Afterword

Summary

Medical information and knowledge, however complex they may be, pervade our lives through the large number of media that are available to us nowadays. A simple look at The Guardian of 22 March 2014 is suggestive of the ways in which medical lore makes the headlines. The first front-page article conveys information about a debate triggered by a response to a study that questions the validity of prescribing a specific drug as a preventative for people who have a 20% risk of heart attack or stroke. The article continues in the ‘Health’ section of the broadsheet, and more information in the form of a second article, with diagrams and pictures, addresses the question of whether the product does more good than harm as a preventative drug. Continuing further into the newspaper, the ‘Saturday Features, Comments & Reviews’ section headlines discussion about the celebrity doctor Christian Jessen, who has reached popularity through his television series Embarrassing Bodies, Supersize vs. Superskinny and The Ugly Face of Beauty, shows that have generated controversies about the potentially negative impact some episodes may have on some viewers. The Saturday interview is triggered by a recent and equally controversial television programme, Cure Me, I’m Gay, which featured Dr Christian Jessen, who is gay, going undercover as a patient seeking a cure for what many people still consider to be a disease. Dr Jessen's documentary shows the kind of abuse ‘patients’ undergo as a result of gross misconceptions about homosexuality. A click on my computer allows me to investigate further the information about Dr Jessen's medical and television performances, gaining access to some parts of the television programme, some of his books, and even a free downloadable signed copy of his photo! These brief references to the newspaper articles and electronic devices show the extent to which medicine, besides its therapeutic function, has a social and cultural role in contemporary society that is further exacerbated by the new media and the globalisation of the circulation of information. The cult of celebrity and strong sense of self-centredness displayed by many in the field contribute further to the high status and visibility given to the medical profession and its sphere of knowledge.