Scrolling through Netflix, I rolled my eyes at Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, however, when I broke my foot I was in the mood for something slightly trashy. So I pressed play. True to its title, this documentary combines a romance scam worthy of a Lifetime Movie with chilling medical violence. Yet, underneath this tabloid-worthy hook, Bad Surgeon is also a film about the dual nature of documentaries- as harmful and mechanisms of accountability.
Three documentary films*, and their filmmakers, take the stage as uncomfortable subjects:
A Leap of Faith (2014), produced by the Bad Surgeon’s protagonist, seasoned journalist Benita Alexander, set out to tell a story about an innovative surgery led by Dr. Paolo Macchiarini. Viewing Dr. Macchiarini as a medical “rockstar,” Benita abandoned journalist ethics and began a covert romantic relationship with Dr. Macchiarini.
Starstruck, A Leap of Faith’s filmmaking team failed to maintain distance from Dr. Macchiarini. They did not conduct research into the developmental stages of the experimental surgery, thus missing a significant gap that could have raised questions and perhaps led to a very different film. Instead, the film unblinkly accepts tragic outcomes as par for the course of experimental surgery.
A Leap of Faith compounds lapses in ethics, research, and inquiry, fertilising the myth of Dr. Macchiarini as an “innovative surgeon.” Furthermore, as an NBC News production and 2015 Emmy nominee, the film crowned Dr. Macchiarini with legitimacy.According to Bad Surgeon, SuperCells From Stem Cells To Artificial Organ (2016), is also a love letter to Dr. Macchiarini. Similarly overlooking a gap in the development of experimental surgery, the film documents a single surgery. No matter what happens- footage or feedback from the patient- the film frames the surgery as a resounding success. In this way, Bad Surgeon publicly indicts SuperCells for prioritising its desired story, and its own success, over the welfare of a subject- and truth.
Fatal Experiments: The Downfall of a Super Surgeon (2016), directed by investigative Journalist Bosse Lindquist, starts out doubtful that there’s a problem with famed surgeon Dr. Macchiarini, due to his position at the world renowned Karolinska Institute. Nonetheless, Lindquist agrees to investigate and after reviewing unused footage from SuperCells, realises there is basis for investigations, starting the process for legal accountability.
For documentary filmmakers, Bad Surgeon is a horror story as much about medical violence as today’s over-saturation with celebrity docos. Bad Surgeon holds lessons in ethics, maintaining a questioning position despite power relations, conducting thorough research, and frontloading the welfare of vulnerable subjects over films’ storylines and success.
*I have not been able to watch the aforementioned documentaries. SuperCells appears to have been removed from the Web. I also couldn’t find a way to watch A Leap of Faith nor Fatal Experiments from here in Australia. If you find a way, let me know!
Although I couldn’t find Fatal Experiments, here is a Q&A with the Director, Bosse Lindquist, that’s worth checking out