE:
HER FIRST TRIAL RUN
IN A FOSTER HOME.
Butler:
THIS IS JULY 11,
MRS. BUTLER'S HOUSE.
THIS IS LUNCHTIME.
SHE JUST TOOK THE MILK
AND THE CHOCOLATE MILK
INTO THE BEDROOM.
Narrator:
HERE, BUTLER VIDEOTAPES GENIE'S
PASSION FOR HOARDING THINGS
ESPECIALLY CONTAINERS OF LIQUID.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS
NO OBVIOUS EXPLANATION
THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED
IN OTHER CASES
OF CHILDREN RAISED IN ISOLATION.
GENIE BEGAN LIVING HERE
AFTER BUTLER SAID
SHE HAD EXPOSED GENIE
TO GERMAN MEASLES.
IT BEGAN AS
A TEMPORARY QUARANTINE.
BUTLER WANTED
TO MAKE IT PERMANENT.
Child:
Go backwards!
Narrator:
BUTLER, SHOWN HERE
WITH GENIE AND JAMES KENT
WANTED TO BE GENIE'S
OFFICIAL FOSTER PARENT
AND SHE WANTED TO SEE CHANGES
IN THE HANDLING OF GENIE'S CASE.
BUTLER THOUGHT FREQUENT VISITS
BY TEAM MEMBERS KENT AND SUSAN
CURTISS WERE EXHAUSTING GENIE.
THAT WAS THE SUMMER WHEN
WE WERE THEN BOTH DISALLOWED
INTO JEAN BUTLER'S HOUSE
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE
SUCH A FUN SUMMER.
IT WAS A SUMMER
THAT INCLUDED WEEKS
OF CONCERN AND ANXIETY AND ANGER
BECAUSE HE AND I WERE KICKED OUT
OF JEAN'S HOUSE.
Interviewer:
WHY?
WHY? SHE WAS CRAZY
AND SHE DIDN'T WANT
THE OTHER ATTACHMENTS.
SHE USED TO SAY, "I AM GOING
TO BE THE NEXT ANNIE SULLIVAN.
THIS GIRL IS GOING
TO MAKE ME FAMOUS."
AND WE USED TO JOKE BECAUSE
SHE WAS SO OVERT ABOUT IT
AND WE THOUGHT,
"GOD, EVEN IF SHE HAS THE DESIRE
WHY IS SHE SO WILLING
TO TELL THE REST OF US?"
BUT SHE CERTAINLY FOUND A WAY;
SHE CONCOCTED THIS STORY.
THE WHOLE THING IS UNTRUE.
SHE DIDN'T HAVE GERMAN MEASLES;
SHE HAD A RASH.
Narrator:
THE BICKERING CONTINUED
FOR MORE THAN A MONTH
ACCORDING TO JOURNALS
LEFT BEHIND BY JEAN BUTLER
WHO DIED IN 1988.
Butler:
SHE'S DOING
AN EYE EXAM.
Narrator:
BUTLER WROTE
SHE FEARED GENIE WAS BEING
EXPERIMENTED WITH TOO MUCH.
ARE YOU GOING TO
DO THAT AGAIN?
Narrator:
WHETHER THIS WAS
BUTLER'S TRUE MOTIVATION
IN KEEPING AWAY OTHER
TEAM MEMBERS CANNOT BE KNOWN
BUT IT RAISED AGAIN THE ISSUE
OF HOW GENIE SHOULD BE TREATED:
COULD SHE BE A SCIENTIFIC
SUBJECT AND STILL BE A PATIENT?
ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 13
SOCIAL WORKERS ARRIVED AT
BUTLER'S HOUSE WITH A DECISION
ON HER APPLICATION
TO BE GENIE'S FOSTER PARENT.
PARTLY ON ADVICE FROM CHILDRENS
HOSPITAL, IT WAS REJECTED.
WE WERE NOT SATISFIED
WITH THE QUALITY OF THE CARE
THAT GENIE WAS ABLE...
WELL, HAD AT JEAN BUTLER'S
SO THAT HAD TO BE INTERRUPTED,
AND AGAIN, IT WAS UP TO...
UP TO MANAGEMENT... I.E., US...
TO INTERRUPT THAT.
Narrator:
GENIE RETURNED
TO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS.
A NEW FOSTER PARENT
CAME TO TAKE HER HOME.
IT WAS DAVID RIGLER.
RIGLER DECIDED
TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE CASE.
HE DECIDED TO TAKE OVER
KENT'S ROLE AS THERAPIST
AND ALSO BE GENIE'S
FOSTER PARENT
AND THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR.
Rigler:
ORDINARILY, MENTAL HEALTH
PEOPLE ARE NOT INVOLVED
IN THESE KINDS OF MULTIPLE ROLES
BUT I HAVE TO STRESS
HOW DESPERATE WE WERE
TO FIND A PLACE
THAT WAS APPROPRIATE.
AND I REMEMBER MAKING
THE COMMITMENT IN MY MIND
FOR A THREE-MONTH PERIOD
WHICH OBVIOUSLY
GOT EXTENDED MUCH LONGER.
Interviewer:
HOW LONG WOULD
SHE STAY?
SHE WAS WITH US
APPROXIMATELY FOUR YEARS.
Narrator:
GENIE'S NEW HOME
WAS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD
NEAR CHILDRENS HOSPITAL.
SHE LIVED HERE WITH DAVID
RIGLER, HIS WIFE MARILYN
AND THE RIGLER CHILDREN.
Marilyn Rigler:
WE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT TO EXPECT.
WE KNEW THAT GENIE NEEDED
A GREAT DEAL OF HELP
AND ON THE OTHER HAND,
IT WAS VERY EXCITING TO FEEL
THAT PERHAPS WE COULD HELP HER
AND PERHAPS SHE COULD BE
REHABILITATED.
Narrator:
MARILYN, A GRADUATE STUDENT
IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
WAS GENIE'S NEW TEACHER.
SHE SOON FOUND HERSELF GIVING
GENIE UNCONVENTIONAL LESSONS.
GENIE WOULD ERUPT
IN SILENT STORMS OF RAGE
TUGGING AND TEARING
HER OWN BODY.
TO TURN GENIE'S
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE ANGER OUTWARD
MARILYN TAUGHT HER
HOW TO HAVE A FIT...
HOW TO SLAM DOORS
AND STAMP HER FEET.
EVENTUALLY,
MARILYN ENCOURAGED GENIE
TO TURN HER PAIN
AND ANGER INTO WORDS.
Marilyn:
AND THERE CAME A TIME
WHEN SHE COULD SAY, "ROUGH TIME"
AND SOMETIMES SHE COULD TELL YOU
THE DEGREE OF HOW UPSET SHE WAS
BY WAVING ONE FINGER,
WHICH MEANT SHE WAS VERY UPSET
OR KIND OF WAVING HER HAND,
WHICH MEANT SHE WAS UPSET
BUT IT WASN'T GOING
TO BE A BIG DEAL.
"I"...
"I JUMP."
"JUMP," YEAH.
YES, LET'S SEE YOU JUMP.
JUMP.
GOOD! CAN YOU
JUMP SOME MORE?
JUMP!
Narrator:
ONE OF MARILYN'S FIRST TASKS
WAS TO AWAKEN IN GENIE
A SENSE OF HER CONNECTION
TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD.
"MARCH."
"MARCH."
TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING.
Narrator:
LIKE HER HISTORIC
COUNTERPART VICTOR
GENIE SEEMED DISCONNECTED
FROM CERTAIN BODILY SENSATIONS.
Marilyn:
I WOULD ALLOW HER
TO RUN HER OWN BATH WATER
OR HER OWN SHOWER WATER
AND WHEN I WOULD TOUCH IT,
I WOULD REALIZE
THAT IT WAS ICY COLD
AND I WOULD SAY,
"OH, THIS IS SO COLD.
YOU'RE GOING TO FREEZE."
AND IT WAS AS THOUGH
IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
Narrator:
IN THEIR NEW ROLE
AS GENIE'S FOSTER PARENTS
THE RIGLERS WERE
SUDDENLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR A CHILD WHO NEEDED
FULL-TIME SUPERVISION.
I LIKE DAVID.
Narrator:
THEY ALSO TOOK RESPONSIBILITY
FOR GENIE'S THERAPY...
ATTEMPTS TO HELP HER GRAPPLE
WITH THE HORROR
OF HER CHILDHOOD.
OKAY, BABY,
OPEN YOUR MOUTH.
Narrator:
IN THIS PRIMITIVE
ROLE-PLAYING EXERCISE
MARILYN PRETENDS
TO BE GENIE'S MOTHER.
HURRY UP!
HURRY UP, BECAUSE
THERE ISN'T ANY TIME.
FATHER'S GOING
TO BE ANGRY.
Narrator:
MARILYN TRIES TO ELICIT
MEMORIES OF GENIE'S PAST.
Marilyn:
I WONDER WHAT
YOU'RE THINKING.
DEAD FATHER, FATHER DEAD.
DEAD.
DEAD FATHER.
Marilyn:
YOU WANT TO SEE
YOUR FATHER?
YOUR FATHER
IS NOT LIVING.
NOT LIVING?
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHAT IT WAS LIKE
WHEN YOU LIVED
AT HOME?
WHAT WERE YOU
SITTING ON
WHEN YOU ATE
THE CEREAL?
IN THE POTTY.
IN THE
POTTY CHAIR?
MM-HMM, POTTY CHAIR.
WHERE DID
YOU STAY
WHEN YOU LIVED
AT HOME?
WHERE DID
YOU LIVE?
WHERE DID
YOU SLEEP?
IN POTTY CHAIR.
YOU SLEPT IN
THE POTTY CHAIR?
MM-HMM, IN A POTTY CHAIR.
Narrator:
WHILE THIS VIDEOTAPE SHOWS
HOW DISTRESSED GENIE WAS
BY HER CHILDHOOD
IT ALSO REVEALS
A DEVELOPMENTAL BREAKTHROUGH:
GENIE WAS USING LANGUAGE
TO DESCRIBE PAST EVENTS.
I LIKE MY TOY.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS TALKING
ABOUT THINGS THAT HAPPENED
BEFORE WORDS WERE
A PART OF HER WORLD.
FOR A CHILD WHO BARELY SPOKE
JUST A SHORT TIME AGO
GENIE WAS DOING REMARKABLY WELL
WITH LANGUAGE.
SUSAN CURTISS CONTINUED
TO TRACK HER PROGRESS.
"MONK."
YEAH, RIGHT.
"MONK."
"MONK"!
RIGHT!
Narrator:
GENIE COULD READ SIMPLE WORDS.
HER VOCABULARY WAS GROWING.
HERE, SHE IS ABOUT TO SAY,
"I LIKE LOG."
"I LIKE LOG."
Curtiss:
LET ME SEE...
THE LOG?
"I LIKE LOG."
YOU FOUND A PICTURE
OF A LOG.
I DIDN'T
EVEN KNOW
YOU KNEW WHAT
A LOG WAS.
WHERE DO YOU
SEE A LOG?
Curtiss:
I WAS STRUCK
WITH HOW DIFFERENT
THE WORDS THAT SHE KNEW WERE
FROM THE VOCABULARY WORDS
THAT YOUNG CHILDREN WOULD KNOW
WHEN THEY'RE ACQUIRING
A FIRST LANGUAGE.
SHE HAD WORDS FOR EMOTIONS:
"ANGRY," "SAD,"
"EXCITED," "HAPPY."
SHE HAD WORDS...
COLOR WORDS, SHAPE WORDS:
"SQUARE," "RECTANGLE."
I LIKE CIRCLE.
YOU LIKE CIRCLES.
I LIKE CIRCLE.
Narrator:
GENIE SEEMED TO BE PULLING OFF
A LINGUISTICS COUP.
SHE HAD PASSED
THE CRITICAL AGE OF PUBERTY
BUT SHE SEEMED TO BE LEARNING
A FIRST LANGUAGE.
CURTISS BEGAN DOUBTING
THE NOTION
THAT THERE WAS A DEADLINE
FOR DOING SO.
Curtiss:
MY EARLY IDEAS WERE THAT
THE SKY MIGHT BE THE LIMIT.
ROUND.
I COULDN'T HELP THINKING
THAT SHE MIGHT, IN FACT,
JUST BE ABLE... BE ABLE TO SHOW
THAT PEOPLE REALLY WERE WRONG.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS AT LAST SETTLED
INTO HER NEW LIFE.
SHE EVEN WENT
TO A NURSERY SCHOOL.
HOPES GREW
THAT UNLIKE OTHER CASES
OF CHILDREN ISOLATED
FROM SOCIETY
GENIE'S COULD HAVE
A HAPPY ENDING.
AT THE PARIS INSTITUTE
FOR THE DEAF
GENIE'S HISTORIC COUNTERPART
ALSO SEEMED TO FLOURISH
WHEN REUNITED WITH CIVILIZATION.
UNE.
Narrator:
AS SHOWN IN TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE,
VICTOR RESPONDED SUCCESSFULLY
TO METHODS USED
TO TEACH THE DEAF.
VICTOR'S TEACHER CREATED
HIS OWN METHODS AS WELL:
ITARD USED CUT-OUT LETTERS
FOR LESSONS THAT ARE STILL USED
IN KINDERGARTENS
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
HE HAD A KNACK
FOR GRADUALLY INCREASING
THE COMPLEXITY
OF VICTOR'S TASKS.
Lane:
ITARD IS TEACHING VICTOR
TO READ SIMPLE PHRASES
LIKE "TO THROW A KEY," SO HE
WRITES "THROW KEY" IN FRENCH
AND THEN FLINGS A KEY, THEN
EXPECTS VICTOR TO DO THE SAME.
VICTOR'S DOING WELL.
HE'S READING THE SENTENCES,
PERFORMING THE ACTIONS
BUT ITARD DOESN'T TRUST IT.
IT COULD BE BY SHEER MEMORY.
SO HE DECIDES TO SCRAMBLE
THE NOUNS AND VERBS
AND GET SOME WEIRD COMBINATIONS
LIKE "TO TEAR A STONE,"
"TO CUT A CUP," "TO EAT A BROOM"
PRESENTS "TEAR A STONE"
TO VICTOR
AND HE SHOWS SOME INGENUITY.
HE GETS A HAMMER
AND HE SMASHES THE STONE.
"CUT A CUP"... PICKS UP THE CUP
AND HURLS IT ON THE FLOOR
AND IT SHATTERS.
"EAT A BROOM"...
THIS TIME HE CHANGES THE NOUN
GOES OFF AND GETS A PIECE
OF BREAD AND DEVOURS IT.
THIS WAS ITARD, CONSTANTLY
ANALYZING, UPPING THE ANTE
PUSHING THE KID
TOWARDS CIVILIZATION
TOWARD THE SKILLS THAT WE HAVE
AND VICTOR GENERALLY RISING
TO THE CHALLENGE
EACH TIME TAKING THE SMALL STEP.
THIS WAS THE KIND OF STRUGGLE
THEY ENGAGED IN TOGETHER
FOR SIX YEARS.
Narrator:
INDEED, FOR A WHILE,
TEACHER AND PUPIL WERE JOINED
IN A SHARED MISSION
OF AWAKENING.
LAIT.
BIEN.
Narrator:
AND THIS IS AS FAR
AS FILM DIRECTOR TRUFFAUT
TAKES HIS VERSION OF THE STORY.
MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME,
"WHAT DO YOU THINK
OF THE TRUFFAUT FILM THE WILD
CHILD... L'ENFANT SAUVAGE?"
I THINK THAT IT WAS
A PRETTY SOLID JOB
OF FOLLOWING ITARD'S REPORTS.
Lane:
BUT I DO HAVE ONE EXCEPTION.
AT THE END OF THE FILM
THE CHILD CLIMBS THE STAIRS
AND THE IDEA IS
THAT HE'S WALKING OFF
INTO A FUTURE
OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
IN WHICH HE MAY EVEN WRITE
HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AND THAT'S SIMPLY FALSE.
Narrator:
IN REALITY,
THE HISTORY BOOKS SHOW
THAT VICTOR'S PROGRESS
SLOWED DOWN.
ITARD REPORTED WHILE VICTOR
KNEW HOW TO READ SIMPLE WORDS
HE NEVER REALLY LEARNED
HOW TO TALK.
ITARD RECOMMENDED THAT THE
FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT BE STOPPED.
Lane:
YOU KNOW, WE ATTRIBUTED
TO ITARD THIS MOTIVE
OF WANTING TO USE VICTOR
TO BUILD HIS OWN CAREER
AND I THINK THAT WAS TRUE.
WHEN THE POINT CAME THAT HE WAS
NO LONGER SERVING VICTOR
NOR SERVING SCIENCE
OR HIS CAREER
HE ABANDONED HIM, HE LET HIM GO.
ITARD GAVE UP.
HE ASKED MADAME GUERIN, THE
HOUSEKEEPER, TO TAKE THE BOY IN
DOWN THE STREET
FROM THE DEAF SCHOOL
AND THERE THEY LIVED A RATHER
GRAY, SAD, FORLORN EXISTENCE
THE TWO OF THEM.
SO THE STORY IS NOT AS ROMANTIC
AS TRUFFAUT
WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE.
Narrator:
VICTOR LIVED HIS LAST DAYS
AT THIS VERY SPOT IN PARIS.
HE DIED IN HIS 40s IN 1828.
VICTOR'S STORY DID NOT END WELL.
IN LOS ANGELES,
MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER
GENIE'S CAREGIVERS WERE WORKING
TO ENSURE THAT THEIR PUPIL
FARED BETTER.
WHEN WILL YOU SEE
YOUR MAMA IN THE HOUSE?
Narrator:
WHEN GENIE USED GESTURES
A LOT TO COMMUNICATE
THE RIGLERS ARRANGED FOR HER
TO LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE.
I...
I...
WILL...
WILL...
SEE MAMA...
SATURDAY!
SATURDAY!
RIGHT!
Narrator:
CRITICS FAULT VICTOR'S TEACHER
FOR EMPHASIZING
SPOKEN SPEECH.
THE RIGLERS TRIED
TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE.
WHEN WE'RE
ALL FINISHED.
Narrator:
THE WEEKS TURNED INTO MONTHS,
THE MONTHS INTO YEARS
AND DAVID RIGLER,
WHO WAS SCIENTIST, THERAPIST
AND FOSTER PARENT TO GENIE,
SEEMED TO FIND A WAY
TO JUGGLE ALL THOSE ROLES.
IN REALITY, THE JUGGLING ACT
HAD STARTED TO FALL APART.
Marilyn:
THIS IS THE PAPER
THAT'S UNFOLDED.
Narrator:
FOR YEARS, RIGLER HAD TROUBLE
MANAGING THE RESEARCH PART
OF THE CASE.
CURTISS'S LANGUAGE
STUDIES PROCEEDED
BUT RIGLER HAD BEEN GETTING
GOVERNMENT MONEY TO DO MORE.
INDEED, HE GATHERED
HUNDREDS OF VIDEOS
HE SUPERVISED COUNTLESS TESTS
BUT HE NEVER CLEARLY DEFINED
HIS OWN RESEARCH.
SHOW ME THE SHOE
THAT'S UNTIED.
TIE.
UNTIED.
Narrator:
TO ADD TO THE MURKINESS
OF THE STUDY
WAS AN UNRESOLVED QUESTION
WHICH WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT
TO DRAW FIRM
SCIENTIFIC CONCLUSIONS:
WAS GENIE BRAIN-DAMAGED
FROM BIRTH?
TEAM MEMBERS DISAGREED.
Shurley:
MY IMPRESSION WAS CLEARLY
THAT GENIE WAS
MENTALLY RETARDED FROM BIRTH
BASED ON, FOR EXAMPLE,
MY SLEEP STUDY
WHICH SHOWED
THESE EXTREME SPINDLES
WHICH ARE FAIRLY CHARACTERISTIC
OF SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION.
Curtiss:
GENIE, ALTHOUGH
FUNCTIONALLY RETARDED
BECAUSE SHE HAD HARDLY LIVED AND
EXPERIENCED THE WORLD AROUND HER
WAS NOT MENTALLY DEFICIENT
IN ANY SENSE
IN WHICH WE TYPICALLY THINK OF
AS MENTALLY DEFICIENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, ON PSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTS THAT MEASURE MENTAL AGE
EVERY YEAR AFTER
SHE HAD BEEN FOUND
HER MENTAL AGE
INCREASED ONE YEAR.
THIS IS JUST NOT SOMETHING
THAT HAPPENS IN A PERSON...
WITH A CHILD OR AN ADULT...
WHO'S MENTALLY RETARDED.
Narrator:
THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT WAS
FUNDING THE RESEARCH PROJECT
GREW UNEASY WITH THE SCIENTIFIC
AMBIGUITIES OF GENIE'S CASE.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF MENTAL HEALTH
WAS LOOKING FOR PAYBACK
FOR THE YEARS OF MONEY
IT POURED INTO THE STUDY
AND IT WASN'T FINDING ANY.
AFTER REPEATED WARNINGS,
IN THE FALL OF '74
N.I.M.H. STOPPED FUNDING
THE GENIE PROJECT
CITING A FAILURE TO COLLECT DATA
IN A SCIENTIFICALLY
MEANINGFUL WAY.
NOBODY KNEW EXACTLY
HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS.
WE WERE DOING OUR BEST...
WE GOT THE BEST KIND OF COUNSEL,
THE BEST KIND OF ADVICE
WE HAD TO SORT THAT OUT
AND TAKE THAT AS IT CAME
BUT WE DID THE VERY BEST
WE KNEW HOW
AND WE BELIEVED
THAT NOBODY KNEW ANY BETTER.
Narrator:
IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE LOSS
OF THEIR RESEARCH GRANT
THE RIGLERS DECIDED TO END
THEIR FOSTER CARE OF GENIE.
THEIR DECISION CAUSED CONCERN
AMONG THEIR COLLEAGUES.
IT'S NOT THAT IT CAME
AS A SURPRISE TO US
OR SHOULDN'T HAVE.
WE HAD A LOT OF CONSULTANTS
AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS
WE WERE ASKED OFTEN
BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON
IS "WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN HERE
WHEN THE HOSPITAL GOES AWAY
"IF THE RESEARCH GRANT
GOES AWAY
"IF ALL OF THE INTEREST IN HOW
THIS YOUNGSTER IS DEVELOPING
"WHEN THE RESEARCHERS
FOLD THEIR TENTS AND GO AWAY
WHO'S GOING TO STAY BEHIND
WITH GENIE?"
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS
CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT...
THE FACT THAT
"SHOULD WE NOT TAKE GENIE?"
BECAUSE WE DID NOT PLAN
TO HAVE HER FOREVER.
AND THAT WAS SOMETHING
THAT WE...
WE TALKED ABOUT VERY ACTIVELY
AND WE FINALLY DECIDED THAT
IF WE COULD GIVE HER A GOOD HOME
WITH MUCH LOVE
AND REHABILITATION
WITHIN THAT HOME...
NURTURING, CARETAKING
AND... AND GOOD THINGS...
THAT THAT WOULD GIVE HER
THE ABILITY TO COPE
AT SOME LATER TIME
SO THAT SHE WOULD HAVE A GOOD
FOUNDATION AND A STABLE HOME
AND THAT WAS OUR REASONING.
WHAT IS ON
THE RED BOX?
Narrator:
FOR LINGUIST SUSAN CURTISS
IT WAS TIME TO SUM UP
HER YEARS OF WORK WITH GENIE.
A CLEAR PICTURE WAS EMERGING
IN HER DATA
BUT FOR GENIE,
THAT PICTURE WAS NOT PROMISING.
HERE, WHEN ASKED
TO MAKE A QUESTION
GENIE COMES UP WITH
"WHAT RED BLUE IS IN?"
Curtiss:
"WHAT RED
BLUE IS IN?"
DOES THAT
MAKE SENSE?
IS THAT A
SILLY QUESTION?
Narrator:
GENIE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE
TO PUT WORDS TOGETHER
IN A NORMAL, GRAMMATICAL WAY.
THIS SEEMED TO SUPPORT THE IDEA
OF A CRITICAL PERIOD
FOR ACQUIRING LANGUAGE.
Curtiss:
IN GENIE'S CASE
THE VOCABULARY WAS
WHAT SHE WAS GOOD AT
CONVEYING MESSAGES WAS
WHAT SHE WAS GOOD AT
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT A SENTENCE
THAT SHE WOULD UTTER
IT WOULDN'T BE GRAMMATICAL.
SO SHE MIGHT SAY THINGS
LIKE, "SPOT CHEW GLOVE,"
"APPLESAUCE BUY STORE"
WHERE THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR:
"THE DOG, NAMED SPOT,
CHEWED THE GLOVE"
OR "WE NEED TO BUY APPLESAUCE
AT THE STORE."
BUT IN BOTH OF THESE CASES
YOU CAN SEE
THEY'RE NOT SENTENCES
OF ENGLISH.
WE WOULDN'T SAY,
"APPLESAUCE BUY STORE"
WE WOULD SAY, "WE NEED TO BUY
APPLESAUCE AT THE STORE"
OR SOMETHING THAT IS
AN ACTUAL SENTENCE OF ENGLISH.
Narrator:
MUCH OF THE LANGUAGE RESEARCH
ON GENIE WAS COMPLETED BY 1975
A PIVOTAL YEAR FOR HER.
THAT SUMMER, SHE RETURNED HERE,
TO HER CHILDHOOD HOME
TO LIVE WITH HER MOTHER.
GENIE'S MOTHER
HAD BEEN ACQUITTED
OF CHILD ABUSE CHARGES.
SHE WANTED TO RESUME CARE
OF HER DAUGHTER.
BUT SHE SOON FOUND IT
TOO DIFFICULT.
THUS BEGAN ANOTHER SAD CHAPTER
IN GENIE'S LIFE...
A SERIES OF PLACEMENTS
IN FOSTER HOMES.
Hansen:
GENIE WAS SUBJECTED TO ABUSE,
TO PUNISHMENT, TO HARASSMENT
TO THE EXTREME
IN SOME OF THESE HOMES.
THEN SHE WOULD BE MOVED AGAIN
TO ANOTHER HOME,
AND ANOTHER HOME
AND MEANWHILE,
WE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT
UNTIL THE BOMBSHELL HIT.
THE BOMBSHELL.
A LAWSUIT.
A LAWSUIT?
AGAINST HANSEN,
RIGLER, KENT, CURTISS
AND CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
OF LOS ANGELES.
Narrator:
LIKE VICTOR'S,
GENIE'S CASE HAD NOT ENDED WELL
AND NOW, THERE WAS A MODERN
AMERICAN TWIST TO HER STORY...
A LAWSUIT.
THE LAWSUIT, FILED BY GENIE'S
MOTHER, CHARGED THE GENIE TEAM
WITH "EXCESSIVE
AND OUTRAGEOUS TESTING."
WE'RE GOING TO BE
FINISHED SOON.
AS SOON AS YOU PUT
ALL THOSE CARDS IN BOXES
WE'RE GOING TO BE
ALL FINISHED.
Narrator:
THE LAWSUIT CLAIMED
THE RESEARCHERS GAVE TESTING
PRIORITY OVER GENIE'S WELFARE
PUSHING HER BEYOND THE LIMITS
OF HER ENDURANCE.
LOOK CAREFULLY.
DARK.
IT'S DARK, YES.
DARK.
DARK.
DARK.
WHICH BOX DOES
THAT BELONG IN? NO.
Narrator:
THE LAWYERS SUING
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
WERE LOUISE MONACO
AND SAMUEL PAZ.
Monaco:
THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD CLUES
THAT THEY WERE GOING
AT THINGS WRONGLY
BECAUSE THEY WERE
GETTING VISITS
FROM N.I.M.H., THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
TELLING THEM, "YOU GOT
ALL THESE VIDEOS
"BUT THEY'RE NOT INDEXED,
THEY'RE NOT CATALOGUED
"THEY'RE ALL THROWN
IN A DRAWER.
"YOU'RE DOING TESTS
THAT HAVE NO
SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE."
AND THEY WERE DOING
TESTS REPETITIVELY
WHICH LOSE
THEIR VALIDITY
WITH THE REPETITIVENESS.
YEAH, WITH
CERTAIN TESTS
IF YOU ADMINISTER THEM
WITHIN A YEAR
YOU'RE JUST MEASURING
HOW FAMILIAR THE SUBJECT
IS WITH THE TEST.
OKAY, NOW TRY IT AGAIN.
HERE, YOU DO IT.
PUT THEM IN THE BOX
BUT I WANT YOU
TO WORK FAST.
COME ON,
LET'S WORK FAST.
Rigler:
IT WAS OUR JOB
TO MEASURE HER PROGRESS
TO DETERMINE WHAT
CHANGES WERE TAKING PLACE.
INDEED, IF WE HAD NOT DONE
AS MUCH AS WE DID
WE WOULD HAVE
REALLY NOT FULFILLED
THE PURPOSES OF OUR GRANT.
BUT, IN ADDITION TO THAT,
THE TESTING THAT SHE UNDERWENT
WAS BY AND LARGE
FUN EXPERIENCES FOR HER.
Narrator:
DEPOSITIONS WERE TAKEN,
EXPERTS WERE SUMMONED
AND WHILE THE SUIT
WAS EVENTUALLY SETTLED
IT RAISED AN IMPORTANT QUESTION:
DID THE TEAM GO AS FAR
AS IT COULD GO IN TREATING GENIE
OR DID THE RESEARCH
GET IN THE WAY?
WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD
NOT TO EXPLOIT THE CASE
UM... IN A WAY THAT WOULD
IMPINGE ON HER PRIVACY
UM... OR IMPACT ON HER
PSYCHOLOGICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY.
AND THAT WASN'T DIFFICULT
BECAUSE OF THE FEELINGS
WE HAD FOR HER.
I DON'T THINK
THEY STARTED OUT
WITH THE NOTION OF
"LET'S EXPLOIT HER
FOR ALL THE MONEY
WE CAN GET."
I THINK MAYBE
EVERYBODY STARTED OUT
ONE,
THEY WANTED TO HELP HER
BUT TWO, THIS WAS
LIKE THE BIGGEST THING
THAT HAD HIT TOWN IN
QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS.
IT WAS RIGHT ON THE HEELS
OF TRUFFAUT'S MOVIE
THE WILD CHILD
HENCE THE NAME
THAT WAS GIVEN TO HER.
WHEN THEY HAD SEMINARS
AT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
THEY SHOWED THE MOVIE
AND SO THIS WAS LIKE
A WORLDWIDE ATTRACTION.
SO I THINK IT WAS REAL EASY
TO GET SIDETRACKED.
Narrator:
DESPITE ALL SHE'D BEEN THROUGH,
GENIE'S TROUBLES WERE NOT OVER.
IN HER FIRST FOSTER HOME
GENIE WAS SEVERELY PUNISHED
FOR VOMITING.
A LONG
TIME AGO?
Narrator:
THE EXPERIENCE
WAS SO TRAUMATIZING
GENIE ENDED UP
BACK IN CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
WHERE THE RIGLERS
OFFERED ASSISTANCE.
YOU COULDN'T
HELP IT.
SO NOW YOU'RE KEEPING
YOUR MOUTH CLOSED
SO YOU WON'T VOMIT.
Narrator:
GENIE WAS AFRAID
TO OPEN HER MOUTH.
SHE REGRESSED TO THE ONLY WAY
SHE KNEW HOW TO BE UNDER SIEGE...
COMPLETELY SILENT.
THIS WOULD BE
ONE OF THE LAST TIMES
THE RIGLERS VIDEOTAPED GENIE.
GENIE NOW LIVES
IN AN ADULT-CARE FOSTER HOME
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
IT'S AT LEAST THE SIXTH HOME
SHE HAS LIVED IN
SINCE THE RESEARCH
PROJECT ENDED.
Lane:
WHAT DO WE TAKE AWAY
FROM THIS REALLY SAD STORY?
THERE'S AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
IN THIS KIND OF RESEARCH.
IF YOU WANT TO DO
RIGOROUS SCIENCE
THEN GENIE'S INTERESTS ARE GOING
TO COME SECOND SOME OF THE TIME.
IF YOU ONLY CARE
ABOUT HELPING GENIE
THEN YOU WOULDN'T DO A LOT
OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THE TWO
ROLES, SCIENTIST AND THERAPIST
WERE COMBINED IN ONE PERSON
IN HER CASE.
SO I THINK FUTURE GENERATIONS
ARE GOING TO STUDY GENIE'S CASE
NOT ONLY FOR WHAT IT CAN
TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
BUT ALSO FOR
WHAT IT CAN TEACH US
ABOUT THE REWARDS AND THE RISKS
OF CONDUCTING
THE FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT.
A PRODUCTION OF WGBH BOSTON